ABSTRACT
The new nations came into being in the unique historical context of decolonisation, 1 and the course of their historical development was shaped by this fact. The kind of national independence (or at least what we may provisionally label as such) that was achieved in each case depended on how each new nation made the break with its metropolitan country – i.e. whether by armed struggle as in the case of Algeria, or by more peaceful means as was the case for francophone black Africa.
