...Africans The History of a Continent Chapter 11 Independent Africa, 1950-1980 Finally, the people of African felt like it was the dawn of a new era. An era of better health care, an era where people were happy, an era when babies where gladly made babies. A lot of things are characterized with this era. There was rapid population growth, growing economy, and independence. The gain of freedom also had its bad side. Debts were incurred, civil wars were fought, and political oppression was dominant. Rapid Population Growth Africa, being part of the baby boom had a drastic population increase around 1950. By the 1970’s the growth rate in sub Saharan Africa had increased from approximately 1 to 2.8 percent. One of the main reasons for the growth of the population was a continuous fall in death rate. The death rate fell from 22 per thousand to 16 per thousand between 1965and 1988. In sub-Saharan Africa, the life expectancy rose drastically from 39 to 51 between 1951 and 1988. Africa did not also experience as much crisis and hence the rate of crisis mortality also declined. The decline in infant mortality in Africa definitely played a big role in lowering the death rate. In the 1950’s 30-40 percent of children in most African countries died before the age of five. However in the mid 1970’s the infant mortality rate dropped to approximately 22-27 percent. The Western part of Africa however had higher mortality than most of the other countries. Another reason for the...
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...Trevor-Roper's comments about Africa Introduction In the mid nineteenth century, the German thinker Hegel, in his original Lectures on the Philosophy of History, pronounced that Africa is no verifiable part of the world; it has no development or improvement to show. Over 100 years after the fact, in 1965, then the Oxford University educator Hugh Trevor-Roper reverberated Hegel's notion. He pronounced that maybe, later on, there will be some African history to instruct. However, at present there is none, or next to know: there is just the historical backdrop of the Europeans in Africa. The rest is to a great extent murkiness, and obscurity is not a subject of history. Such assumptions are demonstrative of a bigot perspective and a general doubt of African accomplishments. Other than prejudice, in any case, explanations denying that Africa has a history are established in an essential origination of legitimate verifiable sources. It was trusted that social orders' advancements towards change and advance should have been recorded in composing structure at the general time that they happened. It was this emphasis on composing archives that rendered Africa's past imperceptible to the history specialist specifically and the more extensive open when all is said in done. Most African people groups did not create composing frameworks until the nineteenth and twentieth hundreds of years. Subsequently, there was a scarcity of composing records that students of history could attract on to study...
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...History South Africa’s and Nigeria’s histories have been dominated by the integration and conflict of several diverse ethnic groups. Looking at each nation’s history there was colonization by the Europeans, suffering of their people, assassinations of leaders and corruption in their governments. Today both nations are attempting overcome past wrong doings and improve the standard of life for their people. The earliest inhabitants of South Africa were the San and Khoekhoe peoples, known individually as the Bushmen and Hottentots or Khoikhoi; collectively called the Khoisan. Both were resident in the southern tip of the continent for thousands of years before the arrival of the European immigrants (Southafrica.info). In 1652, Jan van Riebeeck and ninety men landed at the Cape of Good Hope, under orders by the Dutch East India Company to erect a fort and build a vegetable garden for the benefit of ships on the Eastern trade route. The white colonists in South Africa, the Khoisan, and slaves from elsewhere in Africa and the East, formed the basis of the mixed-race group now known as coloured. The slaves from the East brought a powerful new element to South Africa's racial and cultural mix, especially with their religion of Islam. By the end of the 18th century the colonies population reached about 15,000. Known as Boers or Afrikaners, and speaking a Dutch dialect known as Afrikaans, the settlers as early as 1795 tried to establish an independent republic. South Africa...
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...Tiffany Ellis AC1110567 GE350 - World Geography Assignment 6_06 1/7/11 South Africa has had a history of treating people of African descent as inferior despite them being the majority. During the 19th century, British settlers tried to restrict the movement of black people in and around areas occupied by whites and controlled by the British. The South Africa Act of 1910 gave whites complete political control over all races. During World War II, Jan Smut led the United Party and began to loosen up on the segregation laws but the Sauer Commission was established in 1947 to focus on the relocation of blacks into urban areas and the negative effects it would have on white businesses and jobs. In the election of 1948, Smuts's United Party lost to the main Afrikaner nationalist party, the Reunited National Party, which joined the Afrikaner Party. Together they became the National Party. Racial segregation in South Africa became legal in 1948 when the National Party began to officially enforce apartheid and the rights of the majority, non-white people were diminished. The National Party then sorted people into racial groups of black, white colored, or Indian so residential areas could be segregated, sometimes by force. Several apartheid laws were passed since the inception of apartheid in 1948 until 1970. The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act of 1949 prohibited interracial marriages and the Immorality Act of 1950 made interracial sex a crime. The Population Registration...
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...as long as could be remembered, oral traditions existed in African societies. For Africans, oral tradition was a means for passing down history, folklore and stories from generation to generation. Everyone’s story is different; passing along oral traditions works to convey one’s culture. Oral tradition can even go so far as to teach the traditional values of life and give religious insight. Dr. Vincent Muli Wa Kituku explains that “voice unified a family, clan, or community”. In tradition, griots serve as storytellers, musicians and singers. They memorize these stories and songs completely, and pass them along. Thus, the role of the griot is important in the conservation of African history and culture. Throughout history, people have visited Africa and several countries within only to return home and share stories of their adventures. They recount what they see and often times regurgitate stories that they have heard. Is it possible to relate a visitor’s tale of Africa to the tales passed through generations by storytellers? While recounting a visit in a foreign country does give others an idea of that country may be like, hearing a story from someone within the culture provides a better understanding of that culture. D.T. Niane’s story of Sundiata and Ibn Battuta’s stories in Africa both provide the reader with knowledge of African history. However, given the importance of spoken word in African culture, Niane’s work serves as a more reliable source and properly provides a...
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...The culture of art has been apparent in every part of history dating back to the very beginning. It has allowed modern day people to learn and react. Just like many people before.It happens over and over, time and time again It is a way of communication. Not necessarily talking but the idea of sharing. Allowing a growth in knowledge and understanding. It opens one’s perception that may have been closed before. Cultures have connected and influenced one another over many years and continues as we speak. One of the most influential cultures of art stems from Africa. Africa is rich with culture especially in their dances, clothing styles, and musical instruments. Africa has influenced many other countries also and has made a huge presence in the...
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...Wickedly peppered through the depths of time, slavery dominates undue centuries and corrodes human existence itself as it taints mortal morale. With slavery strewn throughout countless countries, enslavement proves to be appalling in any aeon of the past or present. Brutally bonding innocent souls with the shackles of labor, slave trade in Sub-Saharan Africa during the Post-Classical Era, 600-1450 C.E., and the Early Colonial Era, 1450-1750 C.E., correlate through the time periods with the viley vain intent to collect and sell vulgar labor force. But the slave trade differs with the slave dealer’s motivation morphing throughout time, for the initial motive for slave trade commenced with the craving for personal profit and, overtime, altered...
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...Africa before the Transatlantic Slave Trade Racist views of Africa In the last 50 years much has been done to combat the entirely false and negative views about the history of Africa and Africans, which were developed in Europe in order to justify the Transatlantic Slave Trade and European colonial rule in Africa that followed it. In the eighteenth century such racist views were summed up by the words of the Scottish philosopher David Hume, who said, ‘I am apt to suspect the Negroes to be naturally inferior to the Whites. There scarcely ever was a civilised nation of that complexion, nor even any individual, eminent either in action or in speculation. No ingenious manufacture among them, no arts, no sciences”. In the nineteenth century the German philosopher Hegel simply declared ‘Africa is no historical part of the world.’ This openly racist view, that Africa had no history, was repeated by Hugh Trevor-Roper, Regius Professor of History at Oxford University, as late as 1963. Africa, the birthplace of humanity We now knowWe now know that far from having no history, it is likely that human history actually began in Africa. The oldest evidence of human existence and that of our immediate ancestors has been found in Africa. In July 2002 further evidence of the existence of early hominids in Africa was found with the discovery of the fossilised remains of what has been called Sahelanthropus tchadensis, thought to be between 6-7 million years old, in Chad. The latest...
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...the United States is still at the forefront in the economic world along with Europe, the days of their dominance is slowly dwindling. Regions such as China, South America particularly Brazil, India and others are growing at rates never before seen in these nations due to a multitude of different economic factors. However, in this new world economy, Africa seems to be left out. A place with an abundance of natural resources and agricultural capabilities, Africa has yet to reach its full potential. There are many theories to which one could attribute the lack of growth in Africa to but I will be specifically looking at decolonization and how, in my opinion, it has disallowed Africa to become a major player in the world economy. to understand why africaneconomies are still not growing like comparable emerging markets one must first start with the history and the worker for he/she is the driving force behind any economic system. in “dialects of decolonization” Cooper gives a detailed history of the French african worker during decolonization and reform movements. focusing on the social aspect of the labour movement, french west africa transitioned from a “class-centered, internationalist organization that insisted that workers subordiante their own concerns, interests and collective awarness to the emerging national struggle”. though this sounds honarbale, the will and the goals of the workers are not economically important and are one of the root causes of the economics problems...
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...territory; non-provision of public services; widespread corruption and criminality; refugees and involuntary movement of populations; and sharp economic decline. The level of government control required to avoid being considered a failed state varies considerably amongst authorities. Furthermore, the declaration that a state has "failed" is generally controversial and, when made authoritatively, may carry significant geopolitical consequences. Example: Modernization theory Discussion Question:In what ways has the first world adversely affected Africa’s development? Does modernization theory have any validity in regards to Africa? The modernization theory of the 1950s is rooted in capitalism and suggests that society drastically change by giving up the traditional views and adopts new ideas and values. The theory is mainly about Africa leaving their traditional ways behind in favour of the European way of...
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...Famine in Africa English 102 Baker College Famine in Africa Does music have the ability to impact listeners socially? Yes, music impacts listeners socially by adding meaning and themes to their lyrics. Artists can write music about anything that they want, which can include social issues around the world. Music that includes social issues can inspire people and give them the motivation to try and do something about the issue. “We Are The World”, by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie, impacted listeners because it addressed very real issues that the African continent was experiencing. Specifically, the lyrics bring awareness of hunger and poverty as results of the drought. In the 1980’s the continent of Africa was going through troubling times. The continents population was projecting at shocking numbers, degrading ecologically, and plummeting into debt. A rapidly growing population is a long term problem that is faced by any continent that can not sustain a good quality of life. The rate of death in Africa slowed, and the fertility rate increased. The average amount of children per mother is estimated at 6.2. Couples are getting married at younger ages which is slowly raising the statistic. The physical resources in Africa in the 1980’s where degrading due to eroding soil, falling water tables, and dying forests. With no land there is no food to grow, starving the population. In order to grow crops however one is required to have money. A debt crisis swept over Africa which...
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...particularly in a volatile discipline like paleontology, but thus far the search for early hominids outside of Africa has been pursed without success. For now we may assume that these early hominids did not stray to any meaningful degree, unlike earlier apes and later hominids. (Finch, 2011) Africa is said to be the motherland of all human beings along with the hominids that were before them. Some believe that as hominids reached the homo erectus stage they begun to populate the rest of the world and formed into homo sapiens through parallel evolution. While on the other hand there is a belief that hominids stayed in Africa up until the homo sapiens stage and populated the rest of the world because they were advanced enough to do so. It is uncountable evidence to support that all human life comes from Africa. The large debate is; the belief that hominids evolved in the continent Africa until they reached the homo sapiens stage versus the belief that hominids left Africa in the homo erects stage and walk out of Africa through parallel evolution and formed into the homo sapiens stage. Evolution took place in Africa for hominids up until the homo sapiens and at that point they were intelligent and well equipped enough to begin to walk out of Africa and populate the rest of the world. (Finch, 2011). There is no doubt that the hominids that existed early in history still exist to this day, but just in a different form. As times changes hominids evolve along with other life...
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...African American History 27 October 2014 Ebola Africa was already isolated from the rest of the word due to the percentage of sick people there. Africa is known for the sick and unhealthy. Also, the people of Africa can’t afford medicine to be cured as well. With this being said whites are the first priority of the doctors and people I charge if you ask me. Maybe it was the decisions from the beginning to make the Ebola Decease only cure white victims. Before Ebola was in Africa people were Africa to go to Africa due to the sick people. And the unhealthy and dirty look the world was making it to be. In my opinion. The Ebola virus gave the world a more straight forward reason of why not to go to Africa. People already thought that Africans needed help and they count afford medicine for the sick even if it was a little cold or flu. Many individuals including me feel as if they are trying to die down the population of the world. So due to this Ebola Virus some people including me feel as if they were targeted because they were easier to kill off because they are not able to provide there selves with the things the need like medicine. Ebola isn’t a Virus that just came up this virus been around for many years. Ebola been around since 1976 it just came back now as a stronger and more serious problem. There are plenty of drugs that have been made for the Ebola Virus but, none have been approved by the Food And Drug Administration. “More than 10,000 people...
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...History always requires us to place things in their context and to avoid judging the past through the eyes of the present. But this is not true and it’s actually the opposite looking at the ideological forces that have shaped North (First World) and South (Third World) countries relations for half a century. In this essay one will be looking at the question of to what extend can the process of colonialism be blamed for the problems being experienced by developing countries today? Also matters pertaining to African migration, the spread of Islam, gold and slaves will be included in this essay as they are central to the process of colonialism. Towards the end of the last century, with a long history already behind it European colonization branched out in quite different forms according to the place and the interests of the metropolis. According to Thirlwell (1994:60) it was “a transitional period in which brutal power relations existed alongside paternalist feelings of responsibility towards natives who needed to be civilised” thus, great powers put the then dominant ideas into practice opening up the way to the so called “development” (Thirlwell, 1994). According to Rist (1997:100) “colonialism is a practice of domination, which involves the subjugation of one people to another”. The term colony comes from the Latin word colonus, meaning farmer. Thus, one believes that this root reminds us that the practice of colonialism usually involved the transfer of population to a new...
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..."Development in Africa: What is the Cutting Edge in Thinking and Policy" In the reading the authors have a discussion in length. Each other argues or discusses the development in Africa. Cheru argues that the development in Africa never started. This is because more developed theories being based on earlier European capitalist and their development experience. Tripp focuses on the post-Cold war development and human rights discourse as she states a “rights-based approach that stresses economic, social, and cultural rights, as well as civil and political rights.” James Mittelman holds that the Washing Consensus is now discredited and identifies six strategic points of engagement that can be used to promote home-grown solutions to developmental issues based on locally-produced knowledge (Schmidt & Mittelman 274). Cheru argue the development in Africa as it never happened. Cheru talks about the post-independence development model and how the model resembled the colonial development which stifled peasant independence and production. Due to this the number of peasants and their communities to initiate development autonomously was limited a lot. He argues that this means they will have to go back to the basics and review the final project. The reading states that the project failed due to it being threatened within the continent and the outside. The reading stated Africa’s current position in the global hierarchy provides us with a “compelling occasion to set in motion a transformative...
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