Which year range reflects the period when Africa's colonial-era borders began to be redrawn due to independence movements?

Which year range reflects the period when Africa's colonial-era borders began to be redrawn due to independence movements?

• A. 1990s
• B. 1914
• C. 1948
• D. 1967

Answer: (A)

Decolonization and the drawing of Africa’s borders unfold as a map-changing process that starts when colonies win sovereignty and new nations are born. Colonial borders were drawn with little regard for ethnic, cultural, or linguistic realities, so as independence movements gained momentum after World War II, boundaries began to be renegotiated and new states emerged. The most expansive wave of independence across Africa happened from the 1950s through the 1970s, with ongoing adjustments continuing into the 1990s as some new states formed or were recognized and borders were formally settled in international law. Among the given options, the 1990s best reflect the period when many of these border changes were completed or solidified on the ground and in international recognition, even though the broader process began earlier. Contextually, this era includes late-20th-century examples of new state boundaries being confirmed after independence movements had reshaped the political map.

Decolonization and the drawing of Africa’s borders unfold as a map-changing process that starts when colonies win sovereignty and new nations are born. Colonial borders were drawn with little regard for ethnic, cultural, or linguistic realities, so as independence movements gained momentum after World War II, boundaries began to be renegotiated and new states emerged. The most expansive wave of independence across Africa happened from the 1950s through the 1970s, with ongoing adjustments continuing into the 1990s as some new states formed or were recognized and borders were formally settled in international law. Among the given options, the 1990s best reflect the period when many of these border changes were completed or solidified on the ground and in international recognition, even though the broader process began earlier. Contextually, this era includes late-20th-century examples of new state boundaries being confirmed after independence movements had reshaped the political map.