The early Colonies from 1492 onwards were all ruled and settled by ‘white settlers.’ The areas settled included the Americas and to a small extent the Portuguese colonised Africa, and the Dutch settled in Southern Africa in 1652. All of these can be characterised as ‘settler colonies.’

We take for granted today the boundary lines which divide countries. Those borders set in 1884 had little rationale but continue to have long-term consequences. 80 years after being divided, the new countries were provided with relative Independence. This was partially due to their struggles against colonial rule and partly due to the decision taken by the USA to have economic access to the world. They all kept the boundaries created during colonialism.

African colonisation was significantly different from all other forms of European invasion. At the end of the 19th century, the continent was divided up into multiple relatively small nation-states. As a result, each state has found the processes of moving towards industrialisation difficult. The story of the colonisation of the continent is how this situation came about.