Ghana became the first sub-Saharan African colony to win independence

On 6 March 1957, the Gold Coast became Ghana, the first sub-Saharan African territory to gain independence from European colonial rule. Kwame Nkrumah, who led the independence movement and became its first prime minister, said the moment was meaningless unless linked to the 'total liberation of the African continent.' Within a decade, most of colonial Africa had followed.

— Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana: The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah — 1957
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