EGP of South Africa: description, characteristics, main features and interesting facts. Sub-regions of North and Tropical Africa. South Africa - Knowledge Hypermarket
Africa south of the Sahara is usually divided into three broad bands crossing the continent: Sudan, Tropical Africa, and South Africa. The northern border of Tropical Africa runs approximately along the 5th parallel northern latitude, southern border - along the river. Zambezi, from the mouth to Victoria Falls, and further west, to the mouth of the river. Kunene. From a physiographic point of view, the allocation of this band is extremely conditional. The climatic zone characteristic of this band does not coincide with the indicated boundaries; tropical forest captures the Guinean coast of Sudan. But in ethnographic terms, these boundaries have a solid justification. The fifth parallel is the northern boundary of the peoples who speak Bantu languages; behind it begins the region of the Sudanese peoples, in many respects quite different from the Bantu.
Africa south of the Zambezi is inhabited, like Tropical Africa, mainly by tribes and peoples who also speak Bantu languages, but these are mainly pastoralists, while the Bantu of Tropical Africa are predominantly or even exclusively farmers. These are non-state borders, but ethnic and, like any ethnic borders, are to a certain extent conditional.
Tropical Africa, in turn, is divided into two geographically and ethnographically distinct parts: East and West. Western Tropical Africa is the river basin. Congo; this is a huge basin, the central part of which is covered with tropical forest, turning into a park savannah on the outskirts of the basin. East Tropical Africa is a mountain plateau with deep fault valleys and high mountains; this is a savannah, or dry Steppe, turning in places into a semi-desert. Both parts are inhabited by tribes Bantu, but the Bantu of the western part are engaged exclusively in agriculture and hunting, and the Bantu of the eastern part combine agriculture with cattle breeding.The Bantu of the western part, before the start of European colonization, developed independently, experiencing no external influence. On the contrary, Greek and Arab merchants visited the shores of the eastern part of Africa even in very distant times. The influence of the Arabs, Persians, and partly Indians is reflected in many features of the culture of the Bantu of East Africa. The Bantu peoples of the region of lakes Victoria, Albert, Kivu and others assimilated the Nilotic and partly Cushite tribes of pastoralists who came from the north.
The dividing line between the western and eastern Bantus runs approximately along the line of lakes Edward, Kivu, Tanganyika and further along approximately 30 ° E. d.
The physical and geographical appearance of East Tropical Africa is characterized by an extreme variety of relief and landscape, which is not repeated anywhere else in Africa. In general, it is a plateau, most of which lies above 1000 m above sea level. The low-lying strip, narrow in its middle part and reaching a width of 300-400 km in the north and south, is located only along the coast of the Indian Ocean. The Great and Western fault valleys stretch across the entire plateau in the meridional direction. The Great Fault Valley begins at the Red Sea, crosses Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanganyika, Nyasalandi ends at the Zambezi. At the bottom of this valley are lakes, of which the most significant lakes are Rudolf and Nyasa. From the northern end of the lake Nyasa departs Western Fault Valley; at the bottom of it lie lakes Tanganyika (after Baikal - the deepest lake in the world), Kivu, as well as Eduard and Albert ^ interconnected r. Semliki. Between the highlands of these two valleys is the largest lake in Africa - Victoria, inferior in area (68 thousand km 2) only to the Caspian Sea and Lake Superior in North America. Near deep depressions Lakes are the highest mountains of the mainland: Kilimanjaro (6010 m), Kenya (5195 m), Rwenzori (5100 m), etc.
In East Tropical Africa, the two largest rivers of the continent, the Nile and the Congo, originate. Source of the Nile, r. Kagera is born in the mountains northeast of the lake. Tanganyika, at an altitude of 2120 m above sea level. She falls into the lake. Victoria, from which it flows under the name of Kivir, forming immediately after the exit the Ripon waterfalls. Further the river passes the lake. Kyoga and behind the Murchison waterfalls (about 40 m high) flows into the lake. Albert and then flows straight north. On the border of Rhodesia Tanganyika originates one of the sources of the river. Congo - r. Chambezi, flowing into the lake. Bangveolo. Flowing from it, this river receives the name Luapula, in its further course it merges with the Lua laba and forms the Congo. Along the southern border of Northern Rhodesia, crossing Mozambique, flows the third of largest rivers Africa - Zambezi. Other significant rivers in this part of the continent include the Ruvuma, Rufiji with a tributary Ruaha, Pangani and Tana. There are a lot of smaller rivers, and almost all of them flow from west to east, towards the Indian Ocean. Navigation is possible only on some rivers. Throughout its length, the river is navigable. Shire, connecting the lake. Nyasa with the lower reaches of the Zambezi and the ocean. The huge water artery of southern Africa, the Zambezi, is navigable only in certain sections between the rapids; along the river Tana small steamers can rise up to 100 km from the mouth. Water transport is now widely developed only on lakes.
The variety of relief corresponds to the variety of climate and vegetation. On the peaks of Kilimanjaro, Kenya and Rwenzori there are eternal snows and glaciers, and the plateau is characterized by a mild tropical climate. There are neither high nor low temperatures here, the average monthly temperature fluctuates: in Zomba from 16.1 in July to 23.3 ° in November; in Dar es Salaam between 23.3 in July-August and 27.8 in January-February; in Entebbe, on the northwestern shore of the lake. Victoria, the oscillation amplitude is even smaller - from 21.1 to 22.8 °. Here is the climate of eternal spring. The year is divided into seasons depending on the amount of precipitation. The average rainfall throughout the East African plateau does not exceed 1140 mm per year. Wetter areas are located on the western and northern coasts of the lake. Victoria: For example, Bukoba receives up to 1780 mm of precipitation per year. The most arid: the plains of Turkana, adjacent to the lake. Rudolf, who receive no more than 100-125 mm of annual precipitation; areas located south and north of these plains - up to 375 mm; the Laikipia Plateau (Kenya) - up to 700 mm, and the western part of Northern Rhodesia, where, for example, in Colombo, near the Victoria Falls, the average annual rainfall does not exceed 740 mm.
In the area of Zomba, the year is sharply divided into two seasons: rainy and dry; monthly precipitation ranges from 2.5 mm in August to 278.0 mm in January. Near the city of Mombasa, the year is divided into four seasons: two rainy seasons, of which one is long, the other is short, and two are dry; Monthly precipitation varies from 20.3 mm in January to 348.0 mm in May. In Naivasha, at the lake of the same name at the bottom of the Great Fault Valley, precipitation is distributed more or less evenly throughout the year - a minimum of 27.9 mm in January and a maximum of 162.5 mm in April. There are also two rainy seasons, but they do not stand out sharply.
The characteristic landscape of East Tropical Africa is the savannah, sometimes turning into dry steppes and semi-deserts. There are no deserts in the true sense of the word, with the exception of the western part of the Turkana plains. The East African steppes are covered with tall, tough grasses, up to a meter high, but they do not grow as densely as in the savannah; during the dry season, they turn yellow and often die. In the savannas, among dense and tall grasses, trees are found in more or less significant groups, sometimes reaching 20 m in height; in some places they form small forests - this is an area of park savannah.
In the humid regions of the Mezhozero, large areas are covered with marsh vegetation: reeds, reeds and papyri cover stagnant waters with a continuous carpet. This is primarily the region of the lake. Kyoga and the northwest coast of the lake. Victoria, the deltas of the Ruvuma and Rufiji rivers, as well as small areas on the coast against the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba. Kagera and other rivers flowing into the lake. Victoria from the west, flowing along channels 8-13 km wide, half-overgrown with papyrus, which rises 2.5-3 m above the water level; all around are large expanses of stagnant water, chains of small lakes and in some places a tropical forest.
At the foot of the mountain ranges - virgin forests of the equatorial type, similar to the forests of the Congo basin: huge trees, multi-tiered vegetation, dense undergrowth. Climbing the mountains, you can observe a complete change of vertical vegetation zones. At an altitude of about a thousand meters, the virgin rainforest gives way to a park savanna, followed by a savanna with very tall grasses, where trees are very rare. This is an agricultural zone; there are many settlements surrounded by fields and plantations. At an altitude of 2-3 thousand, and sometimes even 4 thousand meters, forests characteristic of a temperate climate reappear: less tall, not so dense and with weaker foliage. They are followed by a zone of alpine meadows, and at an altitude of about 5 thousand meters, a zone of eternal snows and glaciers begins.
The natural conditions of East Tropical Africa create a natural basis for a wide variety of human activities. Along with delicate tropical and subtropical crops, crops characteristic of the temperate climate zone can be grown here. Bananas, sugarcane, rubber plants, oil palms, sweet potatoes, cassava, peanuts, rice, sesame, cotton, cocoa, coffee, tea, tobacco, corn, barley, millet, peas and beans, common potatoes and wheat are far from being a complete list of crops growing in different areas of East Tropical Africa. Agriculture is possible everywhere, and only in the northern regions of Kenya does land irrigation require complex hydraulic structures.
Wild animals do not suffer from a tsetse fly bite, but are carriers of the trypanosome. In some parts of Africa, in particular in the Zambezi basin, they tried to fight the spread of the disease by mass destruction of wild animals. Of domestic animals, only goats, donkeys and mules have immunity.
The wealth of the bowels of the earth has not yet been explored. Now diamonds are mined in Tanganyika, Northern Rhodesia and Uganda, tin - in Uganda and Tanganyika, copper, lead, zinc, vanadium and magnesite - in Northern Rhodesia. Iron ores are ubiquitous, but have no industrial significance. Coal has been discovered in the south of Tanganyika. Eastern Tropical Africa is rich in "white coal" - on the waterfalls and rapids of its rivers it is possible to build powerful hydroelectric power stations. Eastern Tropical Africa is undoubtedly a region rich in its potential.
Part of Africa south of the Sahara.
Ancient history According to most scientists, Africa is the cradle of mankind. The finds of early hominids there are up to 3 million years old. A number of finds aged from 1.6 to 1.2 million years belong to the same species of hominid, which in the process of evolution led to the appearance of Homo sapiens. The formation of ancient people took place in the grassy savannah zone, then they spread throughout the continent. The tools of the Acheulean culture are fairly evenly distributed throughout Africa. However, due to the uniqueness of historical conditions and the natural environment, the archaeological cultures of Africa are not always comparable with the traditional nomenclature). The Late Stone Age in Africa was characterized by a transition from hunting and gathering to a productive economy. The transition to agriculture and animal husbandry began in different regions in different time, but in general ended in most territories by the middle of the 4th millennium BC. e. By the end of the ancient period, iron tools spread in sub-Saharan Africa. The cultures of the Bronze Age did not develop on the African continent, but there was a transition from the Neolithic stone industry to iron tools. Most scientists believe that iron metallurgy was borrowed from Western Asia c. middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. From the Nile Valley iron metallurgy gradually spread to the west and southwest. The most early culture Iron Age south of the Sahara - Nok culture (Central Nigeria, 5th century BC - 3rd century AD). Iron industry in Central and East. Africa dates back to about the middle of the 1st millennium AD. e. The appearance of iron in the south of the territory of the modern Democratic Republic of the Congo (in the upper reaches of the Lualaba River and in the Shaba region) is also dated. OK. 5th-9th centuries in Shaba and in the south of modern Nigeria, independent centers for the smelting and processing of copper developed. The spread of iron tools, facilitating the clearing of land for crops, contributed to the development of new areas previously inaccessible to human habitation, primarily rainforest on both sides of the equator. The process of mass migration to the south and southeast of peoples speaking the languages of the Bantu family began, as a result they settled throughout Africa south of the equator. During these migrations, which continued until the beginning of the 2nd millennium, the Bantu moved around the zone equatorial forests, some of their groups mastered the forest areas bordering the savannah. Bypassing the forest zone, the Bantu were pushed back to the north and south ancient population east and southeast of the mainland. In southern Africa, the spread of agriculture and tools of the Iron Age is also associated with the migrations of the Bantu peoples there. Their gradual spread across the southern part of the mainland lasted for centuries. It went in two streams. One moved along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and reached modern Namibia. Other groups moved in three ways: to the territory of modern Zambia, to the territory of modern Zimbabwe through Malawi, and to the territory of the modern South African province of KwaZulu-Natal through Mozambique. By the 3rd century Bantu reached the borders of modern South Africa, and by the 4th century. spread across a number of areas. The Bantu were highly organized peoples with a developed social hierarchy, their relationship with the San (Bushmen) and Koi (Hottentots, Nama) South. Africa included both peaceful coexistence and war. Displacement dignity in unfavorable natural conditions regions of the South. Africa had an inhibitory effect on the development of their economy and social organization, they never created a productive economy. OK. 9th century BC e on the territory of Kush in Lower Nubia, the state of Meroe arose, which soon extended its power to Upper Egypt. In the VI century. BC e - VIII century. n. e. Meroe was the largest center of ferrous metallurgy in Africa south of the Sahara, bronze and gold metallurgy, and jewelry craft also developed. The peoples of Tropical Africa in ancient times maintained trade relations with the Mediterranean, Front and South. Asia. Precious metals were exported from Africa, gems, exotic animals, later - slaves. Salt, grain, handicrafts were imported. To the turn new era The Sahara has finally turned into a desert, so an important role in the development and strengthening of ties between the societies of the Zap. and Central Sudan from the North. Africa and the Nile Valley were played by the use of a camel imported from Asia Minor to the North for trans-Saharan transport. Africa by the Romans. There were also maritime contacts across the Indian Ocean, as evidenced by a large migration at the beginning of a new era from the South. Asian population groups of Indonesian origin on about. Madagascar, which became one of the foundations of the Malgash ethnos. There were three regions of Afro-Mediterranean and Afro-Asian contacts: the Nile Valley, the West. and Central Sudan, coastal regions of East. Africa. In the Middle Ages and Modern times, the social organization of the peoples of Africa was diverse. Along with locally large states, there was the so-called primitive periphery - peoples who did not create other social structures, except for communal-tribal ones. A large role was played by the geographical factor - soil fertility, proximity to the outer centers of civilization, etc. The main unit of society was and remains the community, which, as a rule, is an association of several family and clan groups. Even in modern times, among most African peoples, the transition of the community from tribal to neighboring was not fully completed. A number of reasons contributed to the emergence of supra-communal structures. In the supra-communal structure, as a rule, the “best” community was singled out, from which the supra-communal leaders, the conical clan, were nominated. A universal structure for all mankind on the way to the formation of a state is the chiefdom, an ethnically homogeneous structure, familiar with social and property inequality, division of labor and headed by a leader, often sacralized. The chiefdom is a relatively complex structure that had several levels of government - central, regional and local. Social inequality in the chiefdom is not very pronounced - the life of the leader is not too different in quality from the life of his subjects. The states that emerged in pre-colonial Africa were early states (with the exception of Ethiopia). They had a clear administrative-territorial division, they were headed by a hereditary supreme ruler, who was often deified by his subjects or was a high priest. The population of early states, as a rule, belonged to different nations- "main" and subjugated. The institutions of the tribal society harmoniously grew into the early African states, the tribal aristocracy and family ties . Western Sudan Geographically, Sudan is a part of Tropical Africa, stretching in a wide belt from west to east of the continent from the Atlantic Ocean to Ethiopia. Conditional border Zap. and Vost. Sudan - lake. Chad. In Zap. Sudan in the IV-XVI centuries. successive states of Ghana, Mali and Songhai. Ghana flourished in the 7th-9th centuries, Mali in the 12th-14th centuries, Songhai in the 15th-16th centuries. From the 13th century Islam became the state religion in Mali, and then in Songhai. In the second half of the XV century. Songhai subjugated the main commercial and cultural centers of the West. Sudan - Timbuktu and Djenne. To the south in the XIV-XV centuries. several states of the Mosi people arose, the first of which was Ouagadougou. In the VIII-IX centuries. appeared in the middle of the thirteenth century. the state of Kanem reached its greatest prosperity to the east of the lake. Chad. At the end of the XIII century. the state fell into decline, from the end of the XIV century. its center has moved to the southwest of the lake. Chad in the region Born. The state of Bornu reached its highest power in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. In the XII-XIII centuries. increased migration to the West. Fulbe people in Sudan. Fulbe (Fulani, Pel) is one of the mysteries of the region. Anthropologically, they differ sharply from their neighbors in thinner features and lighter skin, but they speak one of the local languages. Some scientists consider the Fulani to be newcomers from the Vost region. Sudan - Ethiopia. At the end of the XIV century. in Masina in the middle delta of the Niger, the Fulbe state developed, in the 16th-17th centuries. subjected to attacks by neighbors, which caused a chain of new migrations of the Fulani. The statehood of the Hausa originated in the 13th century, and in the 14th-15th centuries. Islam spread. The military-political estate and the clergy grew. The Khausan emirates in the Middle Ages were in the sphere of influence of Mali, and then - the Songhai state. It was from there, from Timbuktu, that Arabic writing came, on the basis of which the Hausa created their own alphabet - ajam. After the fall of the Songhai state in 1591, the centers of trans-Saharan trade and Muslim theology moved to the Hausan emirates. In the XVII-XVIII centuries. the cities of Katsina and Kano rise, in the 18th century. - Zamfara and Gobir in the west of the Land of Hausa. But in 1764 Gobir defeated Zamfara and became, along with Katsina, the chief of the Hausan city-states. In Zap. Fulbe settled in Sudan from the XIII-XIV centuries. on the territory of several modern states. They created states on the Futa Toro Plateau (Senegal) and the Futa Jalon Plateau (Guinea). In 1727-1728, the Fulbe began a jihad under the leadership of Ibrahim Sambegu Bariya. The locals were assimilated by the Fulani. The emerging state was characterized high level cultural development. Here writing was widely spread, and not only Arabic, but also in the Fulbe language. The country was ruled by the supreme head of the alma, who was elected by the Council, which in turn was elected by the Fulba nobility. The emergence of the Sokoto Caliphate was associated with the name of Osman dan Fodio (1754-1817). He was the son of a teacher of the Koranic school. In 1789 he received the right to preach, then he created a religious community of the discontented. In his writings, Osman dan Fodio spoke out against the Sarki regime, the ruler of Gobir. In 1804, he declared himself the head of all Muslims (amir-el-muminin), began a jihad against the rulers of Gobir, and in 1808 the rebels captured Alcalava, the capital of Gobir. Osman dan Fodio announced the end of jihad. He proclaimed himself caliph of the new Sokoto empire. In 1812 the caliphate was divided into two parts - western and eastern. They were led by the brother and son of Osman, Dan Fodio, respectively. The emirates that were part of the caliphate were ruled by the so-called royal emirs, local representatives of the Fulba nobility, active participants in jihad. Below, power was exercised by a whole pyramid of governors from the Fulban aristocracy, including judges - alcali. After the death of Osman dan Fodio in 1817, his son Mohammed Belo became the head of the Caliphate. He kept the old Hausan emirates within their borders under the rule of the Fulban aristocracy. In the second half of the XIX century. the Sokoto caliphate was a relatively stable large state. One of the centers of civilization in the region in modern times is the city-state of the Yoruba. The genesis of statehood began among the Yoruba in the 10th-12th centuries; the cradle of their statehood and culture is Ile-Ife in the southwest of modern Nigeria. In modern times, the city of Oyo becomes one of the notable centers of the Yoruba. It was founded around the 14th century, and from the 17th century. the period of its rise and expansion begins, which lasted two centuries. As a result, the state of Oyo became one of the largest military-political formations in the region. From 1724, Oyo waged war with neighboring Dahomey, which was conquered in 1730. As a result, Oyo significantly expanded territorially and gained access to the Atlantic Ocean. However, at the beginning of the XIX century. Dahomey again fell away from Oyo, weakened by internecine wars and internal strife. Oyo finally fell in 1836 under the blow of the Sokoto Caliphate. The state of Dahomey was formed c. 1625. Its ethnic basis was the Aja people of the Fon group. The rise of Dahomey took place by the beginning of the 18th century. The capture of the slave ports of Ardra (Allada) and Vida on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, which took place in 1724-1725, contributed to the further strengthening of the state. The same fact, however, also contributed to the subjugation of Dahomey by the powerful neighbor Oyo, who needed access to the ocean coast. From 1730 Dahomey became a tributary of Oyo, and the son of its ruler was sent there as a hostage. In 1748, an agreement between Dahomey and Oyo consolidates the established relationship of dependence. At the end of the XVIII - beginning of the XIX century. a new rise of Dahomey begins, and it falls away from Oyo. Dahomey's eastern neighbor was Benin. The heyday of this state, the ethnic basis of which was the Edo people, fell at the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th century. The new rise of Benin began in the 19th century, but was interrupted by the French conquest. The so-called bronzes of Benin are widely known - reliefs and heads made of bronze with extraordinary skill. For the first time, Europe became acquainted with Benin bronzes, when in 1897, during the looting of the palace, its treasures and even bas-reliefs from the outer walls were taken out. Nowadays, any major art museum exhibits Benin bronzes. Art historians divide them into 3 periods: early - until the middle of the 16th century, middle - 16th-18th centuries. and late - the end of the XVIII-XIX centuries. With the development of the transatlantic slave trade in the delta of the river. Several political entities emerged in Niger, which are commonly called mediator states. The most important of them were Ardra (Allada) and Vida, the ethnic basis of which was the Aja people. The slave trade caused a transformation in the social organization of these cities. Traditionally, settlements were divided into quarters (polo), and those, in turn, into sub-quarters (vari). The settlements were ruled by a meeting of the entire adult population, headed by an elder - amayonabo. He served as the high priest and commander of the army. With the development of the slave trade in the region in the XVIII-XIX centuries. Amayonabo's power was strengthened, and Wari was transformed into new type social organization - home. The house, unlike the vari, included not only blood relatives, but also slaves. The main source of acquiring slaves was not capture, but purchase. Slave markets developed in the cities of the delta. The Ashanti people live in the north of modern Ghana. The basis of the Ashanti economy in modern times was left by the slave trade and the gold trade. The basis of the ethno-social organization of the Ashanti was Oman - the union of family and tribal communities. Each community was headed by a council of elders, military detachments were created on the basis of the communities. The army of each Oman was an association of such detachments. The clear Ashanti military organization was unparalleled in the region. The Omans were self-sufficient structures, but at the very end of the 17th century. Ashanti created the so-called confederation - the union of the Omans - to fight their neighbors. The first asantehene (supreme leader) - Osei Tutu - united all the Ashanti under his rule in 1701 and ruled for 30 years. Subsequent rulers controlled more and more lands, and by the beginning of the twentieth century. Asantehene power extended almost to the entire territory of modern Ghana. Central and Eastern Sudan Kanem was located at the northern tip of the lake. Chad. Gradually, the center of this association of the ancestors of the modern Kanuri people shifted to the west in the region. Born. The basis of the economy that existed until the middle of the XVI century. powers Kanem-Born was trans-Saharan trade with the countries of the North. Africa, interested in obtaining purely African goods - ivory and slaves. In exchange, northern Nigerian territories received salt, horses, fabrics, weapons produced in Europe and the Maghreb countries, and various household goods. Significant difficulties were caused by the constant raids of the Saharan Tuareg tribes united for these purposes. In the western part of the East. Sudan in the XVI-XIX centuries. the Sultanate of Darfur existed. Its ethnic basis was the For (Konjara) people. At the beginning of the XIX century. The population of the Sultanate was ca. 3-4 million people, and the army reached the number of 200 thousand people. The power of the Sultan was almost absolute. He had a chief council of the highest nobility, a small privy council, and several especially important dignitaries. The sultanate was divided into provinces headed by the governors of the sultan, who had police forces at their disposal - detachments of armed slaves. The villagers had to pay a tax in kind to the sultan up to 1/10 of their income - in grain, leather, meat, etc. The same applied to the nomadic Arabs who lived on the territory of the sultanate. The country was dominated by a subsistence economy, but there was exchange and markets. The role of money was played by tin and copper rings, bars of salt, and slaves. The Sultanate also conducted foreign trade, exporting slaves, camels, ivory, ostrich feathers, and gum arabic. Firearms, metals, fabrics, paper, etc. were imported. Cities stood on caravan routes, the capital of the sultanate was the city of El Fasher. In 1870 the Sultanate of Darfur recognized its dependence on Egypt. In the eastern part of the East. Sudan in the XVI-XIX centuries. the Sultanate of Sennar existed. Its ethnic basis was the Fung people. Sennar was an association under the rule of the fungi of a whole chain of territories along the Nile from the third threshold in the north to Sennar proper (the Blue Nile) in the south. The sultanate lived by irrigated agriculture, its inhabitants skillfully built canals, dams and water mills. They grew wheat, millet, corn, gourds, peppers and cotton. They bred cattle - meat, dairy and draft - and were skilled in the manufacture of a special cotton fabric. The principles of government were based on Sharia law. The Sultan, with him - a council of the nobility from the highest dignitaries, a secret council of four, the chief judge - a qadi. Dependent provinces paid more taxes, and the Sennar proper paid a poll tax, a tax on livestock and land, and 1/10 of the crop. Construction was widely developed in the Sultanate - even in the villages there were fortified castles, while in the cities the rich quarters consisted of adobe houses with a flat roof. The capital of the Sultanate, the city of Sennar, totaled by the end of the 18th century. OK. 100 thousand inhabitants. Slave labor was widely used in the country - up to 8 thousand slaves worked on the Sultan's lands alone. The army was also strong, numbering several tens of thousands of soldiers. Sennar was a country of Muslim learning, Arabic served as the state language, the percentage of literate people who studied in schools at mosques was high. From the founding of the Sultanate until 1912 there were historical chronicles. The Sultanate of Sennar was captured by Khedive Egypt in 1821. Ethiopia In the first centuries of the new era, the Aksumite kingdom was formed on the territory of modern Ethiopia. In the 4th-6th centuries, during the heyday of Aksum, the hegemony of Aksum extended to Nubia, where the states of Mukurra, Aloa and Nabatia replaced the ancient Meroitic kingdom. During this period, Christianity began to spread there (in the 4th-6th centuries in Aksum, in the 5th-6th centuries in Nubia). In the first half of the XI century. Aksumite kingdom finally collapsed. By the New Age, Ethiopia is already a rather vast and militarily powerful state, the economic basis and political superstructure of which allow us to speak of the presence of developed feudalism in the country. In the middle of the XVI century. the country entered a devastating 30-year war with the once vassal Muslim sultanates. Calling on the help of the Portuguese, armed firearms , Ethiopia with great difficulty managed to defeat the Muslim army and defend its independence. Attempts by the Portuguese clergy to convert the country's population to Catholicism caused stubborn resistance from the Ethiopian clergy and flock, who did not want to move away from the "pure faith of the fathers." An important factor in the history of Ethiopia was the mass migration of the Oromo tribes from the Red Sea coast. Within two centuries, the Oromo managed to capture the fertile regions of the country, including in its central part. The country was in a state of self-isolation, and under pain of death, Europeans were forbidden to be within its borders. The main content of domestic political life was the constant internecine wars of the feudal lords for the expansion of their possessions. Centrifugal tendencies, which intensified by the middle of the 18th century, led to the “time of princes”. The power of the emperor was purely nominal, and the country turned into a conglomerate of virtually independent region-states. With the weakening of the central government, there was a process of strengthening and development of certain parts of Ethiopia, primarily the Shoah. Second half of the 19th century - a time of unceasing struggle for the creation and strengthening of a centralized Ethiopian state, for the preservation and strengthening of statehood. The “scramble for Africa” that began during this period between the Western European imperialist powers made the process of creating a strong and united Ethiopian state a task of prime necessity. This problem was solved during the reign of three emperors who went down in history as unifying emperors: Tewodros II, Yohannys IV and Menelik II. Acting in different ways depending on the specific historical situation, they succeeded to varying degrees in suppressing the resistance of the separatist feudal lords and in strengthening the central government. Through the efforts of Menelik II, that Ethiopia was created, which lasted until the revolution of 1974, at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century. the country acquired modern geographical outlines, an administrative reform was carried out, and its own currency appeared. A cabinet of ministers was created, postal and telegraph services were organized, and the first European-style schools were opened. The end of the 19th century, known in the historiography of Africa as the period of the "scramble for Africa", was also alarming for Ethiopia. Italy was especially active in the Horn of Africa region. Unable to impose her protectorate on Ethiopia through diplomacy, she decided to achieve her goal by force. The Italo-Ethiopian war of 1895-1896 resulted in three battles: at Amba-Alag, at Mekel and Adua. In the decisive battle on the night of March 1, 1896, the skillful leadership of Emperor Menelik, the courage of the Ethiopian soldiers, coupled with the tactical mistakes of the Italian command, led to the complete defeat of the colonialists. East Africa The territories lying between the African Great Lakes are called the East African Inter-Lakes. Here, at the turn of the 1st and 2nd millennia, the state of Kitara arose, which flourished in the 12th-14th centuries. The state was formed as a result of the interaction of agricultural and pastoral peoples. The agricultural culture was brought by the peoples of the Bantu group, the pastoral culture was brought by the peoples of the Nilotic group, who came to the Mezhozerje, as they say, from the Ethiopian highlands. By the beginning of the New Age, Kitara had to cede leadership in the Mezh-lake region to its former small and inconspicuous southern province - Buganda, whose inhabitants were called "Baganda". Buganda became one of the largest states in pre-colonial Tropical Africa. From Kitara, Buganda inherited the division into provinces, but here they were divided into smaller districts. Each province or district was headed by a governor appointed directly by the supreme ruler - a tavern. Kabaka was considered a link with the spirits of their ancestors, who ascended to the legendary founder of Buganda. Kabaka had absolute power. Clans, or clans, were a stable unit of social organization. The elders or their representatives occupied certain court posts, which were hereditary, and at first made up the majority of the administrative class. However, in the XVIII century. there is a gradual formation and strengthening of the service aristocracy, on which the taverns increasingly relied. Buganda reached its greatest prosperity under the tavern Mutesa I (reigned 1856-1884), who created the beginnings of a standing army and a fleet of war canoes. The interlake region developed in relative isolation from outside world . Merchants, including slave traders from the coast of the Indian Ocean, came here only in the second half of the 18th century. They, representatives of the Swahili civilization, brought Islam with them. The first Christian Europeans were seen in Buganda only in 1862, they were the famous English travelers J. Speke and J. Grant. And in 1875 another famous traveler, G. M. Stanley, visited Buganda. On his initiative, European missionaries appeared in the country, followed by colonial expansion. In the 7th-8th centuries on the ocean coast. Africa, at the junction of local cultures and Islamic culture, brought by settlers from Arabia and Persia, the Swahili civilization arose. By the XIII century. coastal trading settlements grew into large city-states of Kilwa, Pate, Lamu, etc. The Swahili civilization was a hotbed of trade and stone urban construction, a rich spiritual culture flourished here, which was characterized by lyrical songs and epic poems in the local Swahili language. Chronicles were kept in every city-state. The Swahili city-states fell into decline after the Great Geographical Discoveries, as a result of which the Portuguese gradually seized the initiative in maritime trade - the basis of the economic prosperity of the Swahili civilization. The successor of this civilization was the Zanzibar Sultanate, which arose at the behest of the Omani Sultan Sayyid Said. By 1832, he moved there, including in his possessions up to 300 large and small neighboring islands. Clove plantations were established on Zanzibar and neighboring islands, which became the basis of the economic prosperity of the Sultanate. Another important article was the slave trade - the sultanate became one of its largest centers, supplying slaves from the hinterland of the East. Ariki to the Middle East. After the death of Sayyid Said in 1856, his empire was divided between the heirs into two parts - the Omani and Zanzibar sultanates. The Zanzibar sultans pursued an active foreign policy; consulates of all the leading European powers and the United States were opened on the island. Zanzibar became the gateway to the East. Africa for European goods, and the slave market was closed in 1871 by Sultan Seid Bargash under pressure from European powers. In the course of the "scramble for Africa", the Zanzibar Sultanate eventually became dependent on Great Britain. Equatorial Africa Central Africa is one of the most difficult regions for human life. Here, dense tropical forests give way to plateau savannahs, rising in ledges from the ocean deep into the continent. On the easternmost of these plateaus, Shaba, the Bantu, in the course of their migrations, consolidated at the turn of the 1st-2nd millennia and began secondary migrations. By the beginning of the New Age, on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean south of the mouth of the river. Bakongo settled to the south of them, in the territory of modern Angola - bambundu, in the interfluve of Kasai and Sankuru - bakuba, on the Shaba plateau - baluba, and in the northeast of Angola - balunda. In the XIII century. south of the river mouth. Congo, on the territory of modern Angola, the state of the Congo arose, the rulers of which - the manikongo - as a result of contacts with the Portuguese in the 15th century. adopted Catholicism. During its heyday (XVI - first half of the XVII century), the Congo was divided into 6 provinces, there were many court positions with magnificent titles. In the second half of the XVII century. internecine wars broke out in the country more than once. The so-called Antonian heresy contributed to the final collapse of the state, when a certain prophetess Beatrice appeared in the country, announcing that St. Anthony. She preached, in particular, hatred for the missionaries and the king who was in their hands. Beatrice was burned at the stake in 1706, and her supporters were defeated by the royal troops only in 1709. After that, practically only the province surrounding the capital, Mbanza-Kongo (San Salvador), remained from the Congo. The state of Angola (Ndongo) arose on the southern periphery of the Congo c. 15th century It was populous and polyethnic. The basis of its economy was shifting agriculture and cattle breeding, as well as metal processing (iron and copper), pottery and weaving. Ndongo had a strong army at that time, numbering up to 50 thousand soldiers. It was this circumstance that determined the stubborn resistance of the state to Portuguese penetration (the so-called Angolan wars from 1575). Resistance to the Portuguese was led by Nzinga Mbandi Ngola (born c. 1582), first a princess, and from 1624 the ruler of Ndongo. She waged a long war with the Portuguese, concluding an alliance with Holland in 1641 against them. In October 1647 Angolan-Dutch troops defeated the Portuguese. However, they took revenge in 1648. The death of Nzinga in 1663 contributed to the further decline of Ndongo, and from the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th centuries. Portugal subjugates Angola. In depth Equatorial Africa the states of the Bakuba, Baluba and Balunda peoples successively reached their peak. The first, called Bushongo, arose towards the end of the 16th century, experienced its highest flowering in 1630-1680, it is known, in particular, for the slave guard and the specialization of judges in various types of cases. The heyday of the Luba state - the end of the 18th - the beginning of the 19th centuries. At that time, it extended from west to east for 600 km. The title of the supreme ruler of the state is mulohve. Under him, there was a council of nobility and a nominal mother co-ruler. The title of the supreme ruler of the balunda state is muata yamvo. The state reached its peak in the 18th and first half of the 19th centuries. The expansion of the balund to the east led to the emergence of approx. 1750 state of Kazembe, arranged according to a similar pattern. By the end of the XVIII century. Kazembe became the dominant force in the south of what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia. The state traded with the East African ocean coast and in 1798-1799 successfully repulsed the attacks of the Portuguese military expedition. The states of the hinterland of Equatorial Africa had much in common. They long time developed almost in complete isolation. At the head of each of them was the supreme hereditary ruler, determined by the norms of maternal law. Under the ruler, there was a council of nobility and numerous courtiers. Each state had several levels of administration. The residence of the ruler was in an urban-type settlement, but the location of the capital was constantly changing. The state of Bakuba was the most stable in composition, the Baluba state was less stable, and even less stable was the Balunda state. In general, it can be noted that these were typical of the so-called early African states. South Africa Africa is one of the regions of anthropogenesis. Australopithecus remains were found here. It is believed that it was in this region that the formation of the Khoisanids took place: the Saan (Bushmen) and the Khoi, or Nama (Hottentots). They are considered a sub-race of the Negroid race. The Saan are hunters and gatherers. Koi (Nama) have long since switched to cattle breeding, by the beginning of the New Age they formed conical clans. Archaeological excavations show that already at the end of the XV century. Bantu began to appear in the region. Bantu South. Africa by the New Age, there was a property inequality. There was a supreme elder, he had advisers, below were the elders of the exogamous clans. From time immemorial, their associations were not tribal, but territorial. The clan was the basic unit of social organization; in parallel, conical clans were formed and chiefdoms were formed. In the interfluve of the Zambezi and Limpopo, starting from the 9th century. civilization of Zimbabwe. The ethnic basis is the Karanga and Rozvi peoples, two branches of the Bantu-speaking Shona people. Civilization lasted ca. 10 centuries, known for large stone buildings for public and cultural purposes. In the XV century. one of the rulers of the state took the title of Mwene mutapa, and the state became known as Monomotapa. Its decline, like that of the Swahili city-states, was brought about by the Portuguese conquests in the East. Africa and the Portuguese monopolization of maritime trade in the Indian Ocean. On April 6, 1652, a fort was founded at the foot of Table Mountain, which became the beginning of the city of Kapstaada (now Cape Town). The Dutch East India Company established a stronghold there. Some of its employees became farmers, and farmers also moved directly from the Netherlands. The population of the Cape Colony also grew rapidly due to immigrants from German lands, and later French Huguenots. The development of farming led to a massive drive of the Nama from the lands. Wars accompanied the entire subsequent history of the whites in southern Africa - this was the main way of the territorial expansion of the Cape Colony. From 1654, the East India Company imported slaves from the island of Madagascar into the Cape Colony. The Boers became a new ethnic group that arose in Yuzhn. Africa as a result of mixing immigrants from the Netherlands, German lands, France. Their language - Cape-Dutch (now Afrikaans) - gradually moved away from classical Dutch. The system of administration of the Cape Colony remained almost unchanged until it passed into the hands of the British in 1806. The colony was headed by a governor. He presided over the Political Council, which played the role of the highest authority in the colony. The provinces were ruled by landdrosts, who headed the respective councils. There was no standing army, but farmers were required to perform military service in the event of hostilities. The possessions of the Dutch East India Company on the Cape is the first settlement, or resettlement, colony on the African continent, immigrants from Europe settled there forever and ran a productive economy. Since 1806, British rule was finally established in the Cape Colony. In 1820-1821, more than 5,000 families of settlers came to the Cap, as a result, the white population of the colony doubled. The Boers became a minority even among the whites. In 1808, the British authorities on the Cape banned the slave trade, and in 1834, the prohibition to own slaves. All this undermined the foundations of the Boer economy and overwhelmed their patience. The Boers decided to leave the Cape Colony, which they once founded. The most large-scale migration, carried out under the leadership of Peter Retief, began in 1835, having received the name of the Great Trek. Over 5 thousand Boers crossed the river. Orange and left the Cape Colony. By 1845 the number of settlers had increased to 45,000. In 1839, the South-East. In Africa, an independent Boer state arose - the Republic of Natal. However, after 4 years, the British captured this territory as well. Afrikaners were forced to migrate again to the hinterland of the South. Africa, where they formed two new republics: in 1852 - Republic of South Africa (from 1856 it was also called Transvaal) with its capital in Pretoria, and in 1854 - the Orange Free State with Bloemfontein as its capital. Since the size of many farms reached 50-100 thousand acres, the labor of native laborers and slaves was actively used. From the very beginning of the existence of the Cape Colony, there were anti-colonial uprisings and uprisings by the Khoi, and then by the Bantu-speaking peoples. The eastward expansion of the Cape Colony led to protracted wars with the Xhosa people. The so-called Kaffir wars continued with varying success from the 70s of the XVIII century. until the 80s of the XIX century. The development of the South African Bantu was not uniform. The processes of ethnic consolidation manifested themselves to the greatest extent among the Zulu and Sotho. In the 1820s and 1840s, these processes, which coincided with the expansion of European expansion and the Great Trek, were called "umfekane" - "grinding" in the Zulu language. In the course of this complex phenomenon, the Zulu ethnos appeared and the so-called empire of Chaka arose. At the same time, the Ndebele ethnos was formed and the Mzilikazi empire arose, the Basotho ethnos and the Mshweshwe empire arose. During the Great Trek, the Boers clashed with the Zulus, who had a well-trained regular army. December 16, 1838 on the river. In Buffalo, a decisive battle took place between the army of Chaka's successor, Dingaan, and several hundred Boer settlers. The Boers, armed with firearms, killed more than 3,000 Zulus. After the defeat of Dingaan, his state fell apart. The Zulus were first left the territory north of the river. Tugela, but then these lands were captured by Europeans. The autochthonous population of Namibia are the Saan (Bushmen). Later, the Nama and the Herero came there. Migrating to the north of modern Namibia, the Ovambo have long bred large and small cattle, the main agricultural crops for them were cereals. At the beginning of the New Age, they had social supra-clan structures - chiefdoms and early states. Herero constantly moved in search of pastures and water, overcoming great distances. Their economic unit was a community headed by an elder, but by the middle of the 19th century. the institution of omukhona - a hereditary supra-communal leader - and chiefdoms appeared. These chiefdoms were completely independent. One of these omuhon was Magarero (Kamagerero, the self-proclaimed paramount chief of the Herero), who came to the fore during the wars against the Nama (1863-1870). Separate Nama groups moved northward into the territory of modern Namibia. One of the manifestations of the Umfekane process was the invasion of Namaz-speaking groups to the Eagles there. Their invasion disrupted the traditional way of life local population and the fragile socio-political balance in these parts. In the 1830s-1850s, the Orlam leader Jonker Afrikaaner subjugated many Nama and Herero groups and created a military-territorial entity whose authority extended over most of central regions modern Namibia. After the death of Jonker Afrikaaner in 1861, his state collapsed, but the Herero kept the Nama in constant fear. Wars between the Herero and the Nama continued intermittently for almost the entire 19th century. In 1890, in the face of a common danger for the Herero and Nama - German colonialism - peace was finally concluded between them. The giant island of Madagascar is inhabited mainly by representatives not of the Negroid, but of the Mongoloid race, speaking the languages of the Malayo-Polynesian family. Archaeological finds indicate that the formation of the peoples inhabiting Madagascar took place in the course of numerous migrations and assimilation of immigrants from Indonesia, East. Africa and countries of the Arab East. By the beginning of the XVI century. The island has approx. 18 ethnic groups differing from each other in the form of economic activity. In the XVI-XVII centuries. several early political formations arose on the territory of Madagascar, the most significant of them is Imerina, the ethnic basis of which was the geldings. Until the end of the XVIII century. Imerina experienced a period of civil wars. Andrianampuinimerina became the unifier of the state. By this time, three main social strata had developed there: the nobility, ordinary community members, and patriarchal slaves. 19th century - the time of the rapid development of Imerina as a single state. Radama I (reigned 1810-1828) created a regular army according to the European model, numbering up to 10 thousand people, and managed to subdue almost all the peoples who lived in the lowland coastal regions of the island. Under him, missionaries opened schools, the first printing press appeared, and the foundation was laid for the introduction in 1876 of universal free education for children from 8 to 16 years old. The construction of the first canal in the coastal zone of the island began, and in 1825 a sugar factory was opened. The throne of Radama was inherited in 1828 by his wife, Ranavaluna I, who continued to strengthen the state, with her the first legal code, the Code of 46 Articles, was published. The last absolute monarch of Imerina, Radama II, opened the doors to the island to the French, signing an agreement with them in 1862. In 1863-1896, the de facto ruler of Imerina was the prime minister and husband of three queens, Rainilaiarivuni. In 1868 he declared Christianity in the form of Anglicanism (see Church of England) the state religion of Imerina. Under him, Madagascar flourished. The legislative system and the state apparatus were strengthened. French expansion to the island resumed in 1882. As a result of two Franco-Malagasy wars (1883–1895), France abolished the local monarchy and in June 1896 declared the island its colony. Neither the heroic armed resistance of the inhabitants of Madagascar, nor the firm position of their ruler helped. The colonial division of Africa The colonial division of Africa began in the last quarter of the 19th century. An important stage was the Berlin Conference on the division of the river basin. Congo (November 1884 - March 23, 1885). Russia also participated in it, chaired the conference German Chancellor O. Bismarck. On February 26, 1885, the most important document of the conference, the Final Act, was adopted, declaring freedom of trade in the Congo basin, its estuaries, and neighboring countries. The so-called principle of “effective occupation” was established, i.e., the colonial powers were obliged not only to declare their sovereignty over a particular territory, but also to create a management system there, impose taxes, build roads, etc. The colonial division of Africa ended in mostly towards the end of the 19th century. As a result, the entire Tropical and South. Africa, with the exception of Liberia and Ethiopia, found itself in one form or another in colonial dependence on the metropolises - Great Britain, France, Portugal, Germany, Belgium, Italy. Tropical and South Africa in the XX - early XXI century. In the history of the Tropical and Southern. Africa in the 20th century there are several defining moments that are closely related to key events in world history. These were the results of the First World War of 1914-1918 and the emergence of the mandate system; the impact of the victory in World War II 1939-1945 of the Anti-Hitler coalition; the confrontation between the capitalist and socialist blocs and the acceleration of decolonization (the year of Africa - 1960). An equally important milestone was the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s. The final formation of colonial regimes in most African possessions took place at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. XX century in the Tropical and Southern. Africa is the time of formation and evolution of colonial societies. Colonial society is not an intermediate historical stage of "modernization" or transition from pre-capitalist society to capitalist, but a special social phenomenon with its own laws of development, social groups, political institutions, etc. Colonial society as a type of sociality does not end with the achievement of political independence by African countries, but remains there with some modifications almost to this day. The colonies gradually turned into agrarian-raw material appendages of the metropolises. S. x. and the emerging industry of the African colonies (mainly mining and manufacturing) were designed mainly for export. On the lands appropriated by the Europeans, large farms or plantations arose. Dealing with pre-capitalist societies, the colonial authorities themselves inevitably used pre-capitalist methods of their exploitation, such as forced labor, as well as mass expulsions of Africans from the lands and their resettlement in reserves. The latter was characteristic of the resettlement colonies, in particular Kenya, Sev. and Yuzhn. Rhodesia (Zambia and Zimbabwe), Southwest. Africa (Namibia). The clash of pre-capitalist societies with the realities of European capitalism led to the fact that the capitalist way of life in Africa was not purely capitalist: as a rule, forced labor or the labor of otkhodniks was used there. The otkhodnik is one of the central social figures of the colonial society. This is an individual who spends part of his life on earnings (seasonally, sporadically, or in several years on an accord basis), but is not excluded from his original economy, where his family continues to live and work. In reality, the colonial peasant is a otkhodnik, a laborer with an allotment, a community worker who practically leads a subsistence economy, etc. An important element in the social structure of colonial societies is the so-called native leaders and rulers. Having become part of the colonial system, they contributed to the integration of ordinary community members into the colonial society, performing the functions of "native" administrations on the ground - collecting taxes, organizing public works, maintaining law and order. Even at the dawn of the history of colonialism in Africa, many of its peoples with weapons in their hands tried to defend their independence. Herero and Nama uprisings in the Southwest. Africa (1904-1907), Maji-Maji uprising of 1905-1907 in the German East. Africa and other performances inevitably waited for defeat due to the inequality of forces. The “mastering” of the African continent by European powers, the formation and evolution of colonial societies gave rise to new forms of African protest. At the first stage, until the end of the First World War, the struggle of the Africans developed not so much against colonialism as such, but for the regulation of relations between the colony and the mother country. Later, anti-colonial protest took on new forms and was realized in other spheres of life. For many years, in many parts of Africa, one of the most important forms of anti-colonialism was Afro-Christian and Islamic movements and sects. Passive protest resulted in non-payment of taxes, boycott of European goods, flight to neighboring colonies, etc. The decolonization of the African continent was not a straightforward process with a predetermined goal. In the 20 years between the wars, the public consciousness of Africans began to form ideas about the possibility of alternative ways of development - not only under the auspices of the European metropolises, but also within the framework of self-government, the principles of which were widely discussed by numerous socio-political organizations that arose at that time (African National Congress South Africa, established in 1912, the National Congress of the British Zap. Africa, established in 1920, and other movements and parties). Of great importance in their formation were the ideas of pan-Africanism, which originated in the New World and fought against discrimination against all peoples of African descent. Socialist and communist ideas were also of some importance, especially in the South. Africa, where the Communist Party arose as early as 1921 and was admitted to the Communist International. Political parties of the modern type, which put forward demands for the independence of their countries, arose in Africa mainly after the Second World War. It was these organizations that led the movement for political independence in the third stage of decolonization, which began with the end of World War II. The allies in this struggle, which bore peaceful and armed forms, for the African peoples were, first of all, the countries of the Eastern Bloc and various international, regional and national non-governmental organizations. The United Nations and its specialized bodies, which constantly enriched the international legal foundations of this process, had a great influence on the formulation of the general principles of the decolonization process. The Fifth Pan-African Congress (1945) proclaimed a course towards achieving independence. Mass parties arose, old ones were established and new political leaders came to the fore. The British colony of the Gold Coast was the first to gain independence in 1957, taking the historical name of Ghana. In 1960, 17 African colonies gained political independence at once, mostly former possessions of France, which is why it went down in history as the year of Africa. Further, in the 60s, the British colonies in Tropical Africa became independent, after the Portuguese revolution, in 1975 - the former Portuguese possessions, in 1980 - the British South. Rhodesia, known as Zimbabwe. The declaration of independence of the last colonies of Black Africa falls on the 1990s: in 1990, Namibia, occupied by South Africa, gained independence, and in 1994, the special colonial regime was ended in South Africa, where, after the first general elections, a black majority government came to power. The delay in the process of decolonization of the continent in its southern regions can be explained primarily by the peculiarities of the development of so-called internal colonialism in countries with a complex ethnic composition of the population. In addition, it should be borne in mind that decolonization has always been seen as an important aspect of the confrontation in the ideological struggle between the Eastern and Western blocs, which allowed or deliberately provoked the emergence of “hot spots” within the framework of the Cold War. The decolonization of Africa did not lead to the resolution of all its former problems. Moreover, in the course of decolonization, new ones were outlined or emerged. In particular, the most serious problem that many African countries faced either on the eve of independence or shortly after its declaration was separatism. In Uganda, on the eve of independence, Buganda attempted secession. In Zaire (the former Belgian Congo, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), immediately after independence, two provinces were separated - Katanga and Kasai. In Nigeria in 1967-1970 there was Civil War with the breakaway "Republic of Biafra". Until today, a tense balancing act continues between the need to respect the right of peoples to self-determination, which is recorded in many international documents, including the fundamental documents of the UN, and the principle of maintaining territorial integrity, protected by every capable modern state. Another problem is the search by African countries for their place in the world, including the problem of choosing a model for socio-economic and political development, alliances with leading world and regional blocs. Another important problem faced by African countries was the need for spiritual decolonization, which has been discussed since the middle of the 19th century. said prominent members of the African intellectual elite, considering such a liberation a priority and much more important than obtaining the status of an independent state. In general, economic, political and ethnic issues in Tropical and Southern. Africa at the turn of the twentieth century. escalated. The average African's standard of living continued to fall. The militarization of many countries has intensified. A number of new and some old hotbeds of instability and conflicts have emerged in Somalia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, the Congo and other countries.
Russian Historical Encyclopedia
Tropical African countries
Negro-African civilization. The existence of this civilization is often questioned. The diversity of African peoples, languages and cultures south of the Sahara gives reason to argue that here, they say, there is no single civilization, but there are only "otherness". This is an extreme judgment. The traditional Negro African culture is an established, fairly well-defined system of spiritual and material assets, i.e. civilization. According to L. Senghor ( former president Senegal, philosopher, one of the authors of the African ideology "Negritude"), the main factors that determined the development of African civilization - "emotionality, intuition, close connection with nature." Similar historical and natural and economic conditions determined a lot in common in the social structures, art, mentality of the Negroid peoples bantu, mande and etc.
Already in the Neolithic era, famous rock carvings were created in the Sahara. In IV-VI centuries. reached its peak Aksumite state on the Abyssinian Highlands (whose culture was closely related to the South Arab). On the territory of modern Nigeria and Chad in VIII-XIX centuries the states of the Hausa peoples (in particular, the Kano Sultanate) successfully developed. In the XIV-XVII centuries. a number of large states formed in the basin of the river. Kongo, of which the kingdom of the Kongo is the most famous. In the Middle Ages, an outstanding culture flourished in the Zambezi-Limpopo interfluve Zimbabwe, characterized by monumental stone structures and developed metallurgy. Its creators, the farmers and pastoralists of the Bantu peoples, formed a powerful early class power - Monomotapu, which had a huge impact on the development of the culture of the peoples of modern Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, etc. The art of the peoples of the Ashanti, Yoruba and other ethnic groups and
States formed in the late Middle Ages on the Guinean coast of Africa.
Of course, the development of the culture of countries south of the Sahara was significantly influenced by colonization, the slave trade, racist ideas (especially those deliberately planted in the south of the continent), mass Islamization and Christianization of the local population. The beginning of an active mixing of two civilizational types, one of which was represented by a traditional community (a century-old form of organizing peasant life), the other by Western European missionaries who imposed Euro-Christian norms, was laid around the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. At the same time, it turned out that the old norms, rules of life are being destroyed faster than new, market ones are being formed. Difficulties were found in the cultural adaptation of Africans to Western values.
Of course, most of the Negroid peoples of Africa until the 20th century. did not know writing (it was replaced by oral and musical creativity). “High” religions (like Christianity, Buddhism or Islam) did not develop independently here, technical creativity, science did not appear, market relations did not arise - all this came to Africans from other regions. However, it would be a mistake to underestimate African culture and its "threads that bind". There is no people without culture, and it is not synonymous with European standards.
Thus, the basis of African civilization is the harmonious coexistence of people with nature. African civilization is not at all like Western culture, where individuality, competitiveness and material success are clearly expressed. The ideology of African civilization is, as noted above, negrshpyud, absolutizing features of the Negroid race.
The connections between nature and society in Africa have led to the creation of conditions for the sustainable dominance of such extensive forms of adaptation of the population to the natural environment as gathering (along with hunting) and slash-and-burn agriculture. These activities are included in the world, almost without changing it, and at the same time prevented the territorial concentration of the population and the formation of complex civilizational structures. At the same time, Africans have always been able to quickly adapt to a dynamic natural situation and change their lifestyle depending on the state of natural conditions.
Rivers had a great influence on the content and appearance of African civilizations. Their role in the development of the region is constantly becoming more complex. During the colonization of Africa by the European powers, the rivers became the ways for the colonizers to penetrate deep into the continent. It is no coincidence that the territories of many modern African cities
The states are stretched along the rivers and often bear their name (Sene-2 Gambia Ghana, Zambia, Congo, etc.). Rivers in Africa have also played a big role in the economic life of the countries of the region. I mean the use of water in irrigation, which is getting more and more developed, especially in the conditions of the onset of the desert on the savannah and the savannah on the forest. Farming in many countries of the region is entirely or to a large extent associated with artificial irrigation. At the same time, the utilization of waters and rivers for irrigation is increasingly combined with their energy use. Complex guide-building has become quite epic for many African countries. The use of rivers for navigation and fishing has been declining in recent decades.
The rivers of Africa, as before, play a very important role in the processes of consolidation and expansion of various racial types of ethnic groups and confessions. As the economy develops, the attraction of the population to the banks of the rivers noticeably increases. Often these areas become the main centers of the population explosion. These same territories are turning into urbanized spaces, where foreign and local capitals are held together.
The deep connection of man with nature determined the typological features of African civilization. Its basis remains ojoana and the multiplication of natural sources of livelihood (t e natural environment). Africans in the course of civilization worked out the structure and methods of conducting a traditional economy that best suits the natural characteristics of the region. Natural conditions have directly affected the person. stand out specific features African character - sociability, good nature, natural rhythm, but also impulsiveness. This also explains phlegm, indifference and a weakly expressed desire for innovation. Meanwhile, the undoubted value of African civilization is the community of people. In African conditions, man is given an equal place along with traditional realities and other images of civilization*.
* By the end of the original African civilization, the primary social friendship gradually gave way to a special type of community - secret titular community. Secret ritual corporations were „remain important _ nGm^lemshtom of the social order African society. They are a kind of counterbalance to all other types of power. With their help, "traditional justice" is carried out, as well as strict observance of customs. Classic examples in this sense are Sierra Leone. -minalnTbranch In the conditions of intensive settlement of Africans in the countries of Western Europe (and in Russia), there is no guarantee that sprouts or even owls of these secret ritual communities do not penetrate there.
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Describing African civilization, it should be noted that
the northern part of the continent and its eastern coast belong to
to the Islamic world. Ethiopia is a distinct culture.
In the south of the continent, a European culture was formed
heavily fragmented by regional tribal compo
nettom. It is important to note that the Europeans instilled Christianity
also in other parts of sub-Saharan Africa. However, so far in
this part of Africa is dominated by various tribal identities
nosti, paganism. On the ground tribalism* many
military intra- and interstate armed conflicts
The well-known Kenyan scientist A. Mazrui characterizes
temporary state on the African continent south of Sakha
ry: “A significant part of modern Africa is in
the process of decay and decay. Even the relative level of addiction
modernization achieved under colonial rule those
pen is lost. The subsequent collapse of statehood in
one after another African country in the early 90s. hint
There is a hitherto unbelievable solution: recolonization. For more and more
kyanpkL FRIKANTSEV ET ° s T o r o t e r t e r t e r t . If African
free^ ? Ma USP 6 ShN 0 united in the struggle for national
freedom, then, obviously, we failed to unite in the name of eco
economic development and political stability
law and ruin have become a post-colonial reality for too
many Africans. As a result, the question of recolonvdi arises.
from outside, this time under the banner of humanism" ionization
Natural Conditions "Resources of the UR - the African continent is a classic platform area of tropical land, the only one of its kind on the globe (Fig. 8.1). It is distinguished by a weak orographic contrast and the antiquity of the modern massive block of tropical land, is also reflected in the climatic peculiarity of this sector of the tropics: in ^ aridity, in the extreme unevenness of the territorial distribution of water resources and lower average water supply compared to other areas of tropical land and so-^TGG 5 ^ 3 "™ XerO F I -ny vegetable types over
Rice. 8.1. Tropical African countries:
/ - Gambia, 2 - Guinea-Bissau, 3 - Sierra Leone, 4 - Liberia, 5 - Togo, 6 - Equatorial Guinea, 7 - Eritrea, I? - Djibouti, 9 - Rwanda, 10 - Burundi, // - Malawi, 12 - Swaziland, 13 - Lesotho
makes African coasts inconvenient for modern seaports.
Africa is one of the most elevated continents. The average surface height above sea level is 750 m. According to this indicator, Africa is second only to Antarctica (2,040 m, considering the thickness of the ice sheet) and Asia (950 m). At the same time, Africa is characterized by a weak vertical dissection, which significantly distinguishes it from Europe, Asia and America, where vast lowlands stretch alongside powerful mountain ranges.
Nosti. The relief of Africa is dominated by monotonous elevated plains, over which isolated massifs and solitary mountains rise in places. The lowlands in Africa, in comparison with other regions, occupy a small area, located in narrow strips along the coasts.
Africa south of the Sahara almost completely "fits" within the hot belt of the Earth and the subtropics adjacent to it. Hence the important consequence: high temperatures during most of the year. In the equatorial and constantly humid subequatorial regions of the region, multi-layered moist forests grow, dark and difficult to overcome. In such forests, the crowns of trees, reaching several tens of meters, are intertwined so densely that the sky is completely invisible. It is stuffy and gloomy in the forests, there is neither grass nor clearings, only a layer of fallen, wet, rotten leaves, sometimes forming a viscous mess. Forests are exceptionally diverse in terms of tree species composition (the region accounts for 17% of the world's forest land with valuable tree species).
On both sides of the equatorial strip are areas tropical woodlands, or savannah forests, and tropical forest-steppe - savannas. Its most humid areas are characterized by very high (up to 2-3 m) grass cover. Individual trees are scattered among the grass and herbaceous plants. Savannah areas abound in pastures, cultivated lands, and quite large rural settlements are found.
In the north of the region, between the savannah and the Sahara, there is a vast and steadily expanding Sahel zone(sahel means shore, in this case meaning the edge, the coast of the desert). The process of desertification here began to bear the character of a catastrophe. To the south are the Namib Desert and the Kalahari semi-desert. There are no permanent surface waters, but in some areas there is a significant network of temporary watercourses that fill for a short time (they are called "omu-rambo").
The abundance of rivers and lakes makes sub-Saharan Africa rich in water resources. The equatorial regions are best provided with water. With distance from the equator, the availability of moisture and surface water resources decreases, reaching the minimum in deserts. Water resources in Africa, it is a source of artificial irrigation of arid regions, a source of energy resources, transport arteries. Fish stocks of inland waters are of great importance.
In Africa, as nowhere else, latitudinal landscape zonality is clearly manifested, which is “corrected” only in the south (the influence of the Indian Ocean and orography) and in the east (a consequence of tectonic activation). In general, within the continent there are
four large physical-geographical parts: North Africa, Central, East and South. Part Central (orEquatorial) Africa includes two physical and geographical areas:
1) Guinea coast, which means broadly
kaya coastal strip of the Gulf of Guinea, as well as North Guinea
the Neian Upland and the Cameroon Massif. Most of the territory
rii of this area is under the influence of the southwestern equa
torial monsoon bringing abundant rainfall. Natural
the specificity of the region is largely related to its transitional nature
from the savannas of Sudan to the equatorial forests of the river basin. Congo;
2) Congo basin and marginal mountains- territory, stretch -
running on both sides of the equator from the Atlantic to East Africa
Kansk Highlands, characterized by an equatorial climate and
covered with dense wet forests. Typical equatorial
the precipitation regime is typical for the flat part of the river basin. Kon
th, however, this area is the least favorable for
the life of people.
East Africa form two physical and geographical areas:
1) abyssinian highlands and Somalia(Abessomal) shared
the vast Afar depression. By the nature of the relief and climate, this
area is more complex than neighboring ones. If the Abyssinian Highlands
and the Harar plateau are an area with fairly humid
cold and cold climate, then it is surrounded by dry and hot
plateaus, which are reflected in the Somali peninsula and
cut of the Red Sea;
2) East African Highlands, located approximately
the same latitudes as the physiographic region of the basin
Congo and outlying mountains. However, local natural features
quite specific, which is associated with mountainous terrain (criss
the tall base of the highlands is broken by huge faults -
grabens, the bottoms of which are occupied by large lakes). If for
interior territories are characterized by a typical equatorial
precipitation regime, then the eastern part of the area adjacent to Ying
the Indian Ocean, is located in the zone of action of the trade winds.
South Africa characterized by the predominance of plateaus in the relief, the relative dryness of the climate, as well as the predominant change in zonal landscapes in the direction from east to west. The following physiographic regions are distinguished here:
1) South African plateau, occupying 3/4 of the entire territory of the region and characterized by a generally hot climate and relatively scarce rainfall. Only closer to the waters of the World Ocean, humid tropical air makes "amendments" to climatic regime;
2) cape mountains, representing the "tiniest"
physical-geographical area African continent. Her
the selection is due to the position on the coast, washed by the cold
the lofty Benguela current, and the specific subtropical
kim climate with dry summers;
3) island Madagascar, distinguished by well-known isolated
and characterized tropical climate, hot on
lowlands and moderate on high plateaus. southeastern
The trade winds bring abundant rainfall to the island. Gentle tempera
island tours favorably distinguishes Madagascar from the sweltering heat
east coast of the continent.
African bowels contain a large number of minerals(Table 8.1). The region is especially rich in non-ferrous ores (bauxites, copper, manganese), rare and precious metals. Significant reserves of resources for ferrous metallurgy. Of the energy resources, there are large reserves of oil, natural gas, uranium ores and coal deposits.
Mineral resources are unevenly distributed throughout the region. The southeast of the Congo (Kinshasa) and the adjacent regions of Zambia, the eastern half of South Africa are very rich in minerals. There are large reserves of mineral raw materials in South, West and Central Africa. The east of the region is less rich, but as geological exploration expands, the explored reserves of mineral raw materials increase there as well.
The land fund of the region is significant. However, the quality of African soils varies greatly. Many of their types, when reduced to natural vegetation and used in agriculture, quickly lose their natural fertility and are subject to erosion. With artificial irrigation, they are threatened with secondary salinization.
SUBREGIONS OF AFRICA
The economic zoning of Africa has not yet taken shape. In educational and scientific literature, it is usually divided into two large natural and cultural-historical sub-regions: North Africa and Tropical Africa (or "Sub-Saharan Africa"). As part of Tropical Africa, in turn, it is customary to single out West, Central, East and South Africa.
North Africa. The total area of North Africa is about 10 million km 2, the population is 170 million people. The position of the subregion is primarily determined by its Mediterranean "façade", thanks to which North Africa actually neighbors with Southern Europe and Southwest Asia and gets access to the main sea route from Europe to Asia. The "rear" of the region is formed by the sparsely inhabited spaces of the Sahara.
North Africa is the cradle of ancient Egyptian civilization, whose contribution to world culture you already know. In ancient times, Mediterranean Africa was considered the granary of Rome; traces of underground drainage galleries and other structures can still be found among the lifeless sea of sand and stone. Many coastal towns trace their origins to ancient Roman and Carthaginian settlements. The Arab colonization of the 7th-12th centuries had a huge impact on the ethnic composition of the population, its culture, religion and way of life. North Africa is still called Arabic today: almost all of its population speaks Arabic and practice Islam.
The economic life of North Africa is concentrated in the coastal zone. Here are the main centers of the manufacturing industry, the main areas of subtropical agriculture, including those on irrigated lands. Naturally, almost the entire population of the region is concentrated in this zone. The countryside is dominated by adobe houses with flat roofs and earthen floors. Cities also have a very characteristic appearance. Therefore, geographers and ethnographers single out a special, Arabic type of city, which, like other eastern cities, is characterized by a division into two parts - old and new.
The core of the old part of the city is usually a kasbah - a fortification (citadel) located on an elevated place. The Kasbah is surrounded by a close ring of other quarters of the old city, built up with low houses with flat roofs and blank fences of yards. Their main attraction is the colorful oriental bazaars. This whole old city, often surrounded by protective walls, is called medina, which means "city" in Arabic. Already outside the medina is a new, modern part of the city.
All these contrasts are most pronounced in the largest cities, the appearance of which acquires not only national, but also cosmopolitan features. Probably, first of all, this applies to Cairo - the capital and largest city of Egypt, an important political, cultural and religious center of everything Arab world. Cairo is exceptionally well located at the point where the narrow Nile valley merges into the fertile Delta, the premier cotton-growing region where the world's finest long-staple cotton is grown. This region was called delta by Herodotus, who noticed that in configuration it resembles the ancient Greek letter delta. In 1969, Cairo celebrated its 1000th anniversary.
The southern part of the subregion is very sparsely populated. The agricultural population is concentrated in the oases, where the main consumer and commercial crop is the date palm. On the rest of the territory, and even then not on the whole, only nomadic camel breeders live, and in the Algerian and Libyan parts of the Sahara there are oil and gas fields.
Only along the Nile valley does a narrow "band of life" wedged into the realm of the desert far to the south. Of great importance for the development of the whole of Upper Egypt was the construction, with the economic and technical assistance of the USSR, of the Aswan hydroelectric complex on the Nile.
Tropical Africa. The total area of Tropical Africa is more than 20 million km2, the population is 650 million people. It is also called "black Africa", since the population of the subregion in its overwhelming part belongs to the equatorial (Negroid) race. But in terms of ethnic composition, individual parts of Tropical Africa differ quite strongly. It is most difficult in Western and East Africa, where at the junction of different races and language families the greatest "pattern" of ethnic and political boundaries arose. The population of Central and South Africa speaks numerous (with dialects up to 600), but closely related languages of the Bantu family (this word means "people"). Swahili is the most widely spoken language. And the population of Madagascar speaks the languages of the Austronesian family.
There is also much in common in the economy and settlement of the population of the countries of Tropical Africa. Tropical Africa is the most backward part of the entire developing world, with 29 of the least developed countries. Today it is the only major region in the world where agriculture remains the main area of material production.
About half of the rural residents are engaged in subsistence agriculture, the rest - low-commodity. Hoe tillage prevails with the almost complete absence of a plow; It is no coincidence that the hoe, as a symbol of agricultural labor, is included in the image of the state emblems of a number of African countries. All major agricultural work is done by women and children. They cultivate root and tuber crops (cassava or cassava, yame, sweet potato), from which they make flour, cereals, cereals, flat cakes, as well as millet, sorghum, rice, corn, bananas, and vegetables. Animal husbandry is much less developed, including because of the tsetse fly, and if it plays a significant role (Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia), it is carried out extremely extensively. In the equatorial forests there are tribes, and even peoples, who still live by hunting, fishing and gathering. In the zone of savannahs and tropical rainforests, the basis of consumer agriculture is the slash-and-burn system of the fallow type.
Against the general background, areas of commercial crop production stand out sharply with a predominance of perennial plantations - cocoa, coffee, peanuts, hevea, oil palm, tea, sisal, spices. Some of these crops are cultivated on plantations, and some on peasant farms. It is they who primarily determine the monocultural specialization of a number of countries.
According to the main occupation, the majority of the population of Tropical Africa lives in rural areas. The savannahs are dominated by large riverside villages, while the tropical forests are dominated by small villages.
The life of the villagers is closely connected with the subsistence farming they lead. Local traditional beliefs are widespread among them: the cult of ancestors, fetishism, belief in the spirits of nature, magic, witchcraft, and various talismans. Africans believe that the spirits of the dead remain on earth, that the spirits of the ancestors strictly monitor the actions of the living and can harm them if any traditional commandment is violated. Christianity and Islam brought from Europe and Asia also became quite widespread in Tropical Africa.
Tropical Africa is the least industrialized (apart from Oceania) region of the world. Only one fairly large mining area has developed here - the Copper Belt in the Congo (formerly Zaire) and Zambia.
Tropical Africa is the least urbanized region in the world. Only in eight of its countries there are "millionaire" cities, which usually rise like lone giants above numerous provincial towns. Examples of this kind are Dakar in Senegal, Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nairobi in Kenya, Luanda in Angola.
Tropical Africa also lags far behind in the development of the transport network. Its pattern is determined by the "penetration lines" isolated from each other, leading from the ports to the hinterland. In many countries there are no railways at all. It is customary to carry small loads on the head, and at a distance of up to 30-40 km.
Finally, in sub-Saharan Africa, the quality is deteriorating rapidly. environment. It was here that desertification, deforestation, and depletion of flora and fauna assumed the most menacing proportions. Example. The main area of drought and desertification is the Sahel zone, stretching along the southern borders of the Sahara from Mauritania to Ethiopia across ten countries. In 1968-1974. not a single rain fell here, and the Sahel turned into a scorched earth zone. In the first half and in the middle of the 80s. catastrophic droughts have recurred. They took millions human lives. The number of livestock has been greatly reduced.
What happened in the area came to be called the "Sahelian tragedy". But it is not only nature that is to blame. The offensive of the Sahara is facilitated by overgrazing, the destruction of forests, primarily for firewood.
In some countries of Tropical Africa, measures are being taken to protect flora and fauna, National parks. This is especially true in Kenya, where international tourism second only to coffee exports in terms of income.
Tasks and tests on the topic "Subregions of Africa"
- States of Africa - Africa Grade 7
Lessons: 3 Assignments: 9 Tests: 1
- Tests: 1
Leading ideas: show the diversity of cultural worlds, models of economic and political development, the interconnection and interdependence of the countries of the world; as well as to ensure the need for a deep understanding of the patterns community development and the processes that take place in the world.
Basic concepts: Western European (North American) type of transport system, port industrial complex, "axis of development", metropolitan region, industrial belt, "false urbanization", latifundia, shipstations, megalopolis, "technopolis", "growth pole", "growth corridors"; colonial type of branch structure, monoculture, apartheid, subregion.
Skills: be able to assess the impact of the EGP and GWP, the history of settlement and development, the characteristics of the population and labor resources of the region, the country on the sectoral and territorial structure of the economy, the level of economic development, the role in the MGRT of the region, the country; identify problems and predict the prospects for the development of the region, country; highlight the specific, defining features of individual countries and give them an explanation; find similarities and differences in the population and economy of individual countries and give them an explanation, compile and analyze maps and cartograms.
Historically, Africa has been divided into two natural sub-regions: Tropical Africa and North Africa. But Tropical Africa still separately includes Central, Western, Eastern and Southern Africa.
North Africa: characteristics and features
This region is adjacent to Southwest Asia and Southern Europe and covers an area of about 10 million km2. North Africa has access to the sea routes from Europe to Asia, and part of this region forms the sparsely populated expanses of the Sahara desert.
In the past, this region formed the ancient Egyptian civilization, and now North Africa is called Arab. This is due to the fact that most of the population speaks Arabic and the main religion of the region is Islam.
The cities of North Africa are subdivided into two parts: the old part of the city is located on a hill and surrounded by protective walls, and the new part of the city is modern and stylish buildings.
North Africa is the center of the manufacturing industry, especially its coastal strip. Therefore, almost the entire population of this part of Africa lives here. Also North Africa is a region of subtropical agriculture.
Tropical Africa: characteristics of a backward region
This region is called "black Africa", as the bulk of the population belongs to the Negroid race. The ethnic composition of Tropical Africa is diverse, the population of South and Central Africa speaks closely related languages, but still they differ from each other. Swahili is the most widely spoken language.
The population of Tropical Africa is 650 million people, and the area is 20 million km2. This region is recognized as the most backward from the developing world, as it contains 29 countries that are considered the least developed in the world. .
This is due to the fact that the main industry is agriculture, which does not contribute to the development of such a large area and population of the region. It is noteworthy that the soil is cultivated in the absence of a plow, and agricultural activities are carried out by women and children.
Animal husbandry is not very developed, but there are regions in which hunting and fishing are practiced, mainly equatorial forests. Most of the population of Tropical Africa lives in rural areas, as people work either on plantations or on farms.
The life of the population is connected with subsistence farming, which is the basis of their life. In addition to Christianity and Islam in Tropical Africa, traditional beliefs are developed - belief in the spirits of nature, fetishism and the cult of ancestors. This region of Africa is called the least industrialized and least urbanized.
Only eight countries have millionaire cities: Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Luanda in Angola, Dakar in Senegal and Nairobi in Kenya. This region is characterized by environmental degradation, desertification, depletion of flora and fauna and deforestation.
In one of the desert regions of Tropical Africa, the "Sahel tragedy" occurred - due to the lack of precipitation for ten years, the Sahel became a scorched earth zone. Since 1974, droughts began to recur, subsequently killing millions of people and reducing the number of livestock.