Africa: history of the continent

Africa, whose history is full of secrets of mysteries in the distant past and bloody political events in the present is a continent, called the cradle of humanity. A huge continent occupies one-fifth of all the land on the planet, its land is rich in diamonds and minerals. In the north stretched lifeless, severe and hot deserts, in the south - virgin tropical forests with many endemic species of plants and animals. It is impossible not to mention the diversity of peoples and ethnic groups on the continent, their number fluctuates in the region of several thousand. Small tribes of two villages and large peoples are creators of the unique and unique culture of the "black" continent.

How many countries on the continent, where to find Africa, the geographical position and history of research, countries - all this you will learn from the article.

From the continent's history

The history of African development is one of the most urgent issues in archeology. And, if ancient Egypt attracts scientists since the ancient period, the rest of the mainland remained in the "shadow" until the 19th century. The prehistoric era of the continent is the longest in human history. It was on him that the earliest traces of the presence of hominids inhabiting the territory of modern Ethiopia were discovered. The history of Asia and Africa went a special way, because of the geographical situation, they were linked by trade and political relations even before the Bronze Age.

It is documented that the first trip around the continent was carried out by the Egyptian pharaoh Necho in 600 BC. In the Middle Ages, Europeans began to show interest in Africa, which actively developed trade with the eastern peoples. The first expeditions to the distant continent were organized by the Portuguese prince, that was when Cape Boyadore was discovered and an erroneous conclusion was made that it is the southernmost point of Africa. Years later, another Portuguese - Bartolomeo Diaz in 1487 opened the Cape of Good Hope. After the success of his expedition, other major European powers were drawn to Africa. As a result, by the beginning of the 16th century, all the territories of the western seacoast were discovered by the Portuguese, the English and the Spanish. Then began the colonial history of African countries and the active slave trade.

Geographical position

Africa is the second largest continent, with an area of 30.3 million square meters. Km. It stretches from the south to the north for a distance of 8000 km, and from east to west - 7500 km. The mainland is characterized by a predominance of flat terrain. In the north-western part there are the Atlas Mountains, and in the Sahara Desert - the Tibesti and Ahaggar highlands, in the east - the Ethiopian mountains, in the south - the Draconian and the Cape mountains.

The geographic history of Africa is closely connected with the English. Having appeared on the mainland in the 19th century, they actively explored it, discovering the natural objects stunning by their beauty and grandeur: Victoria Falls, Chad Lake, Kivu, Edward, Albert, etc. Africa has one of the largest rivers in the world - the Nile, which The beginning of time was the cradle of Egyptian civilization.

The continent is the hottest on the planet, due to its geographic location. The entire territory of Africa is located in hot climatic zones and is crossed by the equator.

The continent is exceptionally rich in minerals. The world knows the largest diamond deposits in Zimbabwe and South Africa, gold in Ghana, Congo and Mali, oil in Algeria and Nigeria, iron and lead-zinc ores on the northern coast.

Beginning of colonization

The colonial history of the countries of Asia and Africa has very deep roots, dating back to the ancient era. The first attempts to subjugate these lands by Europeans took in the 7th-5th centuries. BC, when numerous settlements of Greeks appeared along the coast of the continent. This was followed by a long period of Hellenization of Egypt as a result of the conquests of Alexander the Great.

Then, under the pressure of numerous Roman troops, almost the entire northern coast of Africa was consolidated. However, it was very poorly romanized, the native Berber tribes simply plunged into the desert.

Africa in the Middle Ages

During the decline of the Byzantine Empire, the history of Asia and Africa made a sharp turn absolutely in the opposite direction from European civilization. The intensified Berbers finally destroyed the centers of Christian culture in North Africa, "cleansing" the territory for new conquerors - Arabs, who brought Islam together with them and pushed back the Byzantine Empire. By the seventh century, the presence of the early European states in Africa was practically nil.

The cardinal turning point came only at the final stages of the Reconquista, when mainly the Portuguese and the Spaniards conquered the Iberian Peninsula and fixed their gaze on the opposite shore of the Strait of Gibraltar. In the 15th and 16th centuries they led an active policy of conquest in Africa, capturing a number of strong points. In the late 15 century. They were joined by the French, the British and the Dutch.

The new history of Asia and Africa was closely interrelated due to many factors. Trade south of the Sahara desert, actively developed by the Arab states, led to the gradual colonization of the entire eastern part of the continent. West Africa has stood firm. There were Arab quarters, but Morocco's attempts to subdue this territory were unsuccessful.

The race for Africa

The colonial division of the continent from the second half of the 19th century to the outbreak of World War I was called the race for Africa. This time was characterized by tough and sharp competition of the leading imperialist powers of Europe for carrying out military operations and research work in the region, which ultimately were aimed at seizing new lands. Especially the process developed after the adoption at the Berlin Conference in 1885 of the General Act, which proclaimed the principle of effective occupation. The culmination of the division of Africa was the military conflict between France and Great Britain in 1898, which occurred in the Upper Nile.

By 1902, 90% of the territory of Africa was under the control of Europeans. Only Liberia and Ethiopia managed to defend their independence and freedom. With the outbreak of the First World War, the colonial race ended, and as a result, almost all of Africa was divided. The history of the development of the colonies went on in different ways, depending on the one under whose protectorate it was. The largest possessions were in France and Britain, a little less in Portugal and Germany. For Europeans, Africa was an important source of raw materials, minerals and cheap labor.

The year of independence

The turning point is 1960, when one after another the young African states began to get out of the power of the metropolises. Of course, the process did not start and did not end in such a short period. However, 1960 was proclaimed "African".

Africa, whose history did not develop in isolation from the whole world, turned out to be one way or another, but it was also drawn into the Second World War. The northern part of the continent was affected by military operations, the colonies were forced out of their last strength to provide the metropolis with raw materials and food, as well as people. Millions of Africans took part in hostilities, many of them "settled" later in Europe. Despite the world political situation for the "black" continent, the war years were marked by an economic upsurge, this was the time when roads, ports, airfields and runways, enterprises and factories were built, etc.

A new round of the history of African countries was received after the adoption of the British Atlantic Charter, which reaffirmed the right of peoples to self-determination. And although politicians tried to explain that they were talking about the peoples occupied by Japan and Germany, the colony interpreted the document and in its favor as well. In matters of acquiring independence, Africa was far ahead of more developed Asia.

Despite the uncontested right to self-determination, the Europeans were not in a hurry to "let go" their colonies on their free voyage, and in the first decade after the war, any form of independence was brutally suppressed. The case where the British in 1957 granted freedom to Ghana, the most economically developed state, became a case in point. By the end of 1960, half of Africa had gained independence. However, as it turned out, it still did not guarantee anything.

If you pay attention to the map, you will notice that Africa, whose history is very tragic, is divided into countries by clear and even lines. Europeans did not enter into the ethnic and cultural realities of the continent, dividing the territory at their own discretion. As a result, many nations were divided into several states, others united in one with sworn enemies. After gaining independence, all this gave birth to numerous ethnic conflicts, civil wars, military coups and genocide.

Freedom was obtained, that's just what to do with it no one knew. The Europeans left, taking with them everything that could be taken. Virtually all systems, including education, health care had to be created from scratch. There were no personnel, no resources, no foreign policy ties.

Countries and Dependent Territories of Africa

As already mentioned above, the history of the discovery of Africa began a long time ago. However, the invasion of Europeans and the centuries of the colonial regime led to the fact that modern independent states on the territory of the continent formed literally in the mid-second half of the twentieth century. It is difficult to say whether the right to self-determination brought prosperity to these places. Africa is still considered the most backward in the development of the continent, yet has all the necessary resources for a normal life.

At the moment, the continent is populated with 1 037 694 509 people - this is about 14% of the world's population. The territory of the mainland is divided into 62 countries, but only 54 of them are recognized by the independent world community. Of these, 10 island countries, 37 - with a wide access to the seas and oceans and 16 - inland.

In theory, Africa is a continent, but in practice it is often annexed by nearby islands. Some of them still belong to Europeans. Including the French Reunion, Mayotte, Portuguese Madeira, Spanish Melilla, Ceuta, the Canary Islands, the English islands of St. Helena, Tristan da Cunha and the Ascension.

The countries of Africa are conventionally divided into 4 groups depending on the geographical location: northern, western, southern and eastern. Sometimes the central region is also singled out separately.

Countries of North Africa

North Africa is called a very extensive region with an area of about 10 million m ² , with the greater part being occupied by the Sahara desert. It is here that the largest continents of the country are located: Sudan, Libya, Egypt and Algeria. The total number of states in the northern part of eight, so to the listed should be added Southern Sudan, SADR, Morocco, Tunisia.

The recent history of the countries of Asia and Africa (northern region) is closely interrelated. By the beginning of the 20th century, the territory was completely under the protectorate of European countries, they gained independence in the 50-60's. The last century. Geographic proximity to another continent (Asia and Europe) and traditional long-standing trade and economic ties with it played a role. In terms of development, North Africa is in a much better position compared to the South. Perhaps the exception is only Sudan. Tunisia has the most competitive economy on the whole continent, Libya and Algeria produce gas and oil that they export, Morocco is mining phosphate. The predominant part of the population is still engaged in the agricultural sector. An important branch of the economy of Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco is developing tourism.

The largest city with more than 9 million inhabitants is Egyptian Cairo, the population of others does not exceed 2 million - Casablanca, Alexandria. Most of the Africans of the north live in cities, are Muslim and speak Arabic. In some countries, one of the official languages is French. The territory of North Africa is rich in monuments of ancient history and architecture, natural objects.

It is also planned to develop an ambitious European project Desertec - the construction of the largest system of solar power plants in the Sahara desert.

West Africa

The territory of West Africa extends to the south of the central Sahara, it is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, in the east it is bounded by the Cameroonian mountains. There are savannas and tropical forests, as well as a complete lack of vegetation in the Sahel. Until the moment when the Europeans stepped on the coast in this part of Africa, there already existed such states as Mali, Ghana and Songhai. The Guinea region has long been called a "grave for whites" because of dangerous diseases unusual for Europeans: fever, malaria, sleeping sickness, etc. At the moment, the group of Western African countries includes Cameroon, Ghana, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Benin, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Liberia, Mauritania, Côte d'Ivoire, Niger, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, Senegal.

The latest history of African countries in the region is marred by military clashes. The territory is torn apart by numerous conflicts between English-speaking and French-speaking former European colonies. Contradictions lie not only in the language barrier, but also in worldviews, mentality. There are hot spots in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Road traffic is very poorly developed and, in fact, is a legacy of the colonial period. The states of West Africa are among the poorest in the world. While Nigeria, for example, has huge oil reserves.

East Africa

Geographic region, which includes countries to the east of the Nile River (except Egypt), anthropologists call the cradle of mankind. It was here, in their opinion, our ancestors lived.

The region is extremely unstable, conflicts turn into wars, including very often in civil war. Almost all of them are formed on ethnic grounds. East Africa is populated by more than two hundred nationalities belonging to the four linguistic groups. At the time of the colonies, the territory was divided without regard to this fact, as already mentioned, cultural and natural ethnic boundaries were not observed. The conflict potential is very much hindering the development of the region.

East Africa includes the following countries: Mauritius, Kenya, Burundi, Djibouti, Comoros, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, Mozambique, Seychelles, Uganda, Tanzania, Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Eritrea.

South Africa

The South African region occupies an impressive part of the mainland. There are five countries in it. Namely: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland, South Africa. All of them have united in the South African customs union, which extracts and trades mainly with oil and diamonds.

The latest history of Africa in the south is connected with the name of the famous politician Nelson Mandela (pictured), who dedicated his life to the struggle for freedom of the region from the metropolises.

South Africa, whose president he was for 5 years, now is the most developed country on the mainland and the only one that is not classified as a "third world". A developed economy allows it to occupy the 30th place among all states in the IMF. Has very rich reserves of natural resources. Also one of the most successful on development in Africa is the economy of Botswana. In the first place is livestock and agriculture, large-scale mining of diamonds and minerals.