In the late 20th century Africa was going through a period of decolonization. Countries were declaring independence left and right, new national identities were being established, and many African countries were working to distance themselves from the cultures of their European occupations. Shakespeare is clearly included in the European canon, so in the late 20th century many countries adapted the staunchly “old world” Shakespeare to fit into the narratives of their emerging nations. In many cases the Bard’s tales aligned quite well to the political discourses that African countries were experiencing. The first two maps show a time lapse of emergence of African Plays in the Late 20th Century alongside the political revolutions in the same African countries. The third combines the two into a StoryMap to fully flush out the Shakespearian reactions.
