LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Burkina Faso: Upper Volta
built 630 days ago
The region of present-day Burkina Faso was administered as part of the French colony of Soudan (then called Upper Senegal-Niger and now mostly part of Mali) until 1919, when it was made a separate protectorate as Upper Volta. In 1932, it was divided among Côte d’Ivoire, Soudan, and Niger for administrative convenience. In 1947, Upper Volta was reestablished as a separate territory within the French Union, and in 1958 it became an autonomous republic within the French Community.
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Until the end of the 19th century, the history of Burkina Faso was dominated by the empire-building Mossi. The French arrived and claimed the area in 1896, but Mossi resistance ended only with the capture of their capital Ouagadougou in 1901. The colony of Upper Volta was established in 1919, but it was dismembered and reconstituted several times until the present borders were recognized in 1947.
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Independence from France came to Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) in 1960. Repeated military coups during the 1970s and 1980s were followed by multiparty elections in the early 1990s. Burkina Faso's high population density and limited natural resources result in poor economic prospects for the majority of its citizens. Every year, several hundred thousand seasonal farm workers seek employment in Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana and are adversely affected by instability in those regions.
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The new flag dates from August 1984 when the name of the country was changed from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso. Red stands for revolution, green for hope and abundance, and gold for mineral wealth.
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Upper Volta