IntroductionNote. This book is based on the Wikipedia article,
"Africa." The supporting articles are those referenced as major
expansions of selected sections.
Africa
Area Population Pop. density Demonym Countries Dependencies
Languages Time Zones Largest cities
30,221,532 km2 (11,668,598.7 sq mi) 1,000,010,0001 (2005, 2nd)
30.51/km2 (about 80/sq mi) African 54 (List of countries) List of
languages UTC-1 to UTC+4 List of cities
Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous
continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km (11.7 million sq
mi) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total
surface area and 20.4% of the total land area.2 With a billion
people (as of 2009, see table) in 61 territories, it accounts for
about 14.72% of the world's human population. The continent is
surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, both the Suez
Canal and the Red Sea along the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast,
the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the
west. The continent has 54 sovereign states, including Madagascar,
various island groups, and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, a
member state of the African Union whose statehood is disputed by
Morocco.
1"World Population Prospects: The 2006 Revision" United Nations
(Department of Economic and Social Affairs, population division)
2Sayre, April Pulley. (1999) Africa, Twenty-First Century Books.
ISBN 0-7613-1367-2.
Africa, particularly central eastern Africa, is widely regarded
within the scientific community to be the origin of humans and the
Hominidae clade (great apes), as evidenced by the discovery of the
earliest hominids and their ancestors, as well as later ones that
have been dated to around seven million years ago including
Sahelanthropus tchadensis, Australopithecus africanus, A.
afarensis, Homo erectus, H. habilis and H. ergaster with the
earliest Homo sapiens (modern human) found in Ethiopia being dated
to circa 200,000 years ago.3 Africa straddles the equator and
encompasses numerous climate areas; it is the only continent to
stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones.4
The African expected economic growth rate is at about 5.0% for 2010
and 5.5% in 2011.5
EtymologyAfri was the name of several Semitic peoples who dwelt
in North Africa near Carthage ( in modern Tunisia). Their name is
usually connected with Phoenician afar, "dust", but a 1981
hypothesis6 has asserted that it stems from a Berber word ifri or
Ifran meaning "cave", in reference to cave dwellers.7 Africa or
Ifri or Afer8 is name of Banu Ifran from Algeria and Tripolitania
(Berber Tribe of Yafran).9 Under Roman rule, Carthage became the
capital of Africa Province, which also included the coastal part of
modern Libya. The Roman suffix "-ca" denotes "country or land".10
The later Muslim kingdom of Ifriqiya, modern-day Tunisia, also
preserved a form of the name. Other etymological hypotheses that
have been postulated for the ancient name "Africa":
3Homo sapiens: University of Utah News Release: Feb. 16, 2005
4Visual Geography. "Africa. General info". . Retrieved 2007-11-24.
5IMF WEO Oct. 2010 Retrieved 15-10-2010 6Names of countries, Decret
and Fantar, 1981 7The Berbers, by Geo. Babington Michell, p 161,
1903, Journal of Royal African people book on ligne 8 9Itineraria
Phoenicia, Edward Lipinski, Peeters Publishers, p200, 2004, ISBN
90-429-1344-4 Book on ligne 10"Consultos.com etymology". .
the 1st century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (Ant. 1.15)
asserted that it was named for Epher, grandson of Abraham according
to Gen. 25:4, whose descendants, he claimed, had invaded Libya.
Latin word aprica ("sunny") mentioned by Isidore of Seville in
Etymologiae XIV.5.2. the Greek word aphrike (), meaning "without
cold." This was proposed by historian Leo Africanus (14881554), who
suggested the Greek word phrike (, meaning "cold and horror"),
combined with the privative prefix "a-", thus indicating a land
free of cold and horror. Massey, in 1881, derived an etymology from
the Egyptian af-rui-ka, "to turn toward the opening of the Ka." The
Ka is the energetic double of every person and "opening of the Ka"
refers to a womb or birthplace. Africa would be, for the Egyptians,
"the birthplace."11 yet another hypothesis was proposed by Michle
Fruyt in Revue de Philologie 50, 1976: 221238, linking the Latin
word with africus 'south wind', which would be of Umbrian origin
and mean originally 'rainy wind'. The Irish female name Aifric is
sometimes anglicised as Africa, but the given name is unrelated to
the geonym.
History
11"'Nile Genesis: the opus of Gerald Massey'" .
Gerald-massey.org.uk. 1907-10-29. . Retrieved 2010-05-18.
PaleohistoryAt the beginning of the Mesozoic Era, Africa was
joined with Earth's other continents in Pangaea.12 Africa shared
the supercontinent's relatively uniform fauna which was dominated
by theropods, prosauropods and primitive ornithischians by the
close of the Triassic period.13 Late Triassic fossils are found
through-out Africa, but are more common in the south than north.14
The boundary separating the Triassic and Jurassic marks the advent
of an extinction event with global impact, although African strata
from this time period have not been thoroughly studied.15 Early
Jurassic strata are distributed in a similar fashion to Late
Triassic beds, with more common outcrops in the south and less
common fossil beds which are predominated by tracks to the north.16
As the Jurassic proceeded, larger and more iconic groups of
dinosaurs like sauropods and ornithopods proliferated in Africa.17
Middle Jurassic strata are neither well represented nor well
studied in Africa.18 Late Jurassic strata are also poorly
represented apart from the spectacular Tendaguru fauna in
Tanzania.19 The Late Jurassic life of Tendaguru is very similar to
that found in western North America's Morrison Formation.20 Midway
through the Mesozoic, about 150160 million years ago, Madagascar
separated from Africa, although it remained connected to India and
the rest of the Gondwanan landmasses.21 Fossils from Madagascar
include abelisaurs and titanosaurs.22 Later into the Early
Cretaceous epoch, the India-Madagascar landmass separated from the
rest of Gondwana.23 By the Late Cretaceous, Madagascar and India
had permanently split ways and continued until later reaching their
modern configurations.24
12Jacobs, Louis L. (1997). "African Dinosaurs." Encyclopedia of
Dinosaurs. Edited by Phillip J. Currie and Kevin Padian. Academic
Press. pp. 24. 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
By contrast to Madagascar, mainland Africa was relatively stable
in position through-out the Mesozoic.25 Despite the stable
position, major changes occurred to its relation to other
landmasses as the remains of Pangea continued to break apart.26 By
the beginning of the Late Cretaceous epoch South America had split
off from Africa, completing the southern half of the Atlantic
Ocean.27 This event had a profound effect on global climate by
altering ocean currents.28 During the Cretaceous, Africa was
populated by allosauroids and spinosaurids, including the largest
known carnivorous dinosaurs.29 Titanosaurs were significant
herbivores in its ancient ecosystems.30 Cretaceous sites are more
common than Jurassic ones, but are often unable to be dated
radiometrically making it difficult to know their exact ages.31
Paleontologist Louis Jacobs, who spent time doing field work in
Malawi, says that African beds are "in need of more field work" and
will prove to be a "fertile ground ... for discovery."32
Pre-historyAfrica is considered by most paleoanthropologists to
be the oldest inhabited territory on Earth, with the human species
originating from the continent.3334 During the middle of the
twentieth century, anthropologists discovered many fossils and
evidence of human occupation perhaps as early as 7 million years
ago. Fossil remains of several species of early apelike humans
thought to have evolved into modern man, such as Australopithecus
afarensis (radiometrically dated to approximately 3.93.0 million
years BC),35 Paranthropus boisei (c. 2.31.4 million years BC)36 and
Homo ergaster (c. 1.9 million600,000 years BC) have been
discovered.37 Throughout humanity's prehistory, Africa (like all
other continents) had no nation states, and was instead inhabited
by groups of hunter-gatherers such as the Khoi and San.383940
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33Genetic study roots humans in Africa,
BBC News | SCI/TECH 34Migration of Early Humans From Africa Aided
By Wet Weather , sciencedaily.com 35Kimbel, William H. and Yoel Rak
and Donald C. Johanson. (2004) The Skull of Australopithecus
Afarensis, Oxford University Press US. ISBN 0-19-515706-0. 36Tudge,
Colin. (2002) The Variety of Life., Oxford University Press. ISBN
0-19-860426-2. 37 38van Sertima, Ivan. (1995) Egypt: Child of
Africa/S V12 (Ppr), Transaction Publishers. pp. 324325. ISBN
1-56000-792-3. 39Mokhtar, G. (1990) UNESCO General History of
Africa, Vol. II, Abridged Edition: Ancient Africa, University of
California Press. ISBN 0-85255-092-8. 40Eyma, A. K. and C. J.
Bennett. (2003) Delts-Man in Yebu: Occasional Volume of the
Egyptologists' Electronic Forum No. 1, Universal Publishers. p.
210. SBN 1-58112-564-X.
At the end of the Ice Ages, estimated to have been around 10,500
BC, the Sahara had again become a green fertile valley, and its
African populations returned from the interior and coastal
highlands in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, the warming and drying
climate meant that by 5000 BC the Sahara region was becoming
increasingly dry and hostile. The population trekked out of the
Sahara region towards the Nile Valley below the Second Cataract
where they made permanent or semi-permanent settlements. A major
climatic recession occurred, lessening the heavy and persistent
rains in Central and Eastern Africa. Since this time dry conditions
have prevailed in Eastern Africa, and increasingly during the last
200 years, in Ethiopia. The domestication of cattle in Africa
preceded agriculture and seems to have existed alongside
hunter-gathering cultures. It is speculated that by 6000 BC cattle
were already domesticated in North Africa.41 In the Sahara-Nile
complex, people domesticated many animals including the donkey, and
a small screw-horned goat which was common from Algeria to Nubia.
In the year 4000 BC the climate of the Sahara started to become
drier at an exceedingly fast pace.42 This climate change caused
lakes and rivers to shrink significantly and caused increasing
desertification. This, in turn, decreased the amount of land
conducive to settlements and helped to cause migrations of farming
communities to the more tropical climate of West Africa.43 By the
first millennium BC ironworking had been introduced in Northern
Africa and quickly spread across the Sahara into the northern parts
of subSaharan Africa44 and by 500 BC metalworking began to become
commonplace in West Africa. Ironworking was fully established by
roughly 500 BC in many areas of East and West Africa, although
other regions didn't begin ironworking until the early centuries
AD. Copper objects from Egypt, North Africa, Nubia and Ethiopia
dating from around 500 BC have been excavated in West Africa,
suggesting that trans-saharan trade networks had been established
by this date.45
Early civilizationsAt about 3300 BC, the historical record opens
in Northern Africa with the rise of literacy in the Pharaonic
civilisation of Ancient Egypt.46 One of the world's earliest and
longest-lasting civilizations, the Egyptian state continued, with
varying levels of influence over other areas, until 343 BC.4748
Egyptian influence reached deep into modern-day Libya, north to
Crete49 and Canaan, and south to the kingdoms of Aksum and
Nubia.41Diamond, Jared. (1999) "Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of
Human Societies. New York:Norton, pp.167. 42O'Brien, Patrick K.
(General Editor). Oxford Atlas of World History. New York: Oxford
University Press, 2005. pp.2223 43 44Martin and O'Meara. "Africa,
3rd Ed." Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1995. [0] 45 46Were
Egyptians the first scribes?, BBC News | Sci/Tech 47Hassan, Fekri
A. (2002) Droughts, Food and Culture, Springer. p. 17. ISBN
0-306-46755-0. 48McGrail, Sean. (2004) Boats of the World, Oxford
University Press. p. 48. ISBN 0-19927186-0. 49Shavit, Jacob;
Shavit, Yaacov (2001). History in Black: African-Americans in
Search of an Ancient Past. Taylor & Francis. p. 77. ISBN
0-714-68216-0. .
An independent centre of civilisation with trading links to
Phoenicia was established by Phoenicians from Tyre on the
north-west African coast at Carthage.505152 European exploration of
Africa began with Ancient Greeks and Romans. In 332 BC, Alexander
the Great was welcomed as a liberator in Persian-occupied Egypt. He
founded Alexandria in Egypt, which would become the prosperous
capital of the Ptolemaic dynasty after his death.53 Following the
conquest of North Africa's Mediterranean coastline by the Roman
Empire, the area was integrated economically and culturally into
the Roman system. Roman settlement occurred in modern Tunisia and
elsewhere along the coast. Christianity spread across these areas
from Palestine via Egypt, also passing south, beyond the borders of
the Roman world into Nubia and by at least the 6th century into
Ethiopia. In the early 7th century, the newly formed Arabian
Islamic Caliphate expanded into Egypt, and then into North Africa.
In a short while the local Berber elite had been integrated into
Muslim Arab tribes. When the Ummayad capital Damascus fell in the
eight century, the Islamic center of the Mediterranean shifted from
Syria to Qayrawan in North Africa. Islamic North Africa had become
diverse, and a hub for mystics, scholars, jurists and philosophers.
During the above mentioned period, Islam spread to subSaharan
Africa, mainly through trade routes and migration. 54
9th18th centuryPre-colonial Africa possessed perhaps as many as
10,000 different states and polities55 characterised by many
different sorts of political organisation and rule. These included
small family groups of hunter-gatherers such as the San people of
southern Africa; larger, more structured groups such as the family
clan groupings of the Bantu-speaking people of central and southern
Africa, heavily structured clan groups in the Horn of Africa, the
large Sahelian kingdoms, and autonomous city-states and kingdoms
such as those of the Yoruba and Igbo people (also misspelled as
Ibo) in West Africa, and the Swahili coastal trading towns of East
Africa. By the 9th century AD a string of dynastic states,
including the earliest Hausa states, stretched across the
sub-saharan savannah from the western regions to central Sudan. The
most powerful of these states were Ghana, Gao, and the Kanem-Bornu
Empire. Ghana declined in the 11th century but was succeeded by the
Mali Empire which consolidated much of western Sudan in the 13th
century. Kanem accepted Islam in the 11th century.50Fage, J. D.
(1979) The Cambridge History of Africa, Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0521-21592-7. 51Fage, J. D., et al (1986) The Cambridge
History of Africa, Cambridge University Press. Vol. 2, p. 118.
52Oliver, Roland and Anthony Atmore. (1994) Africa Since 1800,
Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-42970-6. 53"Ptolemaic and
Roman Egypt: 332 BC-395 AD" . Wsu.edu. 1999-06-06. . Retrieved
2010-0518. 54Ayoub, Mahmoud M. (2004). Islam: Faith and History.
Oxford: Oneworld. pp. 76, 923, 96 7. 55Meredith, Martin (January
20, 2006). "The Fate of Africa A Survey of Fifty Years of
Independence". washingtonpost.com. . Retrieved 2007-07-23.
In the forested regions of the West African coast, independent
kingdoms grew up with little influence from the Muslim north. The
Kingdom of Nri of the Igbo was established around the 9th century
and was one of the first. It is also one of the oldest Kingdom in
modern day Nigeria and was ruled by the Eze Nri. The Nri kingdom is
famous for its elaborate bronzes, found at the town of Igbo Ukwu.
The bronzes have been dated from as far back as the 9th century. 56
The Ife, historically the first of these Yoruba city-states or
kingdoms, established government under a priestly oba (ruler), (oba
means 'king' or 'ruler' in the Yoruba language), called the Ooni of
Ife. Ife was noted as a major religious and cultural centre in
Africa, and for its unique naturalistic tradition of bronze
sculpture. The Ife model of government was adapted at Oyo, where
its obas or kings, called the Alaafins of Oyo once controlled a
large number of other Yoruba and non Yoruba city states and
Kingdoms, the Fon Kingdom of Dahomey was one of the non Yoruba
domains under Oyo control. The Almoravids were a Berber dynasty
from the Sahara that spread over a wide area of northwestern Africa
and the Iberian peninsula during the 11th century.57 The Banu Hilal
and Banu Ma'qil were a collection of Arab Bedouin tribes from the
Arabian peninsula who migrated westwards via Egypt between the 11th
and 13th centuries. Their migration resulted in the fusion of the
Arabs and Berbers, where the locals were Arabized,58 and Arab
culture absorbed elements of the local culture, under the unifying
framework of Islam.59 Following the breakup of Mali a local leader
named Sonni Ali (14641492) founded the Songhai Empire in the region
of middle Niger and the western Sudan and took control of the
trans-Saharan trade. Sonni Ali seized Timbuktu in 1468 and Jenne in
1473, building his regime on trade revenues and the cooperation of
Muslim merchants. His successor Askia Mohammad I (1493 1528) made
Islam the official religion, built mosques, and brought Muslim
scholars, including al-Maghili (d.1504), the founder of an
important tradition of Sudanic African Muslim scholarship, to
Gao.60 By the 11th century some Hausa states such as Kano, jigawa,
Katsina, and Gobir had developed into walled towns engaging in
trade, servicing caravans, and the manufacture of goods. Until the
15th century these small states were on the periphery of the major
Sudanic empires of the era, paying tribute to Songhai to the west
and Kanem-Borno to the east.
56"Igbo-Ukwu (ca. 9th century) | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn
Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art".
Metmuseum.org. . Retrieved 2010-05-18. 57Glick, Thomas F. Islamic
And Christian Spain in the Early Middle Ages. (2005) Brill Academic
Publishers page 37 58" Mauritania Arab invasions". Library of
Congress Country Studies. 59"Genetic Evidence for the Expansion of
Arabian Tribes into the Southern Levant and North Africa".
Pubmedcentral.nih.gov. 2010-04-01. . Retrieved 2010-05-18. 60Ira M.
Lapidus, A History of Islamic Societies, Cambridge 1988
Height of slave tradeSlavery had long been practiced in
Africa.6162 Between the seventh and twentieth centuries, Arab slave
trade (also known as slavery in the East) took 18 million slaves
from Africa via trans-Saharan and Indian Ocean routes. Between the
fifteenth and the nineteenth centuries(2000 years) , the Atlantic
slave trade took an estimated 712 million slaves to the New World.
636465 In West Africa, the decline of the Atlantic slave trade in
the 1820s caused dramatic economic shifts in local polities. The
gradual decline of slave-trading, prompted by a lack of demand for
slaves in the New World, increasing antislavery legislation in
Europe and America, and the British Royal Navy's increasing
presence off the West African coast, obliged African states to
adopt new economies. Between 1808 and 1860, the British West Africa
Squadron seized approximately 1,600 slave ships and freed 150,000
Africans who were aboard.66 Action was also taken against African
leaders who refused to agree to British treaties to outlaw the
trade, for example against "the usurping King of Lagos", deposed in
1851. Anti-slavery treaties were signed with over 50 African
rulers.67 The largest powers of West Africa: the Asante
Confederacy, the Kingdom of Dahomey, and the Oyo Empire, adopted
different ways of adapting to the shift. Asante and Dahomey
concentrated on the development of "legitimate commerce" in the
form of palm oil, cocoa, timber and gold, forming the bedrock of
West Africa's modern export trade. The Oyo Empire, unable to adapt,
collapsed into civil wars.68
Colonialism and the "Scramble for Africa"In the late nineteenth
century, the European imperial powers engaged in a major
territorial scramble and occupied most of the continent, creating
many colonial territories, and leaving only two fully independent
states: Ethiopia (known to Europeans as "Abyssinia"), and Liberia.
Egypt and Sudan were never formally incorporated into any European
colonial empire; however, after the British occupation of 1882,
Egypt was effectively under British administration until 1922.
61Historical survey > Slave societies , Encyclopdia
Britannica 62Swahili Coast, National Geographic 63Welcome to
Encyclopdia Britannica's Guide to Black History , Encyclopdia
Britannica 64Focus on the slave trade, BBC 65Transformations in
Slavery: A History of Slavery in Africa p 25 by Paul E. Lovejoy
66Sailing against slavery. By Jo Loosemore BBC 67"The West African
Squadron and slave trade" . Pdavis.nl. . Retrieved 2010-05-18.
68Simon, Julian L. (1995) State of Humanity, Blackwell Publishing.
p. 175. ISBN 1-55786-585X.
Berlin ConferenceThe Berlin Conference held in 188485 was an
important event in the political future of African ethnic groups.
It was convened by King Leopold of Belgium, and attended by the
European powers that laid claim to African territories. It sought
to bring an end to the Scramble for Africa by European powers by
agreeing on political division and spheres of influence. They set
up political the divisions continent by spheres of interest that
exist in Africa today.
Independance StrugglesImperial rule by Europeans would continue
until after the conclusion of World War II, when almost all
remaining colonial territories gradually obtained formal
independence.Independence movements in Africa gained momentum
following World War II, which left the major European powers
weakened. In 1951, Libya, a former Italian colony, gained
independence. In 1956, Tunisia and Morocco won their independence
from France. Ghana followed suit the next year, becoming the first
of the sub-Saharan colonies to be freed. Most of the rest of the
continent became independent over the next decade. Portugal's
overseas presence in Sub-Saharan Africa (most notably in Angola,
Cape Verde, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau and So Tom and Prncipe)
lasted from the 16th century to 1975, after the Estado Novo regime
was overthrown in a military coup in Lisbon. Zimbabwe won its
independence from the United Kingdom in 1980 after a bitter
guerrilla war between black nationalists and the white minority
Rhodesian government of Ian Smith. Although South Africa was one of
the first African countries to gain independence, the state
remained under the control of the country's white minority through
a system of racial segregation known as apartheid until 1994.
Post-colonial AfricaToday, Africa contains 54 sovereign
countries, most of which still have the borders drawn during the
era of European colonialism. Since colonialism, African states have
frequently been hampered by instability, corruption, violence, and
authoritarianism. The vast majority of African states are republics
that operate under some form of the presidential system of rule.
However, few of them have been able to sustain democratic
governments on a permanent basis, and many have instead cycled
through a series of coups, producing military dictatorships. Great
instability was mainly the result of marginalization of ethnic
groups, and graft under these leaders. For political gain, many
leaders fanned ethnic conflicts that had been exacerbated, or even
created, by colonial rule. In many countries, the military was
perceived as being the only group that could effectively maintain
order, and it ruled many nations in Africa during the 1970s and
early 1980s. During the period from the early 1960s to the late
1980s, Africa had more than 70 coups and 13 presidential
assassinations. Border and territorial disputes were also common,
with the European-imposed borders of many nations being widely
contested through armed conflicts.
Cold War conflicts between the United States and the Soviet
Union, as well as the policies of the International Monetary Fund,
also played a role in instability. When a country became
independent for the first time, it was often expected to align with
one of the two superpowers. Many countries in Northern Africa
received Soviet military aid, while many in Central and Southern
Africa were supported by the United States, France or both. The
1970s saw an escalation, as newly independent Angola and Mozambique
aligned themselves with the Soviet Union, and the West and South
Africa sought to contain Soviet influence by funding insurgency
movements. There was a major famine in Ethiopia, when hundreds of
thousands of people starved. Some claimed that Marxist/Soviet
policies made the situation worse.697071 The most devastating
military conflict in modern independent Africa has been the Second
Congo War. By 2008, this conflict and its aftermath had killed 5.4
million people. Since 2003 there has been an ongoing conflict in
Darfur which has become a humanitarian disaster. AIDS has also been
a prevalent issue in post-colonial Africa.
GeographyAfrica is the largest of the three great southward
projections from the largest landmass of the Earth. Separated from
Europe by the Mediterranean Sea, it is joined to Asia at its
northeast extremity by the Isthmus of Suez (transected by the Suez
Canal), 163 km (101 miles) wide.72 (Geopolitically, Egypt's Sinai
Peninsula east of the Suez Canal is often considered part of
Africa, as well.)73 From the most northerly point, Ras ben Sakka in
Tunisia (3721' N), to the most southerly point, Cape Agulhas in
South Africa (3451'15" S), is a distance of approximately 8,000 km
(5,000 miles);74 from Cape Verde, 1733'22" W, the westernmost
point, to Ras Hafun in Somalia, 5127'52" E, the most easterly
projection, is a distance of approximately 7,400 km (4,600
miles).75 The coastline is 26,000 km (16,100 miles) long, and the
absence of deep indentations of the shore is illustrated by the
fact that Europe, which covers only 10,400,000 km (4,010,000 square
miles) about a third of the surface of Africa has a coastline of
32,000 km (19,800 miles).76
69"BBC: 1984 famine in Ethiopia". BBC News. 2000-04-06. .
Retrieved 2010-01-01. 70Robert G. Patman, The Soviet Union in the
Horn of Africa 1990, ISBN 0-521-36022-6, pp. 295296 71Steven
Varnis, Reluctant aid or aiding the reluctant?: U.S. food aid
policy and the Ethiopian Famine Relief 1990, ISBN 0-88738-348-3,
p.38 72Drysdale, Alasdair and Gerald H. Blake. (1985) The Middle
East and North Africa, Oxford University Press US. ISBN
0-19-503538-0. 73"Atlas - Xpeditions @ nationalgeographic.com" .
National Geographic Society. 2003. . Retrieved 2009-03-01. 74Lewin,
Evans. (1924) Africa, Clarendon press. 75(1998) Merriam-Webster's
Geographical Dictionary (Index), Merriam-Webster. pp. 1011. ISBN
0-87779-546-0. 76
Africa's largest country is Sudan, and its smallest country is
the Seychelles, an archipelago off the east coast.77 The smallest
nation on the continental mainland is The Gambia. According to the
ancient Romans, Africa lay to the west of Egypt, while "Asia" was
used to refer to Anatolia and lands to the east. A definite line
was drawn between the two continents by the geographer Ptolemy
(85165 AD), indicating Alexandria along the Prime Meridian and
making the isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea the boundary between
Asia and Africa. As Europeans came to understand the real extent of
the continent, the idea of Africa expanded with their knowledge.
Geologically, Africa includes the Arabian Peninsula; the Zagros
Mountains of Iran and the Anatolian Plateau of Turkey mark where
the African Plate collided with Eurasia. The Afrotropic ecozone and
the Saharo-Arabian desert to its north unite the region
biogeographically, and the Afro-Asiatic language family unites the
north linguistically.
ClimateThe climate of Africa ranges from tropical to subarctic
on its highest peaks. Its northern half is primarily desert or
arid, while its central and southern areas contain both savanna
plains and very dense jungle (rainforest) regions. In between,
there is a convergence where vegetation patterns such as sahel, and
steppe dominate.
FaunaAfrica boasts perhaps the world's largest combination of
density and "range of freedom" of wild animal populations and
diversity, with wild populations of large carnivores (such as
lions, hyenas, and cheetahs) and herbivores (such as buffalo, deer,
elephants, camels, and giraffes) ranging freely on primarily open
non-private plains. It is also home to a variety of "jungle"
animals including snakes and primates and aquatic life such as
crocodiles and amphibians. Africa also has the largest number of
megafauna species, as it was least affected by the extinction of
the Pleistocene megafauna.
77Hoare, Ben. (2002) The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia, Kingfisher
Publications. p. 11. ISBN 07534-5569-2.
EcologyDeforestation is affecting Africa at twice the world
rate, according to the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP).78 Some sources claim that deforestation has already wiped
out roughly 90% of West Africa's original forests.79 Since the
arrival of humans 2000 years ago, Madagascar has lost more than 90%
of its original forest.80 About 65% of Africa's agricultural land
suffers from soil degradation.81
PoliticsThe African Union (AU) is a 53 member federation
consisting of all of Africa's states except Morocco. The union was
formed, with Addis Ababa as its headquarters, on 26 June 2001. In
July 2004, the African Union's Pan-African Parliament (PAP) was
relocated to Midrand, in South Africa, but the African Commission
on Human and Peoples' Rights remained in Addis Ababa. There is a
policy in effect to decentralize the African Federation's
institutions so that they are shared by all the states. The African
Union, not to be confused with the AU Commission, is formed by the
Constitutive Act of the African Union, which aims to transform the
African Economic Community, a federated commonwealth, into a state
under established international conventions. The African Union has
a parliamentary government, known as the African Union Government,
consisting of legislative, judicial and executive organs. It is led
by the African Union President and Head of State, who is also the
President of the Pan African Parliament. A person becomes AU
President by being elected to the PAP, and subsequently gaining
majority support in the PAP. 1 The powers and authority of the
President of the African Parliament derive from the Constitutive
Act and the Protocol of the Pan African Parliament, as well as the
inheritance of presidential authority stipulated by African
treaties and by international treaties, including those
subordinating the Secretary General of the OAU Secretariat (AU
Commission) to the PAP. The government of the AU consists of
all-union (federal), regional, state, and municipal authorities, as
well as hundreds of institutions, that together manage the
day-to-day affairs of the institution. There are clear signs of
increased networking among African organisations and states. In the
civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (former Zaire),
rather than rich, non-African countries intervening, neighbouring
African countries became involved (see also Second Congo War).
Since the conflict began in 1998, the estimated death toll has
reached 5 million.
78Deforestation reaches worrying level UN . AfricaNews. June 11,
2008. 79Forests and deforestation in Africa the wasting of an
immense resource . afrol News. 80Terrestrial Ecoregions Madagascar
subhumid forests (AT0118), National Geographic. 81Nature laid
waste: The destruction of Africa. The Independent. June 11,
2008.
Political associations such as the African Union offer hope for
greater cooperation and peace between the continent's many
countries. Extensive human rights abuses still occur in several
parts of Africa, often under the oversight of the state. Most of
such violations occur for political reasons, often as a side effect
of civil war. Countries where major human rights violations have
been reported in recent times include the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Cte
d'Ivoire.
EconomyAlthough it has abundant natural resources, Africa
remains the world's poorest and most underdeveloped continent, due
to a variety of causes that may include the spread of deadly
diseases and viruses (notably HIV/AIDS and malaria), corrupt
governments that have often committed serious human rights
violations, failed central planning, high levels of illiteracy,
lack of access to foreign capital, and frequent tribal and military
conflict (ranging from guerrilla warfare to genocide).82 According
to the United Nations' Human Development Report in 2003, the bottom
25 ranked nations (151st to 175th) were all African.83 Poverty,
illiteracy, malnutrition and inadequate water supply and
sanitation, as well as poor health, affect a large proportion of
the people who reside in the African continent. In August 2008, the
World Bank84 announced revised global poverty estimates based on a
new international poverty line of $1.25 per day (versus the
previous measure of $1.00). 80.5% of the Sub-Saharan Africa
population was living on less than $2.50 (PPP) a day in 2005,
compared with 85.7% for India.85 The new figures confirm that
sub-Saharan Africa has been the least successful region of the
world in reducing poverty ($1.25 per day); some 50% of the
population living in poverty in 1981 (200 million people), a figure
that rose to 58% in 1996 before dropping to 50% in 2005 (380
million people). The average poor person in sub-Saharan Africa is
estimated to live on only 70 cents per day, and was poorer in 2003
than he or she was in 1973 86 indicating increasing poverty in some
areas. Some of it is attributed to unsuccessful economic
liberalization programs spearheaded by foreign companies and
governments, but other studies and reports have cited bad domestic
government policies more than external factors.87888982Richard
Sandbrook, The Politics of Africa's Economic Stagnation, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, 1985 passim 83[1], United Nations
84"World Bank Updates Poverty Estimates for the Developing World" .
Econ.worldbank.org. . Retrieved 2010-05-18. 85"The developing world
is poorer than we thought, but no less successful in the fight
against poverty". World Bank. . 86Economic report on Africa 2004:
unlocking Africas potential in the global economy , (Substantive
session 28 June-23 July 2004) United Nations 87"Neo-Liberalism and
the Economic and Political Future of Africa" .
Globalpolitician.com. 2005-12-19. . Retrieved 2010-05-18.
88"Capitalism Africa Neoliberalism, Structural Adjustment, And The
African Reaction" . Science.jrank.org. . Retrieved 2010-05-18.
89http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=58925
From 1995 to 2005, Africa's rate of economic growth increased,
averaging 5% in 2005. Some countries experienced still higher
growth rates, notably Angola, Sudan and Equatorial Guinea, all
three of which had recently begun extracting their petroleum
reserves or had expanded their oil extraction capacity. The
continent has 90% of the worlds cobalt, 90% of its platinum, 50% of
its gold, 98% of its chromium, 70% of its tantalite,90 64% of its
manganese and one-third of its uranium.91 The Democratic Republic
of the Congo (DRC) has 70% of the worlds coltan, and most mobile
phones in the world have coltan in them. The DRC also has more than
30% of the worlds diamond reserves.92 Guinea is the worlds largest
exporter of bauxite.93 As the growth in Africa has been driven
mainly by services and not manufacturing or agriculture, it has
been growth without jobs and without reduction in poverty levels.
In fact, the food security crisis of 2008 which took place on the
heels of the global financial crisis has pushed back 100 million
people into food insecurity.94 In recent years, the People's
Republic of China has built increasingly stronger ties with African
nations. In 2007, Chinese companies invested a total of US$1
billion in Africa.95
DemographicsAfrica's population has rapidly increased over the
last 40 years, and consequently it is relatively young. In some
African states half or more of the population is under 25 years of
age.96 African population grew from 221 million in 1950 to 1
billion in 2009.9798 Speakers of Bantu languages (part of the
Niger-Congo family) are the majority in southern, central and East
Africa proper. But there are also several Nilotic groups in East
Africa, and a few remaining indigenous Khoisan ('San' or 'Bushmen')
and Pygmy peoples in southern and central Africa, respectively.
Bantu-speaking Africans also predominate in Gabon and Equatorial
Guinea, and are found in parts of southern Cameroon. In the
Kalahari Desert of Southern Africa, the distinct people known as
the Bushmen (also "San", closely related to, but distinct from
"Hottentots") have long been present. The San are physically
distinct from other Africans and are the indigenous people of
southern Africa. Pygmies are the pre-Bantu indigenous peoples of
central Africa.9990" Africa: Developed Countries' Leverage On the
Continent". AllAfrica.com. February 7, 2008. 91" Africa, China's
new frontier". Times Online. February 10, 2008. 92" DR Congo poll
crucial for Africa". BBC News. November 16, 2006. 93" China
tightens grip on Africa with $4.4bn lifeline for Guinea junta". The
Times. October 13, 2009. 94" The African Decade?". Ilmas Futehally.
Strategic Foresight Group 95" China and Africa: Stronger Economic
Ties Mean More Migration". By Malia Politzer, Migration Information
Source. August 2008. 96"Africa Population Dynamics". .
97Population. Western Kentucky University. 98Africa's population
now 1 billion. AfricaNews. August 25, 2009. 99Pygmies struggle to
survive in war zone where abuse is routine . Times Online. December
16, 2004.
The peoples of North Africa comprise two main Semitic groups;
Berber and Arabic-speaking peoples in the west, and Egyptians and
Libyans in the east. These peoples have always been ethnically,
culturally, physically, historically and linguistically far more
closely related to the Semites of the Middle East than to the
Africans of Sub Saharan Africa. The Arabs who arrived in the
seventh century introduced the Arabic language and Islam to North
Africa. The Semitic Phoenicians (who founded Carthage) and Hyksos,
the IndoIranian Alans, the Indo- European Greeks, Romans and
Vandals settled in North Africa as well. Berbers still make up the
majority in Morocco, while they are a significant minority within
Algeria. They are also present in Tunisia and Libya.100 The Semitic
Tuareg and other often-nomadic peoples are the principal
inhabitants of the Saharan interior of North Africa. Nubians are a
Nilo-Saharan-speaking group (though many also speak Arabic), who
developed an ancient civilisation in northeast Africa. Some
Ethiopian and Eritrean groups (like the Amhara and Tigrayans,
collectively known as "Habesha") speak languages from the Semitic
branch of the Afro-Asiatic linguistic family (due to invasion and
settlement in the region by Semitic peoples from North Africa and
Arabia), while the Oromo and Somali speak languages from the
Cushitic branch of Afro-Asiatic. Sudan is divided between a mostly
Muslim Nubian and Beja north and a Christian and animist Nilotic
south, with Mauritania somewhat similarly structured. Some areas of
East Africa, particularly the island of Zanzibar and the Kenyan
island of Lamu, have also received Arab Muslim and Southwest Asian
settlers and merchants throughout the Middle Ages and in
antiquity.101 Prior to the decolonization movements of the
post-World War II era, Europeans were represented in every part of
Africa.102 Decolonisation during the 1960s and 1970s often resulted
in the mass emigration of Europeandescended settlers out of Africa
especially from Algeria and Morocco (1.6 million pieds-noirs in
North Africa),103 Kenya, Congo,104 Rhodesia, Mozambique and
Angola.105 By the end of 1977, more than one million Portuguese
were thought to have returned from Africa.106 Nevertheless, White
Africans remain an important minority in many African states,
particularly South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Runion.107 The
African country with the largest White African population is South
Africa.108 The Afrikaners, the Anglo-Africans (of British origin)
and the Coloureds are the largest European-descended groups in
Africa today.
100Q&A: The Berbers. BBC News. March 12, 2004. 101The Story
of Africa. BBC World Service. 102"We Want Our Country" (3 of 10).
Time. November 5, 1965 103Raimondo Cagiano De Azevedo (1994). "
Migration and development co-operation.". Council of Europe. p.25.
ISBN 9287126119 104Jungle Shipwreck. Time. July 25, 1960 105Flight
from Angola, The Economist , August 16, 1975 106Portugal -
Emigration, Eric Solsten, ed. Portugal: A Country Study.
Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1993. 107Holm, John A.
(1989). Pidgins and Creoles: References survey. Cambridge
University Press. p. 394. ISBN 0521359406. 108South Africa: People:
Ethnic Groups. World Factbook of CIA
European colonization also brought sizable groups of Asians,
particularly people from the Indian subcontinent, to British
colonies. Large Indian communities are found in South Africa, and
smaller ones are present in Kenya, Tanzania, and some other
southern and East African countries. The large Indian community in
Uganda was expelled by the dictator Idi Amin in 1972, though many
have since returned. The islands in the Indian Ocean are also
populated primarily by people of Asian origin, often mixed with
Africans and Europeans. The Malagasy people of Madagascar are an
Austronesian people, but those along the coast are generally mixed
with Bantu, Arab, Indian and European origins. Malay and Indian
ancestries are also important components in the group of people
known in South Africa as Cape Coloureds (people with origins in two
or more races and continents). During the 20th century, small but
economically important communities of Lebanese and Chinese109 have
also developed in the larger coastal cities of West and East
Africa, respectively.110
LanguagesBy most estimates, well over a thousand languages
(UNESCO has estimated around two thousand) are spoken in Africa.111
Most are of African origin, though some are of European or Asian
origin. Africa is the most multilingual continent in the world, and
it is not rare for individuals to fluently speak not only multiple
African languages, but one or more European ones as well. There are
four major language families indigenous to Africa. The Afro-Asiatic
languages are a language family of about 240 languages and 285
million people widespread throughout the Horn of Africa, North
Africa, the Sahel, and Southwest Asia. The Nilo-Saharan language
family consists of more than a hundred languages spoken by 30
million people. Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken by Nilotic tribes
in Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, and northern Tanzania. The
Niger-Congo language family covers much of Sub-Saharan Africa and
is probably the largest language family in the world in terms of
different languages. The Khoisan languages number about fifty and
are spoken in Southern Africa by approximately 120,000 people. Many
of the Khoisan languages are endangered. The Khoi and San peoples
are considered the original inhabitants of this part of Africa.
109 110" Lebanese Immigrants Boost West African Commerce", By
Naomi Schwarz, VOANews.com, July 10, 2007 111"Africa". UNESCO.
2005. Archived from the original on June 2, 2008. . Retrieved
2009-0301.
Following the end of colonialism, nearly all African countries
adopted official languages that originated outside the continent,
although several countries also granted legal recognition to
indigenous languages (such as Swahili, Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa). In
numerous countries, English and French (see African French) are
used for communication in the public sphere such as government,
commerce, education and the media. Arabic, Portuguese, Afrikaans,
Malagasy and Spanish are examples of languages that trace their
origin to outside of Africa, and that are used by millions of
Africans today, both in the public and private spheres. Prior to
World War I, Italian and German were used in certain areas
also.
CultureSome aspects of traditional African cultures have become
less practiced in recent years as a result of years of neglect and
suppression by colonial and post-colonial regimes. There is now a
resurgence in the attempts to rediscover and revalourise African
traditional cultures, under such movements as the African
Renaissance, led by Thabo Mbeki, Afrocentrism, led by a group of
scholars, including Molefi Asante, as well as the increasing
recognition of traditional spiritualism through decriminalization
of Vodou and other forms of spirituality. In recent years,
traditional African culture has become synonymous with rural
poverty and subsistence farming.
Visual art and architectureAfrican art and architecture reflect
the diversity of African cultures. The oldest existing examples of
art from Africa are 82,000-year-old beads made from Nassarius
shells that were found in the Aterian levels at Grotte des Pigeons,
Taforalt, Morocco. The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt was the
world's tallest structure for 4,000 years, until the completion of
Lincoln Cathedral around the year 1300. The stone ruins of Great
Zimbabwe are also noteworthy for their architecture, and the
complexity of monolithic churches at Lalibela, Ethiopia, of which
the Church of Saint George is representative.
Music and danceEgypt has long been a cultural focus of the Arab
world, while remembrance of the rhythms of sub-Saharan Africa, in
particular West Africa, was transmitted through the Atlantic slave
trade to modern samba, blues, jazz, reggae, hip hop, and rock. The
1950s through the 1970s saw a conglomeration of these various
styles with the popularization of Afrobeat and Highlife music.
Modern music of the continent includes the highly complex choral
singing of southern Africa and the dance rhythms of the musical
genre of soukous, dominated by the music of the Democratic Republic
of Congo. Indigenous musical and dance traditions of Africa are
maintained by oral traditions, and they are distinct from the music
and dance styles of North Africa and Southern Africa. Arab
influences are visible in North African music and dance and, in
Southern Africa, Western influences are apparent due to
colonisation.
SportsFifty-three African countries have football (soccer) teams
in the Confederation of African Football, while Cameroon, Nigeria,
Senegal, and Ghana have advanced to the knockout stage of recent
FIFA World Cups. South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup tournament,
becoming the first African country to do so. According to FIFA
ranking, Egypt currently has the best soccer team in Africa. Their
team has won the African Cup 7 times, and a record-making 3 times
in a row. Cricket is popular in some African nations. South Africa
and Zimbabwe have Test status, while Kenya is the leading non-test
team in One-Day International cricket and has attained permanent
One-Day International status. The three countries jointly hosted
the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Namibia is the other African country to
have played in a World Cup. Morocco in northern Africa has also
hosted the 2002 Morocco Cup, but the national team has never
qualified for a major tournament. Rugby is a popular sport in South
Africa.
ReligionAfricans profess a wide variety of religious beliefs 112
and statistics on religious affiliation are difficult to come by
since they are too sensitive a topic for governments with mixed
populations.113 According to the World Book Encyclopedia, Islam is
the largest religion in Africa, followed by Christianity. According
to Encyclopedia Britannica, 45% of the population are Muslims, 40%
are Christians and less than 15% continue to follow traditional
African religions. A small number of Africans are Hindu, Baha'i, or
have beliefs from the Judaic tradition. Examples of African Jews
are the Beta Israel, Lemba peoples and the Abayudaya of Eastern
Uganda. There is also a small minority of Africans who are
non-religious.
Territories and regionsThe countries in this table are
categorised according to the scheme for geographic subregions used
by the United Nations, and data included are per sources in
cross-referenced articles. Where they differ, provisos are clearly
indicated. Name of Area 114 region and (km) territory, with flag
Eastern Africa: 6,384,904 Population (2009 est) Density (per km)
Capital
except where noted
316,053,651
49.5
112"African Religion on the Internet" , Stanford University
113Onishi, Normitsu (November 1, 2001). "Rising Muslim Power in
Africa Causing Unrest in Nigeria and Elsewhere". The New York Times
Company. . Retrieved 2009-03-01. 114Continental regions as per UN
categorisations/map.
Burundi Comoros Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya
27,830 2,170 23,000 121,320 1,127,127 582,650
8,988,091115 752,438116 516,055117 5,647,168118 85,237,338119
39,002,772120 20,653,556121 14,268,711122 1,284,264123
223,765124
322.9 346.7 22.4 46.5 75.6 66.0 35.1 120.4 629.5 489.7
Bujumbura Moroni Djibouti Asmara Addis Ababa Nairobi
Antananarivo Lilongwe Port Louis Mamoudzou
Madagascar587,040 Malawi Mauritius Mayotte (France) 801,590
Mozambique Runion (France) Rwanda 26,338 2,512 118,480 2,040
374
21,669,278125
27.0
Maputo
743,981(2002) 296.2
Saint-Denis
10,473,282126 87,476127 9,832,017128
397.6 192.2 15.4
Kigali Victoria Mogadishu
Seychelles 455 Somalia 637,657
115USCensusBureau:Countries and Areas Ranked by Population: 2009
119 118 117 116 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128
Tanzania Uganda Zambia
945,087 236,040 752,614
41,048,532129 32,369,558130 11,862,740131 121,585,754
12,799,293132 18,879,301133 4,511,488134
43.3 137.1 15.7 18.4 10.3 39.7 7.2
Dodoma Kampala Lusaka
Middle Africa:6,613,253 Angola Cameroon Central African Republic
Chad Congo 1,284,000 342,000 1,246,700 475,440 622,984
Luanda Yaound Bangui
10,329,208135 4,012,809136 68,692,542137
8.0 11.7 29.2
N'Djamena Brazzaville Kinshasa
Democratic 2,345,410 Republic of the Congo Equatorial Guinea
Gabon So Tom and Prncipe Northern Africa: Algeria129 130 131 132
133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141
28,051
633,441138
22.6
Malabo
267,667 1,001
1,514,993139 212,679140
5.6 212.4
Libreville So Tom
8,533,021 2,381,740
211,087,622 34,178,188141
24.7 14.3 Algiers
Egypt142 Libya Morocco Sudan Tunisia Sahrawi Arab Democratic
Republic148
1,001,450 1,759,540 446,550 2,505,810 163,610 266,000
83,082,869143 82.9 total, Asia 1.4m 6,310,434144 34,859,364145
41,087,825146 10,486,339147 405,210149 3.6 78.0 16.4 64.1 1.5
Cairo Tripoli Rabat Khartoum Tunis El Aain
Spanish and Portuguese territories in Northern Africa: Canary
Islands (Spain)150 Ceuta (Spain)151 Madeira Islands
(Portugal)152142Egypt is generally considered a transcontinental
country in Northern Africa (UN region) and Western Asia; population
and area figures are for African portion only, west of the Suez
Canal. 143 144 145 146 147 148The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
is recognized as a sovereign state by the African Union, however,
Morocco claims the entirety of the country as Morocco's own
Southern Provinces, and has occupied most of its territory since it
declared its independence from Spain in 1976. Morocco's occupation
and annexation of this territory has not been recognized
internationally. 149 150The Spanish Canary Islands, of which Las
Palmas de Gran Canaria are Santa Cruz de Tenerife are co-capitals,
are often considered part of Northern Africa due to their relative
proximity to Morocco and Western Sahara; population and area
figures are for 2001. 151The Spanish exclave of Ceuta is surrounded
on land by Morocco in Northern Africa; population and area figures
are for 2001. 152The Portuguese Madeira Islands are often
considered part of Northern Africa due to their relative proximity
to Morocco; population and area figures are for 2001.
7,492
1,694,477(2001226.2 )
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
20
71,505(2001)
3,575.2
797
245,000(2001) 307.4
Funchal
Melilla (Spain)153 Southern Africa: Botswana Lesotho Zimbabwe
Namibia South Africa Swaziland Western Africa: Benin Burkina
Faso
12
66,411(2001)
5,534.2
2,693,418 600,370 30,355 390,580 825,418 1,219,912
56,406,762 1,990,876154 2,130,819155 11,392,629156 2,108,665157
49,052,489158
20.9 3.3 70.2 29.1 2.6 40.2 Gaborone Maseru Harare Windhoek
Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Pretoria159 Mbabane
17,363 6,144,013 112,620 274,200
1,123,913160 296,186,492 8,791,832161 15,746,232162
64.7 48.2 78.0 57.4
Porto-Novo Ouagadougou
Cape Verde 4,033 Cte d'Ivoire 322,460
429,474163 20,617,068164
107.3 63.9
Praia Abidjan,165 Yamoussoukro
153The Spanish exclave of Melilla is surrounded on land by
Morocco in Northern Africa; population and area figures are for
2001. 154 155 156 157 158 159Bloemfontein is the judicial capital
of South Africa, while Cape Town is its legislative seat, and
Pretoria is the country's administrative seat. 160 161 162 163 164
165Yamoussoukro is the official capital of Cte d'Ivoire, while
Abidjan is the de facto seat.
Gambia Ghana Guinea GuineaBissau Liberia Mali
11,300 239,460 245,857 36,120
1,782,893166 23,832,495167 10,057,975168 1,533,964169
157.7 99.5 40.9 42.5
Banjul Accra Conakry Bissau
111,370 1,240,000
3,441,790170 12,666,987171 3,129,486172 15,306,252173
30.9 10.2 3.0 12.1
Monrovia Bamako Nouakchott Niamey Abuja Jamestown
Mauritania 1,030,700 Niger Nigeria Saint Helena, Ascension and
Tristan da Cunha (UK) Senegal Sierra Leone Togo Africa Total 56,785
30,368,609 196,190 71,740 1,267,000 923,768 410
158,259,000174 161.5 7,637175 14.4
13,711,597176 6,440,053177
69.9 89.9
Dakar Freetown
6,019,877178
106.0
Lom
1,001,320,281 33.0
166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178
See alsoUrbanization in Africa Highest mountain peaks of Africa
Lists: List of topics related to Africa List of African countries
by population List of cities in Africa
Further readingAsante, Molefi (2007). The History of Africa.
USA: Routledge. ISBN 0415771390. Clark, J. Desmond (1970). The
Prehistory of Africa. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN
9780500020692. Crowder, Michael (1978). The Story of Nigeria.
London: Faber. ISBN 9780571049479. Davidson, Basil (1966). The
African past; chronicles from antiquity to modern times.
Harmondsworth: Penguin. OCLC 2016817. Gordon, April A.; Donald L.
Gordon (1996). Understanding contemporary Africa. Boulder: Lynne
Rienner Publishers. ISBN 9781555875473. Khapoya, Vincent B. (1998).
The African experience: an introduction. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall. ISBN 9780137458523. Naipaul, V. S.. The Masque of
Africa: Glimpses of African Belief. Picador, 2010. ISBN
978030472050
External linksGeneral information Africa at the Open Directory
Project African & Middle Eastern Reading Room from the United
States Library of Congress Africa South of the Sahara from Stanford
University The Index on Africa from The Norwegian Council for
Africa Africa from The Columbia Gazetteer of the World Online Aluka
Digital library of scholarly resources from and about Africa
Atlas of Our Changing Environment: Africa from United Nations
Environment Programme Africa Interactive Map from the United States
Army Africa
Wikimedia Atlas of Africa History African Kingdoms The Story of
Africa from BBC World Service Africa Policy Information Center
(APIC) Charles Finch: Nile Genesis News media allAfrica.com current
news, events and statistics Focus on Africa magazine from BBC World
Service Travel Africa travel guide from Wikitravel bjn:Aprika
gag:Afrika
History of AfricaThe history of Africa begins with the first
emergence of Homo sapiens in East Africa, continuing into the
present as a patchwork of diverse and politically developing nation
states. The history of Africa has been a challenge for researchers
in the field of African studies due to the scarcity of written
sources in large parts of SubSaharan Africa. Scholarly techniques
such as the recording of oral history, historical linguistics,
archaeology and genetics have been crucial.
Prehistory
PaleolithicAccording to paleontology, early hominids' skull
anatomy was similar to their close cousins, the great African
forest apes, the gorilla and chimpanzee, but the hominids had
adopted a bipedal locomotion and freed their hands. This gave them
a crucial advantage, enabling them to live in both forested areas
and on the open savanna at a time when Africa was drying up and the
savanna was encroaching on forested areas. This occurred 10 to 5
million years ago.179 By 3 million years ago, several
australopithecine (southern ape) hominid species had developed
throughout southern, eastern and central Africa. They were tool
users, not makers of tools. They scavenged for meat and were
omnivores.180 By approximately 2.3 million years ago, primitive
stone tools were first used to scavenge kills made by other
predators and to harvest carrion and marrow for their bones. In
hunting, Homo habilis was probably not capable of competing with
large predators, and was still more prey than hunter. H. habilis
probably did steal eggs from nests, and may have been able to catch
small game, and weakened larger prey (cubs and older animals). The
tools were classed as Oldowan.181 Around 1.8 million years ago Homo
ergaster first appeared in the fossil record in Africa. From Homo
ergaster, Homo erectus (upright man) evolved 1.5 million years ago.
Some of the earlier representatives of this species were still
fairly small-brained and used primitive stone tools, much like H.
habilis. The brain later grew in size, and H. erectus eventually
developed a more complex stone tool technology called the
Acheulean. Possibly the first hunters, H. erectus mastered the art
of making fire, and was the first hominid to leave Africa,
colonizing most of the Old World, and perhaps later giving rise to
Homo floresiensis. Although some recent writers suggest that Homo
georgicus was the first and most primitive hominid to ever live
outside Africa, many scientists consider H. georgicus to be an
early and primitive member of the H. erectus species.182183 The
fossil record shows Homo sapiens living in southern and eastern
Africa at least 100,000 and possibly 150,000 years ago. Around
40,000 years ago, the species' expansion out of Africa launched the
colonization of the planet by modern human beings. By 10,000 BCE,
Homo sapiens has spread to all corners of the world. Their
migration is traced by linguistic, cultural and (increasingly)
computer-analyzed genetic evidence.184185186179Shillington, Kevin
(2005), History of Africa, p. 2. Rev. 2nd ed. New York: Palgrave
Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-59957-8. 180Shillington (2005), p. 2.
181Shillington (2005), p. 2-3. 182Shillington (2005), p. 3.
183Ehret, Christopher (2002), The Civilizations of Africa, p. 22.
Charlottesville: University of Virginia. ISBN 0-8139-2085-X. 184
185The genetic studies by Luca Cavalli-Sforza are considered
pioneering in tracing the spread of modern humans from Africa.
186Sarah A. Tishkoff,* Floyd A. Reed, Franoise R. Friedlaender,
Christopher Ehret, Alessia Ranciaro, Alain Froment, Jibril B.
Hirbo, Agnes A. Awomoyi, Jean-Marie Bodo, Ogobara Doumbo, Muntaser
Ibrahim, Abdalla T. Juma, Maritha J. Kotze, Godfrey Lema, Jason H.
Moore, Holly Mortensen, Thomas B. Nyambo, Sabah A. Omar, Kweli
Powell, Gideon S. Pretorius, Michael W. Smith, Mahamadou A. Thera,
Charles Wambebe, James L. Weber, Scott
Emergence of agricultureAround 16,000 BCE, from the Red Sea
hills to the northern Ethiopian highlands, nuts, grasses and tubers
were being collected for food. By 13,00011,000 BCE, people began
collecting wild grains. This spread to southwest Asia, which
domesticated its wild grains, wheat and barley. Between 10,000 and
8,000 BCE, northeast Africa was cultivating wheat and barley and
raising sheep and cattle from southwest Asia. A wet climatic phase
in Africa turned the Ethiopian highlands into a mountain forest.
Omotic speakers domesticated enset around 6500-5500 BCE. Around
7000 BCE, the settlers of the Ethiopian highlands domesticated
donkeys, and by 4000 BCE domesticated donkeys had spread to
southwest Asia. Cushitic speakers, partially turning away from
cattle herding, domesticated teff and finger millet between 5500
and 3500 BCE.187188 In the steppes and savannahs of the Sahara and
Sahel, the Nilo-Saharan speakers started to collect and domesticate
wild millet and sorghum between 8000 and 6000 BCE. Later, gourds,
watermelons, castor beans, and cotton were also collected and
domesticated. The people started capturing wild cattle and holding
them in circular thorn hedges, resulting in domestication.189 They
also started making pottery. Fishing, using bone tipped harpoons,
became a major activity in the numerous streams and lakes formed
from the increased rains. In West Africa, the wet phase ushered in
expanding rainforest and wooded savannah from Senegal to Cameroon.
Between 9000 and 5000 BCE, NigerCongo speakers domesticated the oil
palm and raffia palm. Two seed plants, black-eyed peas and
voandzeia(African groundnuts) were domesticated, followed by okra
and kola nuts. Since most of the plants grew in the forest, the
Niger-Congo speakers invented polish stone axes for clearing
forest.190 Most of Southern Africa was occupied by pygmy peoples
and Khoisan who engaged in hunting and gathering. Some of the
oldest rock art was produced by them.191 Just prior to Saharan
desertification, the communities that developed south of Egypt, in
what is now modern day Sudan, were full participants in the
Neolithic revolution and lived a settled to semi-nomadic lifestyle,
with domesticated plants and animals.192 It has been suggested that
megaliths found at Nabta Playa are examples of the world's first
known archaeoastronomical devices, predating Stonehenge by some
1000 years.[2] The sociocultural complexity observed at Nabta Playa
and expressed by different levels of authority within the society
there has been suggested as forming the basis for the structure of
both the Neolithic society at Nabta and the Old Kingdom of
Egypt.193M. Williams. The Genetic Structure and History of Africans
and African Americans. Published 30 April 2009 on Science Express.
187Diamond, Jared (1997), Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of
Human Societies, pp. 126127. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
ISBN 0-393-03891-2. 188Ehret (2002), pp. 64-75, 80-81, 87-88.
189Ehret (2002), pp. 64-75. 190Ehret (2002), pp. 82-84. 191Ehret
(2002), pp. 94, 95. 192Dr. Stuart Tyson Smith 193Late Neolithic
megalithic structures at Nabta Playa - Wendorf (1998)
By 5000 BCE, Africa entered a dry phase, and the climate of the
Sahara region gradually became drier. The population trekked out of
the Sahara region in all directions, including towards the Nile
Valley below the Second Cataract, where they made permanent or
semipermanent settlements. A major climatic recession occurred,
lessening the heavy and persistent rains in central and eastern
Africa. Since then, dry conditions have prevailed in eastern
Africa.
MetallurgyThe first metals to be smelted in Africa were lead,
copper, and bronze in the fourth millennium BCE.194 Smelting of
copper and its alloy arose in northern Africa, from southwest Asia
ro the Ar Mountains north of Nigeria. Copper was already being
smelted in Egypt during the predynastic period, and bronze came
into use not long after 3000 BCE at the latest195 in Egypt and
Nubia. Nubia was a major source of copper, as well as gold.196 The
use of gold and silver in Egypt also dates back to the predynastic
period.197198 In the region of the Ar Mountains in Niger, copper
was being smelted independently of developments in the Nile valley
between 3000 and 2500 BCE. The process used was not well developed,
indicating that it was not brought from outside the region; it
became more mature by about the 1500 BCE.199 By the 1st millennium
BCE, iron-working had been introduced in northwestern Africa,
Egypt, and Nubia.200 In 670 BCE, Nubians were pushed out of Egypt
by Assyrians using iron weapons, after which the use of iron in the
Nile valley became widespread. The notion of iron spreading to
Sub-Saharan Africa via the Nubian city of Meroe is no longer widely
accepted. Metalworking in West Africa has been dated as early as
2500 BCE at Egaro west of Termit in Niger, and ironworking was
practiced there by 1500 BCE.201 In addition, iron smelting was
developed in the area between Lake Chad and the African Great Lakes
between 1000 and 600 BCE, long before it reached Egypt. Before 500
BCE, Nok culture in the Jos Plateau was already smelting
iron.202203
Antiquity194Nicholson, Paul T, and Ian Shaw (2000), Ancient
Egyptian Materials and Technology, p. 168. Cambridge University
Press. ISBN 978-0-521-45257-1. 195Nicholson and Shaw (2000), pp.
149160 196http://wysinger.homestead.com/nubians.html 197Nicholson
and Shaw (2000), pp. 161165, 170. 198Ehret (2002), pp. 136-137.
199Ehret (2002), pp. 136, 137. 200Martin and O'Meara. "Africa, 3rd
Ed." Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1995. 201Iron in Africa:
Revising the History, UNESCO Aux origines de la mtallurgie du fer
en Afrique, Une anciennet mconnue: Afrique de l'Ouest et Afrique
centrale. 202Shillington (2005), pp. 37-39. 203O'Brien, Patrick
Karl (2002), Atlas of World History, pp. 22-23. Oxford: Oxford
University Press. ISBN 0-19-521921-X.
EgyptAfter the desertification of the Sahara, settlement became
concentrated in the Nile Valley, where numerous sacral chiefdoms
appeared. The regions with the largest population pressure were in
the delta region of lower Egypt, in upper Egypt, and also along the
second and third cataracts of the Dongola reach of the Nile in
Nubia. This population pressure and growth was brought about by the
cultivation of southwest Asian crops, including wheat and barley,
and the raising of sheep, goats, and cattle. Population growth led
to competition for farm land and the need to regulate farming.
Regulation was established by the formation of bureaucracies among
sacral chiefdoms. The first and most powerful of the chiefdoms was
Ta-Seti, founded around 3500 BCE. The idea of sacral chiefdom
spread throughout upper and lower Egypt.204 Later consolidation of
the chiefdoms into broader political entities began to occur in
upper and lower Egypt, culminating into the unification of Egypt
into one political entity by Narmer (Menes) in 3100 BCE. Instead
being viewed as a sacral chief, he became a divine king. The
henotheism, or worship of a single god within a polytheistic
system, practiced in the sacral chiefdoms along upper and lower
Egypt, became the polytheistic religion of ancient Egypt.
Bureaucracies became more centralized under the pharaohs, run by
viziers, governors, tax collectors, generals, artists, and
technicians. They engaged in tax collecting, organizing of labor
for major public works, and building irrigation systems, pyramids,
temples, and canals. During the Fourth Dynasty (2620-2480 BCE),
long distance trade was developed, with the Levant for timber, with
Nubia for gold and skins, with Punt for frankincense, and also with
the western Libyan territories. For most of the Old Kingdom, Egypt
developed her fundamental systems, institutions and culture, always
through the central bureaucracy and by the divinity of the
Pharaoh.205 After the third millennium BCE, Egypt started to extend
direct military and political control over her southern and western
neighbors. By 2200 BCE, the Old Kingdom's stability was undermined
by rivalry among the governors of the nomes who challenged the
power of pharaohs and by invasions of Asiatics into the delta. The
First Intermediate Period had begun, a time of political division
and uncertainty.206
204Ehret (2002), pp. 143-46. 205Davidson, Basil (1991), Africa
In History: Themse and Outlines, pp. 30-33. Revised and expanded
ed. New York: Simon & Schuster ISBN 0-684-82667-4 206Davidson
(1991), pp. 30-33.
By 2130, the period of stagnation was endedby Mentuhotep, the
first Pharaoh of the 11th dynasty, and the emergence of the Middle
Kingdom. Pyramid building resumed, long-distance trade re-emerged,
and the center of power moved from Memphis to Thebes. Connections
with the southern regions of Kush, Wawat and Irthet at the second
cataract were made stronger. Then came the Second Intermediate
Period, with the invasion of the Hyksos on horse-drawn chariots and
utilizing bronze weapons, a technology not yet seen in Egypt.
Horse-drawn chariots soon spread to the west in the inhabitable
Sahara and North Africa. The Hyksos failed to hold on to their
Egyptian territories and were absorbed by Egyptian society. This
eventually led to one of Egypt's most powerful phases, the New
Kingdom (1580-1080 BCE), with the Eighteenth Dynasty. Egypt became
a superpower controlling Nubia and Palestine while exerting
political influence on the Libyans to the West and on the
Mediterranean.207 As before, the New Kingdom ended with invasion
from the west by Libyan princes, leading to the Third Intermediate
Period. Beginning with Shoshenq I, the Twenty-second Dynasty was
established. It ruled for two centuries.208 To the south, Nubian
independence and strength was being reasserted. This reassertion
led to the conquest of Egypt by Nubia, begun by Kashta and
completed by Piye (Pianhky, 751-730 BCE) and Shabaka (716-695 BCE).
This was the birth of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt. The
Nubians tried to reestablish Egyptian traditions and customs. They
ruled Egypt for a hundred years. This was ended by an Assyrian
invasion, with Taharqa experiencing the full might of Assyrian iron
weapons. The Nubian pharaoh Tantamani was the last of the Twenty
Fifth Dynasty.209 When the Assyrians and Nubians left, a new
Twenty-sixth Dynasty emerged from Sais. It lasted until 525 BCE,
when Egypt was invaded by the Persians. Unlike the Assyrians, the
Persians stayed. In 332, Egypt was conquered by Alexander of
Macedon. This was the beginning of the Ptolemaic dynasty, which
ended with Roman conquest in 30 BCE. Pharaonic Egypt had come to an
end.210
NubiaAround 3500 BCE, one of the first sacral kingdoms to arise
in the Nile was TaSeti, located in northern Nubia. Ta-Seti was a
powerful sacral kingdom in the Nile Valley at the 1st and 2nd
cataracts that exerted an influence over nearby chiefdoms. Based on
its pictorial representation, it claimed to have ruled over Upper
Egypt. Ta-Seti traded as far as Syro-Palestine, as well as with
Egypt. Ta-Seti exported gold, copper, ostrich feathers, ebony and
ivory to the Old Kingdom. By the 32nd century BCE, Ta-Seti was in
decline. After the unification of Egypt by Narmer in 3100 BCE,
Ta-Seti was invaded by the Pharaoh Hor-Aha of the First Dynasty,
destroying the final remnants of the kingdom. Ta-Seti is affiliated
with A-Group culture known to archaeology.211207 208 209 210
211Ehret (2002), pp. 144, 145.
Small sacral kingdoms continued to dot the Nubian portion of the
Nile for centuries after 3000 BCE. Around the latter part of the
third millennium, there was further consolidation of the sacral
kingdoms. Two kingdoms in particular emerged: the Sai kingdom,
immediately south of Egypt, and Kingdom of Kerma at the third
cataract. Sometime around the 18th century BCE, the Kingdom of
Kerma conquered the Kingdom of Sai, becoming a serious rival to
Egypt. Kerma occupied a territory from the first cataract to the
confluences of the Blue Nile, White Nile, and River Atbara. About
15751550 BCE, during the later part of the Seventeenth Dynasty, the
Kingdom of Kerma invaded Egypt.212 The Kingdom of Kerma also allied
itself with the Hyksos invasion of Egypt.213 Egypt eventually
re-energized under the Eigthteenth Dynasty and conquered the
Kingdom of Kerma or Kush, ruling it for almost 500 years. The
Kushites were Egyptianized during this period. By 1100 BCE, the
Egyptians had withdrawn from Kush. The region regained independence
and reasserted its culture. Kush built a new religion around Amun
and made Napata its spiritual center. In 730 BCE, the Kingdom of
Kush invaded Egypt, taking over Thebes and beginning the Nubian
Empire. The empire extended from Palestine to the confluences of
the Blue Nile, the White Nile, and River Atbara.214 In 760 BCE, the
Kushites were expelled from Egypt by iron-wielding Assyrians.
Later, the administrative capital was moved from Napata to Mere,
developing into a new Nubian culture. Initially Meroites were
highly Egyptianized, but they subsequently began to take on
distinctive features. Nubia became a center of iron-making and
cotton cloth manufacturing. Egyptian writing was replaced by the
Meroitic alphabet. The lion god Apedemak was added to the Egyptian
pantheon of gods. Trade links to the Red Sea increased, linking
Nubia with Mediterranean Greece and Rome. Its architecture and art
became more unique, with pictures of lions, ostriches, giraffes,
and elephants. Eventually with the rise of Aksum, Nubia's trade
links were broken and it suffered environmental degradation from
the tree cutting required for iron production. In 350 CE, the
Aksumite king Ezana brought Mere to an end.215
212Alberge, Dalya. Tomb Reveals Ancient Egypt's Humiliating
Secret, The Times{London}, 28 July 2003(Monday). 213Ehret (2002),
pp. 148-151. 214Shillington (2005), pp. 40-41. 215Shillington
(2005), pp. 42-45.
CarthageThe Egyptians referred to the people west of the Nile,
ancestral to the Berbers, as Libyans. The Libyans were
agriculturalists like the Mauri of Morocco and the Numidians of
central and eastern Algeria and Tunis. They were also nomadic,
having the horse, and occupied the arid pastures and desert, like
the Gaetuli. Berber desert nomads were typically in conflict with
Berber coastal agriculturalists.216 The Phoenicians were seamen of
the Mediterranean. They were in constant search for valuable metals
like copper, gold, tin, and lead. Soon they began to populate the
North African coast with settlements, trading and mixing with the
native Berber population. In 814 BCE, Phoenicians from Tyre
established the city of Carthage. By 600 BCE, Carthage had become a
major trading entity and power in the Mediterranean, largely due to
trade with tropical Africa. Carthage's prosperity fostered the
growth of the Berber kingdoms, Numidia and Mauretania. Around 500
BCE, Carthage provided a strong impetus for trade with sub-Saharan
Africa. Berber middlemen, who had maintained contacts with
sub-Saharan Africa since the desert had desiccated, utilized pack
animals to transfer products from oasis to oasis. Danger lurked
from the Garamantes of Fez, who raided caravans. Salt and metal
goods were traded for gold, slaves, beads, and ivory.217 The
Carthaginians were rivals to the Greeks and Romans. Carthage fought
three wars with Rome: the First Punic War (264 to 241 BCE), over
Sicily; the Second Punic War (218 BC to 201 BCE), in which Hannibal
invaded Europe; and the Third Punic War (149 B.C to 146 BCE).
Carthage lost the first two wars, and in the third it was
destroyed, becoming the Roman province of Africa, with the Berber
Kingdom of Numidia assisting Rome. The Roman province of Africa
became a major agricultural supplier of wheat, olives, and olive
oil to imperial Rome via exorbitant taxation. Two centuries later,
Rome brought the Berber kingdoms of Numidia and Mauretania under
its authority. In the 420s CE, Vandals invaded North Africa and
Rome lost her territories. The Berber kingdoms subsequently
regained their independence.218 Christianity gained a foothold in
Africa at Alexandria in the 1st century CE and spread to northwest
Africa. By 313 CE, with the Edict of Milan, all of Roman North
Africa was Christian. Egyptians adopted Monophysite Christianity
and formed the independent Coptic Church. Berbers adopted Donatist
Christianity. Both groups refused to accept the authority of the
Roman Church. In 642 CE, Arab Muslims conquered Byzantine Egypt,
and by 711 CE they had conquered all of North Africa. By the 10th
century, the majority of population of North Africa was
Muslim.219
216Iliffe, John (2007), Africans: The History of a Continent, p.
30. 2nd ed. New York:Cambridge University Press. ISBN
978-0-521-68297-8. 217Shillington (2005), pp. 63-65. 218Shillington
(2005), pp. 65. 219Shillington (2005), pp. 65-67, 72-75.
SomaliaIn antiquity, the ancestors of the Somali people were an
important link in the Horn of Africa connecting the region's
commerce with the rest of the ancient world. Somali sailors and
merchants were the main suppliers of frankincense, myrrh and
spices, all of which were valuable luxuries to the Ancient
Egyptians, Phoenicians, Mycenaeans and Babylonians.220221 In the
classical era, several flourishing Somali city-states such as
Opone, Mosyllon and Malao competed with the Sabaeans, Parthians and
Axumites for the rich Indo-Greco-Roman trade.222 The birth of Islam
opposite Somalia's Red Sea coast meant that Somali merchants and
sailors living on the Arabian Peninsula gradually came under the
influence of the new religion through their converted Arab Muslim
trading partners. With the migration of Muslim families from the
Islamic world to Somalia in the early centuries of Islam, and the
peaceful conversion of the Somali population by Somali Muslim
scholars in the following centuries, the ancient city-states
eventually transformed into Islamic Mogadishu, Berbera, Zeila,
Barawa and Merka, which were part of the Berber (the medieval Arab
term for the ancestors of the modern Somalis) civilization.223224
The city of Mogadishu came to be known as the City of Islam,225 and
controlled the East African gold trade for several
centuries.226
AksumAksumite Empire
220Phoenicia, pg. 199. 221Rose, Jeanne, and John Hulburd, The
Aromatherapy Book, p. 94. 222Vine, Peter, Oman in History, p. 324.
223David D. Laitin, Said S. Samatar, Somalia: Nation in Search of a
State, (Westview Press: 1987), p. 15. 224I.M. Lewis, A modern
history of Somalia: nation and state in the Horn of Africa, 2nd
edition, revised, illustrated, (Westview Press: 1988), p.20
225Brons, Maria (2003), Society, Security, Sovereignty and the
State in Somalia: From Statelessness to Statelessness?, p. 116.
226Morgan, W. T. W. (1969), East Africa: Its Peoples and Resources,
p. 18.
The earliest state in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia was D'mt,
dated around the eighth and 7th centuries BCE. D'mt traded through
the Red Sea with Egypt and the Mediterranean, providing
frankincense. By the fifth and 3rd centuries, D'mt had declined,
and several successor states took its place. Later there was
greater trade with southern Arabia, mainly with the port of Saba.
Adulis became an important commercial center in the Ethiopian
highlands. The interaction of the peoples in the two regions, the
southern Arabia Sabaeans and the northern Ethiopians, resulted in
the Ge'ez culture and language and eventual development of the
Ge'ez script. Trade links increased and expanded from the Red Sea
to the Mediterranean, with Egypt, Greece, and Rome, to the Black
Sea, and to Persia, India, and China. Aksum was known throughout
those lands. By the 5th century BCE, the region was very
prosperous, exporting ivory, hippopotamus hides, gold dust, spices,
and live elephants. It imported silver, gold, olive oil, and wine.
Aksum manufactured glass crystal, brass, and copper for export. A
powerful Aksum emerged, unifying parts of eastern Sudan, northern
Ethiopia (Tigre), and Eritrea. Its kings built stone palatial
buildings and were buried under megalithic monuments. By 300 CE,
Aksum was minting its own coins in silver and gold.227 In 331 CE,
King Ezana(320-350 CE) was converted to Monophysite Christianity
supposedly by Frumentius and Aedesius, who were stranded on the Red
Sea coast. Some scholars believed the process was more complex and
gradual than a simple conversion. Around 350, the time Ezana sacked
Meroe, the Syrian monastic tradition took root within the Ethiopian
church. 228 In the 6th century, Aksum was powerful enough to add
Saba on the Arabian peninsula to her empire. At the end of the 6th
century, the Persians pushed Aksum out of peninsula. With the
spread of Islam through western Asia and northern Africa, Aksum's
trading networks in the Mediterranean were closed. The Red Sea
trade diminished as it was diverted to the Persian Gulf and
dominated by Arabs, causing Aksum to decline. By 800 CE, the
capital was moved south, into the interior highlands, and Aksum was
much diminished. 229
West Africa and Bantu ExpansionIn the western Sahel, the rise of
settled communities was largely due to the domestication of millet
and sorghum. Archaeology points to sizable urban populations in
West Africa beginning in the 2nd millenium BCE. Symbiotic trade
relations developed before the trans-Saharan trade, in response to
the opportunities afforded by north-south diversity in ecosystems
across deserts, grasslands, and forests. The salt-starved
agriculturists received salt from the desert nomads. The
protein-starved desert nomads acquired meat and other foods from
pastoralists and farmers of the grasslands and from fishermen on
the Niger River. The forest dwellers provided furs and meat.230
227Collins, Robert O., and James M. Burns (2007), A History of
Sub-Saharan Africa, pp. 66-71. New York: Cambridge University
Press. ISBN 978-0-521-68708-9. 228Iliffe (2007), p. 41.
229Shillington (2005), pp. 66-71. 230Collins and Burns (2007), pp.
79-80.
Tichit(Dhar Tichitt) was prominent among the early urban
centers, dated to 2000 BCE, in present day Mauritania. About 500
hundred stone settlements litter the region in what was once a
rainier Sahara. Its inhabitants fished and grew millet. Around 300
BCE, the region became more desiccated and the settlements began to
decline, most likely relocating to Koumbi Saleh. From the type of
architecture and pottery, it is believed that Tichit was related to
the subsequent Ghana Empire. Old Jenne (Djenne) began to be settled
around 300 BCE, producing iron and with sizable population,
evidenced in crowded cemeteries. Living structures were made of
sun-dried mud. By 250 BCE, Jenne was a large, thriving market
town.231232 Farther south, in central Nigeria, around 1000 BCE, the
Nok culture developed on the Jos Plateau. It was a highly
centralized community. The Nok people produced miniature lifelike
representations in terracotta, including human heads, elephants,
and other animals. By 500 BCE, they were smelting iron. By 200 CE,
the Nok culture had vanished. Based on stylistic similarities with
Nok terracottas, the bronze figurines of Ife and Benin are believed
to be continuation of the tradition.233 The Bantu expansion was a
critical movement of people in African history and the settling of
the continent. Bantu is a branch of the Niger-Congo family. "Bantu"
comes from the root word ntu, which means people. The expansion
began in the second millennium BCE, from Cameroon. Its first thrust
was eastward to the Great Lakes region in the second millennium
BCE. In the first millennium BCE, Bantu languages spread from the
Great Lakes to southern and east Africa. An early expansion was
south to the upper Zambezi valley in the 2nd century BCE. Then,
Bantu speakers pushed westward to the savannahs of present-day
Angola and eastward into Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe in the 1st
century CE. The second thrust from the Great Lakes was eastward,
2,000 years ago, expanding to the Indian Ocean coast and Tanzania.
The eastern group eventually met the southern migrants from the
Great Lakes in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Both groups continued
southward, with eastern group continuing to Mozambique and reaching
Maputo in the 2nd century CE, and rexpanding as far as Durban. By
the later first millennium CE, the expansion had reached the Great
Kei River of South Africa. Sorghum, a major Bantu crop, could not
thrive under the regime of winter rainfall of Namibia and the
western Cape. Khoisan people inhabited the remaining parts of
southern Africa. The Bantu expansion was complex, gradual, and not
simply linear in detail.234
MedievalNorth Africa
231Iliffe, John (2007). pp. 49,50 232Collins and Burns (2007),
p. 78. 233Shillington, Kevin (2005), p. 39. 234Iliffe (2007), pp.
34, 35.
Maghreb (the West)By the 9th century CE, the unity brought about
by the Islamic conquest of North Africa and the expansion of
Islamic culture came to an end. Conflict arose as to who should be
the successor of the prophet. The Umayyads had initially taken
control of the Caliphate, with their capital at Damascus. Later,
the Abbasids had taken control, moving the capital to Baghdad. The
Berber people, being independent in spirit and hostile to outside
interference in their affairs and to Arab exclusivity in orthodox
Islam, adopted Shi'ite and Kharijite Islam, both considered
unorthodox and hostile to the authority of the Abbasid Caliphate.
Numerous Kharijite kingdoms came and fell during the eighth and 9th
centuries, asserting their independence from Baghdad. In the early
10th century, Shi'ite groups from Syria, claiming descent from
Muhammad's daughter Fatima, founded the Fatimid Dynasty in the
Maghreb. By 950, they had conquered all of the Maghreb, and by 969
all of Egypt. They had immediately broken away from Baghdad.235 In
an attempt to bring about a purer form of Islam among the Sanhaja
Berbers, Abdallah ibn Yasin founded the Almoravid movement in
present-day Mauritania and Western Sahara. The Sanhaja Berbers,
like the Soninke, practiced an indigenous religion along side
Islam. Abdallah ibn Yasin found ready converts in the Lamtuna
Sanhaja, who were dominated by the Soninke in the south and the
Zenata Berbers in the north. By the 1040s, all of the Lamtuna was
converted to the Almoravid movement. With the help of Yahya ibn
Umar and his brother Abu Bakr ibn Umar, the sons of the Lamtuna
chief, the Almoravids created an empire extending from the Sahel to
the Mediterranean. After the death of Abdallah ibn Yassin and Yahya
ibn Umar, Abu Bakr split the empire in half, between himself and
Yusuf ibn Tashfin, because it was too big to be ruled by one
individual. Abu Bakr took the south to continue fighting the
Soninke, and Yusuf ibn Tashfin took the north, expanding it to
southern Spain. The death of Abu Bakr in 1087 saw a breakdown of
unity and increase military dissension in the south. This caused a
re-expansion of the Soninke. The Almoravids were once held
responsible for bringing down the Ghana Empire in 1076, but this
view is no longer credited.236 During the tenth through 13th
centuries, there was a large-scale movement of bedouins out of the
Arabian Peninsula. About 1050, a quarter of a million Arab nomads
from Egypt moved into the Maghreb. Those following the northern
coast were referred to as Banu Hilal. Those going south of the
Atlas Mountains were the Banu Sulaym. This movement spread the use
of the Arabic language and hastened the decline of the Berber
language and the Arabisation of North Africa. Later an Arabised
Berber group, the Hawwara, went south to Nubia via Egypt.237
235Shillington (2005), pp. 75, 76. 236Shillington, Kevin (2005).
p 90. 237Shillington, Kevin (2005), pp. 156, 157
In the 1140s, Abd al-Mu'min declared jihad on the Almoravids,
charging them with decadence and corruption. He united the northern
Berbers against the Almoravids, overthrowing them and forming the
Almohad Empire. During this period, the Maghreb became thoroughly
Islamised, and saw the spread of literacy, the development of
algebra, and the use of the number zero and decimals. By the 13th
century, the Almohad states had split into three rival states.
Muslim states were largely extinguished in Spain by the Christian
kingdoms of Castile, Aragon, and Portugal. Around 1415, Portugal
engaged in a reconquista of North Africa by capturing Ceuta, and in
later centuries Spain and Portugal acquired other ports on the
North African coast. In 1492, Spain defeated Muslims in Granada,
effectively ending eight centuries of Muslim domination in southern
Iberia.238 Portugal and Spain took the ports of Tangiers, Algiers,
Tripoli, and Tunis. This put them in direct competition with the
Ottoman Empire, which re-took the ports using Turkish corsairs
(pirates and privateers). The Turkish corsairs would use the ports
for raiding Christian ships, a major source of booty for the towns.
Technically, North