..."Nevertheless the sands have destroyed only the body of ancient Egypt Civilization; its spirit survives in the lore and memory of our race" Some major contributions of Ancient Egypt to world culture are the inventions of pyramids, glass, linen, paper, ink, the calendar, the clock, arts, crafts, geometry and the alphabet. Ancient Egypt was big on Architecture by designing handmade Pyramids. Such as Kufu’s Pyramid, which was so complex in design elements that it still remains a mystery. Astronomy, Astrology and time helped the world distinguish the two. Observers did time keeping, and prediction of future and fate was something they called single “ science”. Astronomers calculated the length of a solar year with an accuracy of six minutes, then divided the year into twelve month, a month into four weeks, and a day into twenty-four hours. This system the astronomers came up with proved to be accurate and successful, as it is reflected now in the cycle of seasons. Today we use that system in everyday life. Before spring arrives we set our clocks forward due to change in seasons and daylight savings. The arts and crafts of the Egyptians, was the design of huge pyramids, sculptures of items that were placed in the pyramids and tombs when people died. The jewelry and clothing was very unique and stylish. Especially those of upper class or hierarchy. Egyptian climate with its hot summers and mild winters required light clothing made from plant fibers, predominantly linen. The Kings...
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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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...scholarship where somehow they isolate Africa from the world by putting Africa as the place for blacks who share a common identity. This assertion set obstacles to moving forward and engaging with the African history. For Mbembe identity is a substance constituted through a series of practices which means that African identity cannot be named or subsumed under one category. It is of importance to note that Africa is not a country, though African share common African realities, cultures do differ. Mbembe (2002:240) proceeds to give a persuasive critique of dominant intellectual trends for having only selected certain elements of the African collective imaginaire to define an African self, these privileged moments in African history being slavery, colonisation and apartheid. In the present day African intellectuals still perceive and portray Africa as a victim in their writings. He identifies suffering and victimisation as the main episteme of these narratives. Following these narratives, the implication is that Africa has always, has been acted upon by the external forces. This means that Africa is powerless in the international relations and will never progress due to being stuck in history, where history has been imposed on Africa. For progress and the embracing of the African consciousness it is therefore important to engage with the history, shift the way Africa has been perceived. In doing so we shouldn’t neglect the role played by history through colonisation, slavery and apartheid...
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...History The history of Africa begins with the prehistory of Africa and the emergence of Homo sapiens in East Africa, continuing into the present as a patchwork of diverse and politically developing nation states. Some early evidence of agriculture in Africa dates from 16,000 BCE,[1] and metallurgy from about 4000 BCE. The recorded history of early civilization arose in Egypt, and later in Nubia, the Maghreb and the Horn of Africa. During the Middle Ages, Islam spread through the regions. Crossing the Maghreb and the Sahel, a major center of Muslim culture was Timbuktu. Some notable pre-colonial states and societies in Africa include the Nok culture, Mali Empire, Ashanti Empire, Kingdom of Mapungubwe, Kingdom of Sine, Kingdom of Saloum, Kingdom of Baol, Kingdom of Zimbabwe, Kingdom of Kongo, Ancient Carthage, Numidia, Mauretania, theAksumite Empire, the Ajuuraan State and the Adal Sultanate. From the late 15th century, Europeans and Arabs took slaves from West, Central and Southeast Africa overseas in the African slave trade.[2] European colonization of Africa developed rapidly in the Scramble for Africaof the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Following struggles for independence in many parts of the continent, as well as a weakened Europe after the Second World War, decolonization took place. Africa's history has been challenging for researchers in the field of African studies because of the scarcity of written sources in large parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Scholarly techniques...
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...Abstract South Africa is a country located in the Southern tip of the Africa continent. It is currently one of the wealthiest nations in Africa along with Egypt and Nigeria. South Africa has a rich resource such as gold which was the main attraction for the British to come and colonized during the colonial time. It also has a great amount of wild animals and famous safari. South African people has been through many wars but nothing as hurt as the apartheid or the racial segregation which lasted for over 40 years. There are many famous historical figures that made a large impact on South Africa specifically and worldwide generally such as Nelson Mandela. Even though South Africa has changed tremendously in many aspects, it still ahs a long way to go in order to bring better and safer lives for its people despite of their races. Africa is the second largest continent in the world and also the second most populous continent (The World Factbook). It has around fifty-six independent nations and territories. And South Africa is one of them. The country is well known for its long history of forming, the apartheid and also its wealth. South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of the African continent. South Africa borders with the following nations Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Swaziland (South Africa info). Lesotho is an independent nation that surrounded by South Africa. There are about eleven languages spoken in South Africa and Afrikaans is the most...
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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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...Throughout modern history, Western powers such as the United States and Europe have always assisted weaker nations in order for those countries to maintain internal stability and external relations with other nations. Most often, Western powers to aid states with failing democratic systems or nations that are strategic allies in certain regions of the world. For Western powers, it is important to promote the ideals of Democracy, and assist other nations deemed as crucial to Democracy’s development. Democracies and its expansion are vital for several reasons Democratic nations foster peace and stability. Following World War II, the United States believed it was imperative to sustain and support Western Europe. At the time Western Europe was facing the encroachment of the Soviet Union and its communist ideologies. The United States saw its support for Western Europe as essential in order to preserve their alliance, and most importantly to continue strengthening and expanding democratic ideals. However, as of the past twenty years, when it comes sub-Saharan Africa, Western nations are not nearly as concerned about a states internal or external stability. For example, countries such as Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, and many other sub-Saharan countries are in utter turmoil, but the West has turned a blind eye. The burden now falls on organizations like the United Nations, Organization of African Unity, and other non-for profits to create solutions for the growing problems in Africa. Without any...
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...controlled about 10 percent of the continent of Africa, France to the north and Britain to the south (Edgar, 2008). As time goes by, other countries gain conquests, mostly in western areas of Africa. This essay will go over a few key points in history that led to the Age of Imperialism and the British colonization of Southern Africa. The essay will also identify key players in this age. Southern Africa was known for its gold and other valuable items that made it so appealing to Europeans. This and many other reasons led to wars over the areas that had high gold content. In the mid-1800’s European nations begin seizing power over countries in Africa. “By World War I Ethiopia and Liberia were the only countries not under European control.” (Edgar, 2008). In Belgium, King Leopold II had aspirations of conquest in African nations (Edgar, 2008). In 1876, he started the IAA or the International African Association in which he hires Henry Stanley to lead up exploration of this uncharted area (Edgar, 2008). Stanley was also dispatched to ascertain the whereabouts of David Livingstone, another famed explorer that was lost in the Congo (“Sir Henry…). When Stanley found Livingstone they became friends until his death in 1872 at Lake Bangweulu. Stanley continued where Livingstone left off, however and helped in the development of the Congo (“Sir Henry…). In a journal article written by Ralph J. Bunche, in The Journal of Negro History, the author explains that the invaders from the north...
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...Christian Ahearn Mr. Power College Composition 12 December 2008 The Apartheid in South Africa Imagine if you were denied a job because of your race. You could not go here or there whenever you wanted, or you were not allowed to receive healthcare, or were punished severely for what you thought was a petty crime. You would go to receive a marriage license but you would hear, “Sorry, interracial marriages aren’t allowed hear.” These were a few of the difficulties people of the nonwhite (black) population faced in South Africa during the apartheid. The apartheid was an unyielding governmental procedure of segregation and discrimination of the nonwhite population for the country of South Africa (Apartheid…). This paper will give the history of the country of South Africa and the development of the government which started the apartheid. Segregation of the South African population will be described by giving information and examples about the different social classes and job opportunities individuals were allowed to have based on their race. The intent of the paper is to show the hardships that the South African nonwhites faced and their struggles to become equal during the vast period of governmentally enforced segregation. The apartheid began with the enactment of the apartheid laws in 1948 and lasted until 1991 (Apartheid in…). During the time in which the apartheid laws were in effect the country was divided and the majority of the population was poverty stricken. In...
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...Noor Navaid P.7 Bolanos January 29, 2016 Imperialism in Africa History seems to repeat itself. Countries have disagreements, wars start, and nations began claiming land. One of the most repetitive problems with history is imperialism. European imperialism in Africa was driven by many causes, including the need for resources, trade and market, but most of all nationalism. One factor for imperialism in Africa was the need for resources. Countries in Europe took advantage of the fact that African land had many resources that would be of use for Europe. European countries would occupy African land and simply take its resources. For example, France took over French West Africa, and it wasn’t for enjoying the never ending sand dunes of the Sahara desert (Doc A). At first glance, it would seem unreasonable for anyone to be interested in taking over such “barren” land. The reality, however, was that French West Africa was rich with resources. The colony’s many resources included, gum, palm oil, cotton, peanuts, bananas, coffee, and cocoa, (Doc C & D). With all these resources, who wouldn’t want to own the Sahara Desert? Clearly imperialism was pushed by the abundant amount of resources available in Africa. Another reason for Imperialism in Africa was trade and market. In 1854, when Great Britain began trading and marketing from South Saharan Africa, the imports cost more than the profit of exports. By 1900, the gain from exports increased by ten times and were more than half...
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...HOMEWORK #4 CHAPTER 10; AFRICA 1. How do the principal musical manifestations found in the sub-Saharan Africa reflect the collective community and encourage group participations? a. Most of the collective music manifestations found in sub-Saharan Africa represent the community, and encourage group participation using a method that is called call-and-response. If they aren’t using a call-and-response such music’s are usually to be found at events such as religious ceremonies, and/or most other ritual based activities. 2. How is polyrhythmic music created in sub-Saharan Africa? b. Many different things coming together at once create polyrhythmic music, to some it is a great sound of music, and to others it is not. In Africa many instruments are used to make a “polyrhythmic tune” such as: High pitched, and low pitched drums, rattles, bells, and most importantly the voices. It will continuously spin the same musical elements therefore; it creates a “rhythmic melody.” No musician plays the same thing; they each play separate pieces, which aren’t to hard. 3. What linguistic elements are required to make a drum “talk”? c. Language is a big part of the musical world in the Africa regions. When we think about what is called the “talking drums,” we are quick to try and piece things together. Talking drums are used in forms of honorary to the royalty, or even honoring the fallen. When doing these drummers replicate the “speech rhythm” of the words...
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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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