How did North Africa gain their independence?

How did South Africa attempt to gain independence from colonial rule and were they successful?

• Answer:

  South Africa as one country came into existence in the early 1900s. Prior to that it had been a series of smaller countries under various colonial and independent governments. The two colonial powers who held territory in South Africa were the Dutch and the British. The smaller countries fought fiercely for their independence agsinst both the Dutch and British. The battle of the British army against the Zulus and the Boers, known as the Anglo-Boer war was especially notable. The British defeated the Zulus and later the took power of the Boer Republics and united them all with the Cape and Natal colonies to form a single country. South Africa, as one country, was called the Union of South Africa in 1911. It was self-governing, British colony. In 1939 the National Party, supported mainly by the Afrikaners (Boers), won the national elections and started a process of moving away from British rule. There was no notable warfare or bloodshed, but a continued process of resisting British influence. In 1961, SA was granted independence from Britain and became known as the Republic of South Africa.