by
Alex C.

NATIONAL FLAG OF BURKINA FASO:

LOCATION:

     Burkina Faso, a small African country occupied by the Mossi kingdoms, was colonized by the French in 1896.  The French made the Mossi people pay taxes to their government and forced most people into labor. They made the northern side of Burkina Faso grow cotton for the French to trade. 

      The colonization of Burkina Faso hurt the people who lived there.  The taxes and the labor overwhelmed some of the people.  They could no longer survive so about 100,000 of them moved to Ghana. 

      Burkina Faso became an independent state in 1960.  After World War II the French and African countries hoped to have an independent federation in which Burkina Faso would be included.  

      After Burkina Faso became an independent state they became a democracy.  A couple of years later Maurice Vameogo banned all political parties.  Strikes and demonstrations followed and eventually Burkina Faso went back to a democracy.  Today, Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world.  Most of their industries and communications are underdeveloped.

Works Cited

Flag and map courtesy of Microsoft Clipart Gallery.

"United States: History, Geography, Government, and Culture." Infoplease.
© 2000–2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease.
11 Feb. 2009 <http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108121.html>

"Burkina Faso." Peoples of Africa. Marshall Cavendish Digital. 2009. 12 February 2009
<http://www.marshallcavendishdigital.com/articledisplay/20/4899/50000.