History of Africa Egypt and Ethiopia were already independent. Many countries followed in the 1950s and 1960s, with a peak in 1960 with the Year of Africa, which saw 17 African nations declare independence, including a large part of French West Africa. Most of the remaining countries gained independence throughout the 1960s, although some colonizers (Portugal in particular) were reluctant to relinquish sovereignty, resulting in bitter wars of independence which lasted for a decade or more. The last African countries to gain formal independence were Guinea-Bissau (1974), Mozambique (1975) and Angola (1975) from Portugal; Djibouti from France in 1977; Zimbabwe from the United
1975 United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum 1975 United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum The United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum, also known as the Referendum on the European Community (Common Market), the Common Market referendum and EEC membership referendum took place on 5 June 1975 in the United Kingdom to gauge support for the country's continued membership of the European Communities (EC)—often known at the time as the "European Community” and the "Common Market"—which it had entered on 1 January 1973 under the Conservative government of Edward Heath under the provisions of the Referendum Act 1975. Labour's manifesto for the October 1974 general election had promised