Africa

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Political boundaries of Africa in recent decades
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.

Land

Topography

Climate

Drainage

Flora

Fauna

Resources

Arable land

People

Ethnic groups

Languages

Religion

The dominant religion of Arabic-speaking north Africa, is Islam. It replaced Christianity in the 7th century and slowly spread west and south across the Sahara and into the equatorial zones. Today Islam includes about 41% of all Africans.

The Christian churches, based on missionary work of the 19th and 20th centuries,[1] claim 45% of the population, of whom 55% are Protestants. There are about 150 million Roman Catholics on the continent, led by 33,000 priests.[2] The Anglican Church includes about 5 million members in Nigeria, 2.4 million in South Africa, 2.2 million in Uganda, 1.5 million in Kenya, 1.0 million in Tanzania, and 2 million or so elsewhere in Africa.[3]

For statistical detail on each church see Adherent.com, which compiles membership data from many sources.

About 20-30% of the people follow traditional religions and animism.

Education

Health

Demography

Economy and Commerce

Industry

Agriculture

Forestry

Fishing

Transportation

Trade

China

After 2000 China made its move to become the dominant trading partner of Africa, with promises of billions in investments for infrastructure. China was eagerly embraced by African governments, as trade in African raw materials and Chinese manufactured items and construction projects grew to more than $100 billion by 2008, from less than $10 million in the 1980s. African leaders spoke openly about China’s offer of an alternative to the edicts of Western-dominated institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

China’s technique is to sign agreements with governments to build huge infrastructure projects in exchange for minerals. Angola, for example, guaranteed Chinese access to oil in Africa’s fourth largest oil producer; Angola's economy is now booming and it is rebuilding after the massive destruction caused by a civil war that lasted decades.

The worldwide recession of 2008, and continued political instability, has cooled China's activity. As commodity prices have plunged and several of China’s African partners have fallen deeper into chaos, China has backed away from some of its riskiest and most aggressive plans. China now demands the same guarantees that Western companies have long sought for their investments: economic and political stability.[4]

History

Colonization

As late as 1881 European powers had only small holdings along the coast. Then the scramble for territory began.

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 built a new, modern infrastructure, invcluding ports, railroads, telegraph, sanitation and other public works. This improved trade and communications and reduced disease.

Technological advances reached different areas at different times, and much of the interior remained isolated unless it was close to a major river like the Congo or the Nile.

Europeans also built elementary and secondary schools based on European curricula. Families that wantewd to enter the modern sphere sent enrolled their children, and a handful went on to university in Britain and France.

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

References

  1. There are remnants of much older Coptic Christian settlements in Ethiopia.
  2. Using projections based on data at Fides News Service
  3. See Anglican statistics
  4. Lydia Polgreen, "As Chinese Investments in Africa Drop, Hope Sinks," New York Times Mar. 25, 2009
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