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. A very common misconception is that Africa is a single country, whereas it is actually composed of many independent nations. The misconception stems from the fact that many African countries, particularly south of the Sahara, have many similarities. The border between them were often arbitrarily drawn up by colonial powers in the 19th century.

History

Colonization

European nations held the Berlin Conference in 1884-1885 in order to decide how to divide Africa in order to best suit their interests. No Africans were invited to the conference. Ethnic and cultural differences within Africa were ignored, and lines of demarcation were drawn to aid the European nations in their quest to subjugate the continent and its peoples. All of Africa, except for Ethiopia (which resisted Italian control in 1896) and Liberia, which would become a haven for those returning from slavery, was divided and colonized by the European nations. This colonization was an example of "white man's burden", the belief that the Africans were unable to develop civilization on their own and it was the role of Europeans to provide that.

Imperialism may be argued to have had both good and bad effects. 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. However, technological advances did not affect all areas equally. As Walter Rodney writes, colonialism found Africans practicing agriculture with a hoe, and left Africans practicing agriculture with a hoe. Europeans also built schools which, along with teaching general education, also introduced European language, culture, and religion. Literacy improved. Europeans displaced some Africans from farming their lands and shifted them into working for European businesses, which resulted in loss of control of their lands and saw a reduction in food crops. African workers were also purchased and shipped to other territories outside of Africa. European national boundaries were a new concept for much of Africa which was accustomed to small tribal or village living and didn't understand how many such tribes and villages, which often warred with each other, could be put together under one national banner. This forced nationhood apart from African cultural groups and village life has continued to be a source of strife in African nations to this day.

External links

• Africa

References

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