Africa

Political boundaries of Africa

Shaded relief of Africa

Africa is the continental landmass to the southwest of Asia, with its only physical land connection being the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt; the remaining borders are the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Red Sea and Indian Ocean to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.

History

Colonization

European nations held the Berlin Conference in 1884-1885 in order to decide how best to colonize Africa. Ethnic and cultural differences within Africa were ignored, and lines of demarcation were drawn to aid the European nations in this effort. All of Africa, except for Ethiopia (which resisted Italian control in 1896) and Liberia, was divided and colonized by the European nations.

This imperialism had both good and bad effects. On the good side, the Europeans brought advances in technology, built hospitals, and improved the infrastructure, such as railroads, telephones, telegraphs, sanitation and other public works. This improved trade and communications, and reduced disease. Europeans also built schools, but used them to teach European language, culture, and religion rather than respecting local traditions. Literacy did improve as a result, however. However, the Europeans displaced Africans from their individual farms and shifted them into working for European businesses, which resulted in lost control of their land and saw a reduction in their own food crops. African workers were also purchased and shipped to other territories outside of Africa. Europeans disrupted African cultural groups and village life, resulting in arbitrary geographical boundaries that continue to cause war and strife to this day.