Continent of Africa: Lands Below the Sahara

[Music] spe [Music] the story of Africa is older than history itself since the age of Egypt and even before that the continent of Africa with its unusual landscape exotic animals and strange peoples as attracted Europeans attracted and frightened them because they were afraid they called Africa a land of savage mystery its rainforests became the white man's grave its vast stretches of empty desert were called hostile similarly the early Europeans seldom understood the peoples of Africa whom they feared and enslaved and therefore called Savage and ignorant beliefs they did not share they called weird rituals they did not understand were called brutal the art and music some of which they could understand they summed up as mysterious all these things were tropical Africa to Europeans and Americans and the myth of the Dark Continent deep and mysterious went unchallenged but the boldest were lured to Africa some attracted by the promise of high adventure exploring unknown lands hunting of big game the meeting of strange peoples some were moved to bring Christianity and what they considered to be the benefits of civilization to the African peoples but most were lured by the promise of the wealth wealth from the Harvest of raw rubber from the cultivation of sugar cane from the production of Ivory and from palmoil in the 19th century they also came in search of the minerals of the Earth the gold of the wit Waters R region of South Africa and of the gold old Coast the diamonds of the Congo and Kimberly region tanganika and Ghana the tin of Nigeria and the copper and uranium in the Congo despite hardships of travel the expansion of Europe spurred the conquest of tropical Africa beginning less than a century ago when the world was aroused by the exploits of hm Stanley and David Livingston Europeans began to come in growing numbers men who saw themselves as Builders of Empires came to the continent and in every part established governments and social services within a few decades busy modern cities such as Johannesburg now one of Africa's largest Rose from the deserts Plains and forests after World War II Men like this African political leader proclaimed to willing listeners that the world could not continue to exist half free and half Colonial educated Africans of course found that they could and determined that they would run their countries as modern independent states The Temper of the world was such that they won a hearing with the assistance in most cases of their former Colonial rulers African countries became independent and the small but effective African Elites became the new rulers as evidenced by Nigeria's Independence less than a century after Stanley and Livingston most of Africa has won freedom from colonialism and become a series of free Nations the continent of Africa second largest of all the world's land masses lies balanced on the equator attached in the Northeast to the largest continent Asia and separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea great bodies of water surround it the Mediterranean Sea on the North the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean to the East and the Atlantic Ocean on the West Africa both geographically and culturally is a dual land mass North Africa is usually considered part of the Middle East and is separated by the Earth's largest desert from subsaharan Africa they are two vast different regions North Africa which stretches across the top of the continent between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara belongs geologically to the Mediterranean region of Europe and Asia and historically has been influenced primarily by Asia Minor and Europe the whole of the continent below the Sahara is a high Plateau rimmed almost entirely by Foothills which drop off sharply to Coastal lowlands high mountains rise in the east central region of Africa with Mount kilamanjaro the continent's highest peak reaching over 19,500 ft more than half of the continent surface is drained by its five Great River systems the Congo Nile Niger zambesi and orange only the Niger ban way is navigable from the sea although all have Inland navigation many of these Rivers tumble off the central plateau in spectacular Falls such as the famous Victoria Falls more than twice the height of Niagara Falls in North America of the more than 11 million square miles of land in Africa almost 45% is covered by some type of grassland mostly Savannah or grassland that has scattered low trees to the South are stretches of dry plain and deserts with the principal vegetation Desert Shrub or desert grass the remainder little more than 2 million square miles is tropical rainforest land primarily along the guinea coast and the upper reaches of the Congo Basin as elevation increases in into the Savannah lands the daily temperature is lower and there is less rain in East Africa High plateaus account for a comfortable and temperate climate while in South Africa there is a humid subtropical climate like that of the Mediterranean area although for centuries there were outposts of European settlements scattered along the coasts and in South Africa large-scale Conquest waited Europe was too preoccupied with other matters and the African trade was profitable enough as it was then in the race for Empire King Leopold of Belgium was among the first to stake out a claim the French Protected Their Investments and trade by claiming the land north of the Congo River they also settled in the far north and west the British under the influence of Cil rh's dream of British control from Cairo to the cape established themselves throughout much of the continent the Portuguese Consolidated their hold but lost out to the British and their attempt to create a band across the continent the Germans Italians and Spanish also were in the ranks of the territory Grabbers but the Germans later lost their African possessions as a result of defeat in World War I at one time only two free countries remained Liberia a tiny Republic created and protected by the United States and Ethiopia ancient Christian kingdom of strong tradition that the Italians ruled only briefly before World War II under European rule more and more white men came and settled but all together they numbered only 5 million people mere islands of scattered white settlements among the continents 200 million Africans many African people still live a village life most of them depend for their living upon agriculture which they carry out with hand implements although these methods appear backward only a few areas in Africa are seriously short of food many Africans produce for the World Market exporting good-sized surpluses every year here pyramids of West African ground nuts await shipment to Europe some African tribes such as the Masai of East Africa keep and highly prize their cattle in many areas cattle are symbols of wealth and are butchered only on rare occasions in some regions traditional crafts persist such as the dying of cloth with Indigo the quality of which has been prized since ancient times weaving on crude but efficient looms operated by foot power Africans produce the fine native cloth which wears better than the imported cloth although imported cloth has great Prestige value many fashion imported pots and pans into more practical shapes for cooking in the traditional African manner metal workers still repair the farm implements and continue to make the Practical household utensils in addition many new crafts have been introduced bicycle repairment mechanics and expert carpenters in some parts of Africa notably in the west and south scientific commercial agriculture has been established in recent decades increasing numbers of Africans have been drawn to the European Farms to sell their labor as other Africans have sold their Surplus crops it is here that Africans came into contact with European civilization and the production methods associated with it while most agricultural produce is consumed within Africa products are increasingly exported to markets in Europe the largest community of white farmers in Africa is the africanas people of Dutch or hugenot descent and the British in South Africa these descendants of early immigrants have been established in this region for for over two centuries the Republic of South Africa is the largest white dominated Nation on the continent farther north in Rhodesia tanganika and Kenya European settlers chiefly from Britain have also developed large scale farming here Cel is being harvested prior to processing into rope cord and Twine toward the Tropical Atlantic coast of Central and West Africa Africans have developed many small Holdings on which they grow a number of valuable products here are the Coco Groves of West Africa owned and operated by Africans the agriculture Departments of the former colonial governments gave much assistance in their development but picking and removal of the cocoa beans from the pods is still done largely by hand here too are new coffee Orchards and one of the major export Palm kernels from which palm oil is obtained palm oil is used for soap and cooking oil there are large plantations of natural rubber in Liberia which are America's Chief source of natural rubber these and a number of other products for the most part introduced by Europeans have brought wealth and a desire for the goods of Western Civilization principal Imports include manufactured goods machinery and food but far greater wealth has come from beneath the soil the vast gold reserves of South Africa were one of the first resources to be developed with the labor of Africans brought in from the tribal reserves of South Africa and neighboring areas particularly contract labor from mosambi wealth is produced that is one of the Main Stays of South Africa's economic Prosperity presently about 60% of the world's gold Supply comes from Africa the diamond mines of Kimberly also in South Africa and the mines in the Congo Ghana and tanganika provide most of the world Supply industrial diamonds come mostly from the Congo region while the production of gem diamonds is greatest in South Africa South Africa's wealth in gold and diamonds has spurred the development of heavy industry such as steel making a variety of manufacturing Industries has begun to supply the needs of South Africa's large population and equally important source of other minerals is the vast Congo Basin and neighboring regions in both East and West Africa the katanga region contains almost 20% of the world's supply of copper here too African labor produces the ore essential for the manufacturing nations of Europe and America one of the world's most important sources of tin is the mines of Nigeria in West Africa discoveries in Guinea of the crud door from which aluminum is produced resulted in a new and important industry to that country Africans grown into the mines and factories and city jobs were paid low wages but like the farm laborers were introduced to the practices of modern Western life with the growth of industry came an even more rapid spread of European ways across the face of Africa Elizabethville the center of katanga copper Mining and leopoldville a transportation and governmental Center in the Congo sprang up deep in the wilderness while Johannesburg principal industrial city of South Africa is only one of a dozen cities and scores of smaller communities as modern as any in Europe or America in many parts of the continent particularly in the South African settlements have been segregated from White communities even when Africans had modern Housing and Community Services however in many African communities squalled slums called locations sprawl in the very shadow of modern Office Buildings and factories most of the ruling governments have been making substantial efforts to improve the health and physical well-being of their populations great efforts have been made at education while up to 1960 only a few thousand Africans had an opportun for an education much beyond the simple rudiments a fortunate few had opportunities for higher education either an Africa's universities or those of Europe and America everywhere during the colonial period the work and the life of Africans was given close direction and supervision there was little opportunity for attaining positions of responsibility white men often kept a art from Africans and in most aspects of Life have enjoyed the Privileges and luxuries of a dominant class Africans have experienced great differences in the methods of rule of different European governments but all have experienced one common result the weakening of traditional tribal organization and the substitution of a new way of life and inevitably political revolution since the end of World War II Africans have risen in organized movements to gain self-rule over their economic life as well as their governments Revolt has been peaceful in most territories violent in a few it brought a few outbreaks of terrorism which created a virtual state of War political Revolt came tragically to aead in the Republic of the Congo but in many of the countries notably in Nigeria and Ghana the peoples gained freedom from Colonial Powers through orderly processes of government everywhere independent African nations were being fledged the face of Africa changed swiftly from a pattern of colonial empires to a family of free Nations but these nations generally face Graver problems than the winning of Independence they are faced with staggering problems