New story. Tropical Africa
Until the end of the 19th century. Africa served as a source of slave supplies to the slave markets of America and the West Indies (see). Local African states in coastal areas increasingly played the role of intermediaries in the international slave trade. The growth of the slave trade in Africa led to enormous human losses and the desolation of entire regions. In some areas not directly affected by the slave trade, its consequences were felt indirectly: there was a reorientation of the main trade routes across the Sahara towards the Atlantic coast, to the detriment of the previous trans-Saharan trade. The slave hunt and the importation of firearms by Europeans destabilized the political situation in a number of areas.
Among the states of the Sudanese zone until the 19th century. the most significant role was played by Bagirmi and Vadai. Political fragmentation reigned in Western Sudan, which was intensified by the beginning of the 17th century. southward migration of several groups of Saharan Tuaregs. At the end of the 17th century. The nomads inflicted heavy damage on the state of Bornu. XVIII-XIX centuries were the time of assertion of Fulani hegemony in large parts of Western Sudan. At the end of the 70s. XVIII century The Fulani created a Muslim theocratic state. The movement of the Fulban and Hausan lower classes, which began in 1804 under the leadership of the Muslim preacher Osman dan Fodio, who proclaimed a “holy war” (jihad) against the “pagan” aristocracy of the Hausan city-states, culminated in the creation of the Hausa city-states by the 20s. XIX century Sokoto Caliphate. Since the late 30s. XIX century this state actually split into several emirates, headed by Fulban emirs (or “lamidos”). Some of the emirates corresponded to the former Hausa states - Kano, Katsina, etc., some were created anew, like, for example, all the lamidates on the territory of modern Cameroon - Iola, etc. In the first half of the 19th century. Another Fulani state began to play a prominent role in Western Sudan. In the 60s Most of Masina came under the rule of the Tukuler ruler Haj Omar, who also subjugated the states of the Bamana (Bambara) people in the area between the Niger and Senegal rivers - Kaartu and. However, with the death of Haj Omar in 1864, his state collapsed. Political fragmentation and the weakness of most of the states in the Sudanese zone facilitated the conquest of this part of Africa by the French and British colonialists.
In East Africa in the 17th century. was characterized by an intense struggle between the population of coastal cities and the Portuguese invaders. XVIII-XIX centuries marked by the gradual strengthening of power on the African coast of the Indian Ocean by the Omani sultans. After the expulsion of the Portuguese at the beginning of the 18th century. the coastal cities were in the hands of many small emirs, who only nominally recognized the authority of the Omani rulers. Since 1822, the coastal areas and parts of the interior of the territory of modern Tanzania and Kenya fall under the rule of Zanzibar. In the interior of Tanzania, east of Lake Tanganyika, from the end of the 18th century. Early political associations of the peoples of the Nyamwezi group began to take shape. Throughout the 19th century. Some of these associations, such as, for example, the state of Mirambo, which by 1870 subjugated the entire territory of the Nyamwezi, arose as a result of the Arab-Swahili slave trade (the entire economy of Zanzibar and Oman was built on the use of slave labor) and as a means of counteracting it.
Another important factor in the history of East Africa was the migration of the Bantu-speaking peoples of the Nguni group. Started in the second quarter of the XIX c., they covered a significant part of the territory of modern Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi. The Nguni defeated or subjugated the previously existing state formations on the territory of Zimbabwe and in the upper reaches of the river. Zambezi. The state of Barotse in the west of modern Zambia, created by the Lozi peoples in the 18th century, was conquered by the Makololo people; however, in 1873 the Makololo power was overthrown and Barotse was restored.
The period from the end of the 17th century. characterized by the rapid rise of a number of states on the Guinea coast; all were associated with trade between the coastal and inland areas. At the same time, the states of the eastern part of the region - Oyo, Dahomey, Benin, etc. - served as the most important intermediaries in the trade of slaves for export to America. In the western part of the Guinean coast, gold occupied the main place in trade (for example, in the export of the Ashanti state with its capital in Kumasi). Ashanti by the beginning of the 19th century. became the most powerful power in this part of Africa. Participation in the slave trade and the growing demand for palm oil from European merchants stimulated the expansion of the use of slave labor in the economy of most countries in the region; in its eastern part, oil palm plantations appeared and constantly grew, on which slave labor was used. Relatively little is known about the nature of social relations within the coastal states. Some researchers believe that in Ashanti, in the Yoruba city-states, the Bariba people in the northern part of modern Benin began to develop feudal relations. At the same time, many remnants of more ancient forms of social organization remained, the main of which was the ubiquitous large family community.
African societies of the river basin Congo from the end of the 17th century. still lagged behind West Africa; the state of Congo broke up into a number of small principalities and by the beginning of the 19th century. actually ceased to exist. Luba and Lunda during the 18th century. expanded their borders in the south and east. At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries. Luba's army made a number of campaigns against the state of Cuba. The state of Kazembe was formed southeast of Lund. As in the previous period, the Portuguese slave trade played a significant role in the strengthening of these states, in which Lunda and Luba acted as the most important intermediaries; the export of slaves to Brazil from the ports of the Angolan coast continued until the end of the 70s. XIX century
Arab-Swahili traders entered the East African Interlake region in the mid-19th century. Trade accelerated the formation of class society, especially in the state of Buganda, which by the second half of the 19th century. became the political and military hegemon in the northern part of Mezhozerye. The strengthening of Buganda led to the weakening of its main rivals - Unyoro and Karagwe. In Buganda itself, the despotic power of the kabaka increased. In the southern part of the Interlake region, the rivalry between Burundi and Rwanda continued, which at the beginning of the 19th century. was finally decided in favor of Rwanda. A society with a peculiar class-caste stratification has developed here (see Twa, Hutu, Tutsi). At the same time, unlike Buganda, in the southern part of Mezhozerye the use of slave labor did not become noticeably widespread.
Ethiopia after the expulsion in the mid-17th century. The Portuguese found themselves almost isolated from the outside world by Turkish possessions for several centuries. Centrifugal tendencies prevailed in the country, and by the beginning of the 19th century. it actually broke up into independent principalities. Only in the middle of the 19th century. Ethiopia's territory was reunified by Emperor Tewodros II, driven by the need to combat the threat of foreign invasion. The strengthening of the centralized Ethiopian state was a major event that largely predetermined the success of the struggle against the machinations of the European powers. The states of Eastern Sudan Sennar and the Darfur Sultanate, on the contrary, during the 19th - early 20th centuries. lost their independence, becoming the object of Turkish-Egyptian occupation and foreign exploitation. In Madagascar in the 18th-19th centuries. the power of the Imerina state spread over most of the island, and also starting in the 40s. XIX century Contacts with European countries have significantly expanded.
L. E. Kubbel.
European expansion in Tropical Africa intensified. In addition to the Portuguese, the Dutch, British, and French fortified themselves on the African shores. In the 17th century The Dutch for some time captured the main Portuguese settlements on the Guinea coast, and in East Africa the Portuguese were pushed out by the Arabs from Oman. In the 18th century The positions of Great Britain and France have noticeably strengthened. The achievements of the industrial revolution, expressed, in particular, in the improvement of military-technical means on land and at sea, made it possible to maintain the superiority of the capitalist states of Europe over the rest of the world. The efficiency of European merchant fleets increased, particularly in the 19th century. after the advent of heavy-duty and high-speed clippers. Thus, the possibilities of world trade expanded, for which ocean ways.
At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries. Great Britain captured important positions on the shores of West Africa (the colonies of Sierra Leone and Gambia), on the routes in East Africa (Cape Town), and in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius). In the 20s XIX century The British settled on the Gold Coast. In 1841 they sent a consul to Zanzibar, where they had previously enjoyed influence by virtue of an agreement with the Sultan of Oman. In the 50s "consular jurisdiction" was established over Lagos. Freetown in Sierra Leone and Bathurst (modern Banjul) in the Gambia, Lagos, and Zanzibar became centers from where a number of geographical expeditions were sent deep into Africa, paving the way for further European expansion (see section History of geographical discoveries and exploration).
The French have become noticeably more active in West Africa since the 40s. XIX century: expanded their possessions along the river. Senegal (where they settled in the 17th century), set up garrisons at several points on the Guinean coast up to Gabon. As a result, serious clashes broke out between them and the leaders of the states of Toukouler, Wolof and others. The Portuguese held several settlements in Upper Guinea, as well as the coastal regions of modern Angola and Mozambique, constantly organizing expeditions against the local population, especially in the river basin. Zambezi.
Participation in anti-colonial wars left an imprint on the history of a number of peoples in the coastal regions. External danger stimulated the strengthening of local government institutions, for example, in Ashanti and Dahomey. However, in most cases, the spread of European influence contributed to political instability, leading to wars to capture slaves for sale on the ocean coast. From a technical and economic point of view, trade contacts with Europeans had significant consequences. Since the Great Discovery, new food crops, most notably corn and cassava, introduced by Europeans from the Americas, have spread, increasing the potential of agriculture. At the same time, there was a process of degradation of various aspects of economic activity: a reduction in the range of food products (many of them were replaced by new crops), the decline of crafts under the influence of European competition.
Since the 70s XIX century Africa turned into an arena for widespread colonial expansion by European powers, which entered the imperialist phase of their development. The desire to annex African countries was determined by both economic (search for markets and sources of raw materials) and political (military-strategic, prestige, etc.) reasons. “The non-economic superstructure growing on the basis of financial capital, its policies, its ideology intensify the desire for colonial conquest,” wrote V. I. Lenin ( Complete collection works, vol. 27, p. 382). Thus, Great Britain envisaged the creation of a continuous chain of possessions between South and North Africa along the Cape Town - Cairo line. To implement this plan, the British in 1887 took from Zanzibar a “concession” of part of its continental possessions - the coast of modern Kenya. According to the Anglo-German Heligoland Treaty of 1890, Zanzibar moved into the sphere of English rule. In 1889 she received a royal charter to administer the territories where Southern and Northern Rhodesia were formed. In the 90s XIX century Great Britain imposed its “patronage” on Buganda and other states that later became part of the British protectorate of Uganda. In 1895, the territory of Kenya was declared a British East African Protectorate (in 1902 it also included the eastern part of Uganda). In 1891, British “patronage” was accepted by the Barotse nobility, who managed to negotiate for their state the status of an autonomous administrative unit within the British possessions.
In Sudan, the British began large-scale military operations against the Mahdist state in 1896. In 1898, the capital of the Mahdists was captured and plundered, their army was defeated. The new colony of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was declared a condominium of Great Britain and Egypt, although in fact it was ruled by the British. In West Africa, the British fought wars in what is now Nigeria and Ghana. The Ashanti showed especially stubborn resistance to them (see). In 1873-74 they inflicted heavy losses on the enemy and forced Great Britain to temporarily abandon the establishment of a protectorate over their country. The capital of the Ashanti state, Kumasi, was captured in 1896, but in 1900 a powerful uprising broke out in the country, caused, in particular, by the fact that the British imposed a large indemnity on the population. The Ashanti besieged the capital for 4 months. Only after fierce battles, which cost the British great losses, was the uprising suppressed. After a fierce struggle with the troops of the Sultan of Sokoto, by 1904 the British had completed the establishment of actual control over most of the territory of modern Nigeria.
In contrast to Great Britain, France hatched a project to create a continuous strip of its possessions from Senegal to Somalia. South of the Sahara, it captured vast but relatively sparsely populated territories of Western and Equatorial Africa, forming here the colonies of the French Congo (from 1910 - ) and (formed in 1895). Selfless struggle against the French troops advancing in the 80-90s. from Senegal to the depths of the Sudanese savannahs, they led the Wolof, Malinke, and Tukulers. Samori, who united a number of small Malinke states under his rule, led the resistance to the French for 16 years. France's attempts to expand its possessions in Equatorial Africa eastward by capturing the Upper Nile Valley were unsuccessful. The French detachment that captured Fashoda was forced to leave it in 1898 due to opposition from Great Britain (see Fashoda crisis). In 1896, France declared a protectorate over the island of Madagascar.
The division of Africa took place in conditions of intense rivalry between the imperialist powers. They captured any territory, including those that promised benefits only in the distant future. Sometimes small military detachments were sent into the hinterland only to prevent the expansion of rivals' possessions. Disputes that broke out were usually resolved by bilateral and multilateral agreements of the European powers (see Brussels Conferences of 1876 and 1889-90, Berlin Conference of 1884-1885).
The most extensive and economically important areas (most of West Africa, Eastern Sudan) were captured by Great Britain and France, who had powerful industrial and military potential, as well as experience in colonial politics.
Germany entered the struggle for colonial conquest in Africa in 1884, declaring that it would take under its “protection” the Angra-Pequena region (modern Lüderitz) in South-West Africa, and began the conquest of the territories of Togo and Cameroon and the suppression of the armed resistance of the Bakwiri, Bas and Bakogo, poppy, nzem, etc. These seizures contributed to a further aggravation of relations between Great Britain, France and Germany. In 1885, having imposed a series of treaties on the leaders of African tribes by force of arms, Germany began annexations on the east coast of Africa (see).
The Italians, who bought a section of coast near Assab Bay in 1869, began to prepare for the capture of Ethiopia. In the battles of Saati (1887), the Ethiopians destroyed one of the Italian detachments. However, according to the Treaty of Uchchala, Italy received part of the territory of modern Ethiopia. In 1890, Italy united all its possessions on the Red Sea into the colony of Eritrea, and in 1894 it started a war against Ethiopia. At the Battle of 1896, the Ethiopians defeated Italian troops. Italy was forced to abandon its attacks on Ethiopian independence. Along with Great Britain and France, Italy participated in the division of the Somali Peninsula, capturing its southeastern part (see,).
Since 1879, the Belgians began to take over the river basin. Congo. International agreements of 1884-85 secured the transformation of this territory into, which was in the possession of Leopold II. In 1908, Leopold II transferred the Congo under the control of Belgium for large compensation; The Congo officially became a Belgian colony (). Portugal at the beginning of the 20th century. owned such large colonies as Angola and Mozambique, as well as Portuguese Guinea and the Cape Verde Islands. Spain captured part of Morocco () and the western coast of the Sahara (). These European states maintained their possessions in Africa, taking advantage of the fact that the struggle for spheres of influence did not subside between large European countries. At the same time, Belgium and Portugal were forced to make various concessions to large competitors. Portugal provided Great Britain with ample opportunities for trade expansion in Angola and Mozambique; Belgium in 1885 agreed to create the Congo Convention Basin, within which uniform customs duties were established for all countries.
African Republic Liberia was actually in complete economic dependence on European countries and the United States. Great Britain provided Liberia with loans at usurious interest rates, France expanded its possessions at the expense of the territory of Liberia.
The seizure of the most developed African countries required the colonial powers special effort. Acting mainly in small expeditions, the colonialists kept 20-30 thousand troops in Western and Equatorial Africa in the 90s, that is, during the period of the most intense operations. In 1896, the Italians concentrated 50 thousand soldiers and officers in Ethiopia and Eritrea and still lost the war.
Where resistance was stronger (Ethiopia, Western and Eastern Sudan), the colonialists cooperated with the local nobility, and the forms of this cooperation (direct or indirect control, see the article Colonial management systems) were dictated, on the one hand, by the peculiarities of colonial policy European powers, and on the other - the characteristics liberation struggle in various regions. In particular, in German East Africa, indirect control was widely used in the areas of settlement of the Hehe, a people who offered decisive resistance to the Germans in 1891-92. Peoples who were at a lower stage of development and showed less resistance (the Congo Basin) were subjected to colonization in the most barbaric forms, destructive to their way of life.
By 1900, 9/10 of the African continent was in the hands of colonial invaders. The colonies were turned into agricultural and raw materials appendages of the metropolises. The foundations were laid for agricultural specialization in the production of export crops (cotton in Sudan, peanuts in Senegal, cocoa and palm oil in Nigeria, etc.). The involvement of Tropical Africa in the world capitalist market was carried out through the merciless exploitation of its natural and human resources, through political and social discrimination of the indigenous population. To ensure its profits, capitalist Europe has repeatedly turned to methods of exploitation characteristic of the times of slavery and feudalism and which brought untold misfortunes to Africans.
Colonial societies in Tropical Africa were multistructured structures that occupied a subordinate position within the framework of imperial structures. Pre-capitalist natural structures prevailed. Small-scale production developed primarily in coastal areas, which were most influenced by colonization. Capitalism, with the exception of areas where European settlers lived (Kenya, Rhodesia), was represented by individual elements in cities. The beginnings of a working class, exploited mainly by foreigners, appeared there, and the position of local commercial capital strengthened. The main producers of colonial societies were communal peasants.
Colonial oppression provoked resistance from Africans. In Nigeria and Cameroon, uprisings did not stop until the 1st World War. In Somalia, defensive wars continued throughout the pre-war and war periods. In French West Africa, major uprisings took place in Guinea, Dahomey, and the Ivory Coast. A series of uprisings occurred in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. The most significant in scale were: the Herero and Hottentot uprising of 1904-1906 in South-West Africa, 1905-07 in German East Africa, the Zulu uprising of 1906. The people of Madagascar waged a stubborn struggle against the colonialists (Sakalava uprising 1897-1900, Malagasy uprising 1904- 05). In the Belgian possessions, where a brutal system of forced labor was introduced to ensure the export of raw materials, mainly rubber, uprisings broke out one after another. Since the beginning of the 90s. The Belgian “Independent State of the Congo” was rocked by uprisings of the Kusu, Tetela and other peoples (see). In Angola in the 80-90s. There were constant clashes between the local population and the Portuguese colonialists. Along with the uprisings that united various segments of the population, at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, especially in the most developed colonies of Great Britain and France, the first independent actions of the masses of the city, the nascent intelligentsia, were noted. Nationalist organizations appeared on the Gold Coast, in Senegal (the Young Senegalese), Togo and other countries.
During the First World War, Africa was a source of human and material resources for the metropolises. There were over a quarter of a million soldiers in the French army, natives of the colonies of Tropical Africa and Madagascar. There were more than 60 thousand African soldiers in the armed forces of the British Empire. There were about 20 thousand African soldiers in the German troops, including up to 15 thousand in East Africa. Colonial military units took part in battles in Western Europe and Africa. During the war, Great Britain and France exported livestock products from their possessions in Tropical Africa. vegetable oilś, mineral raw materials. Hundreds of thousands of indigenous people were mobilized to build roads and carry goods for armies. The hardships caused by military operations (in Togo, Cameroon, German East Africa, German South-West Africa), requisitions, recruitment of labor, mobilization into the army, caused the strengthening of the anti-colonial movement. Uprisings occurred in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Nyasaland. In French West Africa, the Mark, Senufo, and Tuaregs rose. The suppression of the uprisings was accompanied by brutal repressions and harsh requisitions.
As a result of hostilities between Germany and the Entente countries, the German colonies were occupied, and after the war they were turned into mandate territories by decisions of the League of Nations.
V. A. Subbotin.
States and peoples in East Africa on the eve of colonial division.
States of the Lower Niger basin in the first half of the 19th century.
The struggle of the peoples of Africa against colonial aggression in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
State formations in Central Sudan, Central and South Africa in the 16th and mid-19th centuries.
Colonial division of Africa in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Second half of the 17th century.
Capital of Benin.
17th century engraving
If we talk about the economic zoning of the continent, then it must be said that it has not yet taken shape and as a result of this, Africa is simply divided into two large natural parts. These parts are called subregions– North Africa subregion and Tropical Africa subregion.
In tropical Africa there are:
- West Africa;
- Central Africa;
- East Africa;
- South Africa.
Note 1
North Africa is the cradle of ancient Egyptian civilization and its economic life is concentrated in the coastal zone. It was the granary of Rome in the ancient period of history. Here today there are underground drainage galleries, and many cities on the coast originate from Roman and Carthaginian settlements. In the $7th-$12th centuries there were also Arabs here, which is why modern Mediterranean Africa is often called Arab. The population speaks Arabic and professes Islam.
Within North Africa, the area of which is about $10 million sq km, is home to $170 million people. The geographical location of this subregion is determined by the Mediterranean Sea, through which the countries of the region gain access to Asia and Southern Europe. The main centers of manufacturing industry are located in the coastal zone, as well as areas of subtropical agriculture. North Africa's urbanization rate exceeds the global rate at $51%. In Libya it is generally equal to $85$%. In Algeria, there are $22 million people in the city, and in Egypt there are more - $32 million people. There was no explosive growth of cities here, because North Africa became the arena of urban life long ago. The cities of the subregion are characterized by the Arab city type. As a rule, such cities are divided into two parts - old and new.
Old part The city has a core - this is the kasbah, which is a fortification located on an elevated place. Other quarters of the old city lead from it. The buildings have flat roofs and blind fences. The bright, colorful oriental bazaars add variety to the old part of the city. Such old town was called the medina, outside of which the new modern city is located.
The subregion contains $15$ independent states, $13$ of which have a republican system. These are mostly underdeveloped states and only Libya, Algeria and Egypt stand out against this background. The southern part of the subregion is very sparsely populated. The main commercial and consumer crop in the oases is the date palm. The rest of the territory is a deserted, lifeless space, and only sometimes you can meet nomads riding camels here. The Libyan and Algerian parts of the Sahara have hydrocarbon deposits.
Tropical Africa
Note 2
The concept of Tropical Africa fits well into the most paradoxical ideas about this territory. This is a collective image. Here are humid equatorial forests and tropical deserts, amazing animals and wild tribes, wide rivers and active volcanoes. This is a unique and original territory, full of secrets and mysteries.
This territory is often called " black Africa" This is understandable, because the population of the subregion belongs to the Negroid race. More than $600 million people live in the region, which covers an area of $20 million sq km. The ethnic composition of Tropical Africa is very diverse, and West and East Africa are the most complex. Numerous but closely related languages of the Bantu family are characteristic of the population of Central and South Africa. The most common language is Swahili. The Malagasy speak languages of the Austronesian family. The region contains $29$ of the world's most backward countries.
The basis of life activity of the population of this subregion is mainly subsistence farming, which is practiced by about half of rural residents. Most of the population lives in rural areas. Agricultural work for growing cassava, yams, and sweet potatoes falls on women and children. The subregion is home to the tsetse fly, due to which livestock farming is less developed. In general, the region is characterized by nomadic and semi-nomadic cattle breeding and transhumance. There are no modern livestock farms in the region.
Against the general sad background, the areas where perennial crops are cultivated stand out sharply - coffee, peanuts, hevea, oil palm, tea, sisal, spices. These are the areas commercial crop production.
Industrialization in Tropical Africa is practically non-existent, except for one large areamining industry. This is the copper belt of Congo and Zambia.
Manufacturing industry b is poorly developed, its structure is backward. The main industries are food production and the production of clothing and textiles.
Food industry represented in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Nigeria. In other countries of the region it is either absent or represented by individual small enterprises.
Social sphere and economics regions are at a very low level of development. An indicator of economic backwardness is the structure of GDP. The average industrial indicator for the region is $30$% of GDP, and in agriculture only $20$%. And in some individual countries, for example, Angola, Rwanda, Ethiopia, it is only $3$%.
The population is distributed unevenly throughout the subregion. There are few large millionaire cities. Only $8$ countries can boast of such million-plus people, for example, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Senegal, Kenya and some others. Low levels of human resources indicate a weak education system. The exceptions in this regard are Botswana, Gabon, Mauritius, Seychelles. More than half of the female population and $35% of the male population do not even have primary education.
Note 3
The colonial past and the specifics of the development of national capitalism during the period of political independence are features of the industry of the countries of Tropical Africa.
Global problems of Tropical Africa
Quite often in literature you can find the expression that Tropical Africa is modern "the pole of hunger"on Earth. African countries, being under colonial yoke, could not develop their economies. The rich and powerful pumped from its depths mineral resources, without caring about people's living standards, without solving social problems. This colonial past still makes development difficult today.
One of the global problems of this region is food problem. Back in the $90s, experts assessed the food situation as critical. Low income levels, complicating the situation, have led to the fact that $90$% of citizens live below the poverty line. The food crisis has become chronic and protracted, and this is facilitated by deepening environmental and energy difficulties, as well as high rates of population growth. In some countries of the region, outbreaks of mass hunger have become frequent, the areas of which are expanding. In the $90s, there were food shortages in $26$ African countries, which is about half of the continent's countries. Among these states were Gambia, Ghana, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, Tanzania, Senegal, Togo, etc.
It must be said that not only natural disasters aggravate the problem of arid territories where catastrophic droughts, for example, in the $80s, an unprecedented drought in the countries of the Sudan-Sahel zone led to large casualties. In addition, in the savannah zone, the removal of sparse tree vegetation and overgrazing of livestock played a role.
Unfavorable climatic conditions played a negative role. The social and property structure of the local population has great value in the current food situation. The elite layer, which makes up $5% of the local population, appropriates $1/3$ of the national income, in addition to the lion's share of food aid coming from outside.
Note 4
The famine of the countries of Tropical Africa has its consequences - these are migration flows of refugees beyond national borders. In the 1980s alone, according to the UN, $20 million of Ethiopians, Chadians, Ugandans and other Africans traveled outside their villages in search of food. The part of the refugees who ended up in special camps is fed by international food aid. Unfortunately, a similar process continues today.
PECULIARITIES. Specifics African history– extreme unevenness of development. If in some territories during the end of the 1st – first half of the 2nd millennium, fully formed states, often very extensive, emerged, then in other lands they continued to live in conditions of tribal relations. Statehood, with the exception of the northern Mediterranean lands (where it existed since ancient times), in the Middle Ages extended only to the territory north and partially south of the equator, primarily in the so-called Sudan (the zone between the equator and the Tropic of the North).
A characteristic feature of the African economy was that throughout the continent land was not alienated from its owner, even under communal organization. Therefore, the conquered tribes were almost never enslaved, but were exploited by collecting taxes or tribute. Perhaps this was due to the peculiarities of land cultivation in a hot climate and the predominance of arid or waterlogged lands, which required careful and lengthy cultivation of each plot suitable for agriculture. In general, it should be noted that very harsh conditions for humans have developed south of the Sahara: a mass of wild animals, poisonous insects and reptiles, lush vegetation ready to strangle every cultural sprout, stupefying heat and droughts, excessive rainfall and floods in other places. Due to the heat, many pathogenic microbes have grown here. All this predetermined the routine nature of African economic development, which led to a slowdown in social progress.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN AND CENTRAL SUDAN. Agriculture predominated among the population's occupations. Nomadic cattle breeding as the basis of existence was characteristic of only a few tribes in the region. The fact is that tropical Africa was infected with the tsetse fly, a carrier of sleeping sickness that is fatal to cattle. Less vulnerable were goats, sheep, pigs and camels.
Agriculture was mainly shifting and shifting, which was facilitated by low population density and, consequently, the availability of free land. Periodic downpours (1–2 times a year) followed by a dry season (except in the equatorial zone) required irrigation. The soils of Sahel 1 and savannahs are poor in organic matter, are easily depleted (stormy rainfalls wash away mineral salts), and in the dry season the vegetation burns out and does not accumulate humus. Fertile alluvial soils are located only in islands in river valleys. The lack of domestic animals limited the ability to fertilize the soil with organic matter. The small number of cattle made it impossible to use draft power. All this made it possible to cultivate the soil only manually - with hoes with iron tips and fertilize the soil only with ash from burning vegetation. They didn't know the plow and the wheel.
Based on modern knowledge, we can conclude that the predominance of hoe farming and the non-use of draft power when cultivating the soil was a forced adaptation to natural conditions and did not necessarily indicate the backwardness of agriculture in Tropical Africa. But, nevertheless, this also slowed down the overall development of the population.
The craft developed in communities in which artisans occupied a privileged position and fully provided their communities with the necessary products. First of all, blacksmiths, potters, and weavers stood out. Gradually, with the development of cities, trade and the formation of urban centers, urban crafts appeared, serving the court, the army, and city residents. In the 15th-15th centuries. in the most developed areas (Western Sudan), associations of artisans of the same or related professions arose - similar to European guilds. But as in the East, they were not independent and were subordinate to the authorities.
In some states of Western Sudan in the XV-XVI centuries. elements of manufacturing production began to take shape. But the original development of African crafts and its organizational forms was delayed and in many places interrupted by European colonization and the slave trade.
SOCIO-POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATES OF WESTERN AND CENTRAL SUDAN. The population of the Sahel was characterized by an ancient tradition of exchange with the northern nomads - the Berbers. They traded agricultural and livestock products, salt and gold. Trade was "silent". The traders did not see each other. The exchange took place in forest clearings, where one party brought their goods and then hid in the forest. Then the other party came, inspected what was brought, left their goods of the appropriate value and left. Then the first ones returned and if they were satisfied with the offer, they took it and the deal was considered completed. Deception rarely happened (on the part of northern merchants).
The most developed trans-Saharan trade was in gold and salt. Placers of gold were discovered in the forests of Western Sudan, Upper Senegal, Ghana, and the Upper Volta basin. There was almost no salt in the Sahel and further south. It was mined in Mauritania, the oases of the Sahara, the salt lakes of modern Zambia and the upper reaches of the Niger. There, even houses were built from salt blocks covered with camel skins. Southern tribes of Western Sudan - Hausa Those who bought Saharan salt knew 50 types of its varieties.
It was here, in the north of Western Sudan in the 7th–8th centuries. Large shopping centers were formed, around which political associations were then formed.
The oldest state here was Ghana or Aukar, the first information about which dates back to the 8th century. Ethnic basis - nationality Soninka. In the 9th century The rulers of Ghana stubbornly fought with their northern neighbors, the Berbers, for control of trade routes to the Maghreb. By the beginning of the 10th century. Ghana achieved its greatest power, which relied on monopoly control over the trade of all of Western Sudan with the north, which contributed to economic prosperity. However, in the second half of the 11th century. Sultan of the Almoravid (Moroccan) state Abu Bekr ibn Omar subjugated Ghana, imposed tribute on it and took control of the country's gold mines. The king of Ghana converted to Islam. 20 years later, during an uprising, Abu Bekr was killed and the Moroccans were expelled. But Ghana's importance was not restored. New monarchies arose on its greatly reduced borders.
In the 12th century. The kingdom showed the greatest activity Soso, which conquered Ghana in 1203 and soon subjugated all trade routes in the region. Mali, located in the center of Western Sudan, becomes a dangerous rival to the kingdom of Soso.
The emergence of the state Mali(Manding) dates back to the 8th century. It was originally located on the Upper Niger. The bulk of the population was made up of tribes raspberry. Active trade with Arab merchants contributed to the penetration of Islam among the ruling elite by the 11th century. The beginning of the economic and political prosperity of Mali dates back to the second half of the 12th century. By the middle of the 13th century. with a prominent commander and statesman Sundiata Almost the entire territory of Soso with gold mining areas and caravan routes was subordinated. Regular exchanges are established with the Maghreb and Egypt. But the expansion of state territory led to the growth of separatism on the ground. As a result, from the second half of the 14th century. Mali is weakening and beginning to lose certain territories.
Active foreign policy had little impact on rural communities. They were dominated by subsistence farming. The presence of basic specialties in artisan communities did not create a need to trade with neighbors. Therefore, local markets, although they existed, did not play a special role.
Foreign trade was conducted primarily in gold, salt, and slaves. Mali has achieved a monopoly in the gold trade with North Africa. Sovereigns, aristocracy, and service people participated in this trade. Gold was exchanged for Arab handicrafts and, especially, for salt, which was so necessary that it was exchanged for gold in a weight ratio of 1:2 (there was practically no salt in the Sahel and it was delivered from the Sahara). But a lot of gold was mined, up to 4.5–5 tons per year, which fully provided for the nobility and did not require special pressure on the peasants.
The main unit of society was the large patriarchal family. Several families made up the community. There was no equality in the communities. The ruling layer were the elders of patriarchal families, below were the heads of small families, then ordinary members of the community - free peasants and artisans, and even lower - slaves. But slavery did not last forever. In each subsequent generation, they acquired individual rights until they became freedmen, who even occupied important government posts. 5 days a week, ordinary community members, slaves and freedmen worked together to cultivate the land of the patriarchal family, and 2 days they worked on the individual plots allocated to them - vegetable gardens. The plots were distributed by the heads of large families - “lords of the land.” Part of the harvest, products from hunting, etc. went to their benefit. In essence, these “lords” were leaders with elements of feudal lords. That is, here we have a kind of feudal-patriarchal relationship. Communities were united into clans, the heads of which had their own military detachments of slaves and other dependent people.
The top of the ruling class consisted of the marked heads of patriarchal families who were part of the ruling clan. The lower group of the ruling layer were the leaders of the subordinate clans and tribes, who, however, retained internal autonomy. But a military-service stratum emerged from overseers, heads of slave guards, and freedmen in government positions. They often received land from the rulers, which allows them to be seen as a kind of nobility (at the stage of its inception). But this, as elsewhere, led to the growth of separatism and ultimately to the collapse of Mali.
Another reason for the collapse of the state was the noted gold trade. It covered the needs of the nobility and did not encourage increasing income through the development of other elements of the economy. As a result, the wealth from owning gold led to stagnation. Neighbors began to overtake Mali.
With the decline of Mali, a state grew on its eastern borders Songhai(or Gao - after the name of the capital). In the 15th century Songhai achieved independence and created its own state in the Middle Niger, all on the same trade routes. But numerous conquests caused uprisings, especially in the conquered lands of Mali and by the first half of the 16th century. Songhai fell into decline. In the position of the ruling class, in contrast to Mali, a significant role was played by large estates, on which slaves planted on the land worked. But the position of the descendants of slaves (prisoners of war) softened in each subsequent generation. The role of cities was significant in the state. Up to 75 thousand people lived in the capital, Gao, and more than 50 people worked in some weaving workshops in Timbuktu.
To the west, in the Upper Volta basin among the tribes Mosi in the 11th century Several state formations arose with a significant role of slavery in the estates, which is similar to the order in Songhai. Some of the noted states existed until the French arrived here in the 19th century.
In the extreme west of Africa, in the middle and lower reaches of Senegal in the 8th century. a state was formed Tekrur. Created from different ethnic groups, it is marked by constant clashes between different tribes, to which in the 9th century. Conflicts increased between supporters of local religions and emerging Muslims. This led to a constant change of dynasties.
A vast area west of Lake Chad inhabited by tribes Hausa , in the VIII-X centuries. covered by a network of individual city-states with a significant slave-owning system. Slaves were used in crafts and agriculture. Until the 16th century. Political fragmentation reigned in these lands.
In the 8th century a state arose east of Lake Chad Kanem, which in the XI-XII centuries. subjugates some tribes of the Hausa group.
Ancient center African culture was the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, inhabited by tribes Yoruba . Of the states in this territory, the largest was Oyo, founded in the 9th-10th centuries. At its head was a monarch, limited by a council of nobles. The latter was the highest administrative and judicial body and handed down death sentences, including to the ruler himself. We have before us a kind of constitutional monarchy with a highly developed bureaucracy. Oyo was connected by trade with the northern lands and had significant income from this. A highly developed craft has developed in the cities and associations such as guilds are known.
To the south of the considered states of Western and Central Sudan in the XIII-XIV centuries. appeared Cameroon And Congo.
Customs. Most of the peoples of Western Sudan did not create their own written language. Some used elements of Arabic writing. The religion that predominated was pagan. Islam truly began to spread from the 13th-14th centuries, and began to reach the rural population from the 16th century. But even in Muslim times, not to mention earlier, monarchs were treated as pagan priests. It was believed that the king, by virtue of his position, controlled nature. The reproduction of subjects, animals and plants in his state depended on his health and the magical rituals he performed. The king determined the timing of sowing and other work.
Arab travelers made interesting observations about the life of Africans. According to Ibn Battuta (XIV century), they, more than any other people, express devotion and respect to their sovereign. For example, as a sign of respect for him, they take off their outer clothing and remain in rags, crawl on their knees, sprinkle sand on their heads and backs, and it’s amazing how the sand doesn’t get into their eyes. He also noted the almost complete absence of thieves and robbers, which made the roads safe. If a white man died among them, then his property was kept by a special local trustee until the arrival of relatives or others from the deceased’s homeland, which was important for merchants. But, the traveler regretted, in the courtyard of the king, girls and women walk with their faces open and naked. Many of them eat carrion - the corpses of dogs and donkeys. There are cases of cannibalism. Moreover, preference is given to blacks. White meat is considered unripe. In general, the food of the Malians, among whom Battuta visited, did not evoke any delight in him. Even at the ceremonial dinner, he complained, only millet, honey and sour milk were served. Usually they preferred rice. He wrote in detail about the “friends” of married men and women, that is, about fairly free extramarital affairs, and discussed how this relates to the Muslim religiosity of the inhabitants.
ETHIOPIA. In Eastern Sudan, in the northern part of the Abyssinian plateau, there was a kingdom Aksum. Its roots go back to the middle of the 1st millennium BC, when newcomers from South Arabia brought Semitic languages to the Nile Valley. This state at the beginning of its history was associated with the Greco-Roman world. Its heyday occurred in the 4th century AD, when the power of the Aksumite kings extended not only to most of the Ethiopian lands, but also to the southern Arabian coast (Yemen and southern Hijaz - in the 5th century). Active ties with Byzantium contributed to the spread of Christianity among the upper strata of society around 333. In 510, the Iranians, led by Khusrow, ousted Aksum from Arabia. In the 8th century the onset of Arab expansion caused the gradual decline of Aksum. The population was pushed away from the sea and gradually moved to the barren interior lands of the Abyssinian plateau. In the XIII century. The Solomon dynasty, which existed until the 1974 revolution, comes to power.
The social system of medieval Ethiopia was characterized by the predominance of the feudal structure. The peasants who were part of the community were considered the holders of the land, the supreme owner of which was the king - negus. He, and during the period of fragmentation the rulers of the regions, had the right to the land together with the peasants sitting on it, on the terms of service. There was no serfdom, but landowners could require peasants to work for them every fifth day - a kind of corvee. Slavery also existed, but it was of an auxiliary nature.
CONCLUSIONS. In the considered part of Tropical Africa, except for Ethiopia, the formation of state formations began around the 8th century. Socio-economic relations were characterized by diversity. Depending on local conditions and stages of social development, slaveholding (earlier stage) or early feudal (later stage) relations prevailed. But the presence of a significant layer of communal peasants throughout the region contributed to the development of feudal elements as a leading trend. The considered type of social relations is generally closer to the medieval civilizations of the East. But, unlike them, clearly defined social groups- there were no classes here until the 19th century. There was a peculiar ingrowth of the tribal system into the state, which constituted the specificity of African civilization.
The originality of this civilization was probably (there are different opinions) caused by the fact that the ruling strata here began to stand out not due to the appearance of a surplus product in routinely developing agriculture, but in the process of struggle for income from transit trade, which was most active in Western Sudan. The agricultural population did not need the items of this trade and did not participate in it. Therefore, in the village, clan-communal orders were preserved for a long time, on which the organized power of the clan aristocracy was superimposed from above.
The state here was formed without distinguishing social groups and private property. The ruling stratum was not only at first, but also for a long time, before the arrival of Europeans, large families - clans. Their heads became leaders. Their service people were relatives who, due to family ties, were not paid for their service in land. Therefore, private ownership of land did not arise. The lowest ruling stratum in communities are the heads of families, who at the same time became, as it were, administrators. In such conditions, naturally, the separation of the ruling layer from the bulk of the population, its transformation into a special estate, and even more so into a class, happened very slowly and in many places has not been completed to this day. Stage by stage, this is a very protracted early stage in the formation of feudalism, which in Europe, for example, was overcome in 100-150 years.
It should be noted that feudalism in the considered part of Africa is not recognized by those researchers who understand by feudalism only the dominance of large feudal land ownership. The author of this manual, let me remind you, considers feudal society to be one that is characterized by the entire complex of socio-political and economic relationships of the Middle Ages (power based on personal domination, existing through various types of rent from peasant users sitting on the land). With this understanding, a society whose life is determined by the subjective aspirations of the landowning nobility, who subordinated objectively existing economic and social laws to their will, can be considered feudal. The discrepancy between these two factors, the feudal class’s ignorance of these objectively existing laws, ultimately led to the disintegration of the feudal order.
Ethiopia is similar in origin and typologically to the Middle Eastern model.
SUBREGIONS OF AFRICA
The economic regionalization of Africa has not yet taken shape. In the classroom, and in scientific literature it is usually divided into two large natural and cultural-historical subregions: North Africa and Tropical Africa (or “Sub-Saharan Africa”). Tropical Africa, in turn, is divided into Western, Central, Eastern and Southern 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 Southern Europe and South-West Asia and has access to the main sea route from Europe to Asia. The “rear” of the region is formed by the sparsely populated areas 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 cities 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 Arab today: almost its entire population speaks Arabic and professes Islam.
The economic life of North Africa is concentrated in the coastal zone. Here are the main centers of manufacturing industry, the main areas of subtropical agriculture, including on irrigated lands. Naturally, almost the entire population of the region is concentrated in this zone. In rural areas, adobe houses with flat roofs and earthen floors predominate. The cities also have a very characteristic appearance. Therefore, geographers and ethnographers distinguish a special, Arab 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 the kasbah - a fortification (citadel) located on an elevated place. The Kasbah is surrounded in a tight ring by other quarters of the old city, built up with low houses with flat roofs and blank courtyard fences. Their main attraction is the colorful oriental bazaars. This entire old city, often surrounded by protective walls, is called the medina, which means "city" in Arabic. Already outside the medina there is a new one, modern part cities.
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 itself big city Egypt, an important political, cultural and religious center of the entire Arab world. Cairo is uniquely located where the narrow Nile Valley meets the fertile Delta, a major cotton-growing region where the world's best long-staple cotton is grown. This region was also called delta by Herodotus, who noted that its configuration 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 oases, where the main consumer and cash crop is the date palm. The rest of the territory, and even then not all of it, is inhabited only by nomadic camel breeders, and in the Algerian and Libyan parts of the Sahara there are oil and gas fields.
Only along the Nile Valley does a narrow “strip of life” wedge itself into the desert kingdom far to the south. The construction of the Aswan hydroelectric complex on the Nile, with the economic and technical assistance of the USSR, was of great importance for the development of the entire Upper Egypt.
Tropical Africa. The total area of Tropical Africa is more than 20 million km 2, the population is 650 million people. It is also called “black Africa”, since the population of the subregion overwhelmingly belongs to the equatorial (Negroid) race. But according to ethnic composition parts of Tropical Africa vary quite widely. It is most complex in West and East Africa, where at the junction of different races and language families the greatest “strip” of ethnic and political borders has arisen. The people of Central and Southern Africa speak numerous (with up to 600 dialects) but closely related languages of the Bantu family (the word means "people"). The Swahili language is especially widespread. And the population of Madagascar speaks languages of the Austronesian family.
There is also much in common in the economy and population settlement of the countries of Tropical Africa. Tropical Africa is the most backward part of the entire developing world, with 29 least developed countries within its borders. Nowadays this is the only large region of the world where the main sphere of material production remains agriculture.
About half of the rural residents practice subsistence agriculture, the rest engage in subsistence farming. Hoe tillage predominates 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 performed by women and children. They cultivate root and tuber crops (cassava or cassava, yam, sweet potato), from which they make flour, cereals, cereals, flatbreads, as well as millet, sorghum, rice, corn, bananas, and vegetables. Livestock farming is much less developed, including due to 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 nationalities, that still live by hunting, fishing and gathering. In the savannah and humid areas tropical forests The basis of consumer farming is the fallow-type slash-and-burn system.
Areas of commercial crop production with a predominance of perennial plantings - cocoa, coffee, peanuts, hevea, oil palm, tea, sisal, and spices - stand out sharply against the general background. Some of these crops are cultivated on plantations, and some on peasant farms. They primarily determine the monocultural specialization of a number of countries.
According to their main occupation, the majority of the population of Tropical Africa lives in rural areas. Savannas are dominated by large villages near rivers, while tropical forests are dominated by small villages.
The life of the villagers is closely connected with the subsistence farming they lead. Among them, local traditional beliefs are widespread: the cult of ancestors, fetishism, belief in nature spirits, magic, witchcraft, and various talismans. Africans believe that the spirits of the dead remain on earth, that the spirits of ancestors strictly monitor the actions of the living and can harm them if any traditional commandment is violated. Christianity and Islam, introduced from Europe and Asia, also became quite widespread in Tropical Africa.
Tropical Africa is the least industrialized region of the world (not counting Oceania). There is only one fairly large mining area that has developed here - the Copper Belt in Congo (formerly Zaire) and Zambia.
Tropical Africa is the least urbanized region of the world. Only eight of its countries have “millionaire” cities, which usually tower over numerous provincial towns like lonely giants. Examples of this kind include Dakar in Senegal, Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nairobi in Kenya, Luanda in Angola.
Tropical Africa also lags behind in the development of its transport network. Its pattern is determined by “penetration lines” isolated from each other, leading from the ports to the hinterland. In many countries railways are absent at all. It is customary to carry small loads on the head, and over a distance of up to 30-40 km.
Finally, quality is rapidly deteriorating in sub-Saharan Africa. environment. It was here that desertification, deforestation, and depletion of flora and fauna assumed the most alarming proportions. Example. The main area of drought and desertification is the Sahel zone, which stretches 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 mid-80s. catastrophic droughts recurred. They claimed millions of human lives. The number of livestock has decreased greatly.
What happened in this area began to be called the “Sahel tragedy.” But it is not only nature that is to blame. The onset of the Sahara is facilitated by overgrazing of livestock and destruction of forests, primarily for firewood.
In some countries of Tropical Africa, measures are being taken to protect flora and fauna, creating national parks. This primarily applies to Kenya, where international tourism income is second only to coffee exports.
Problems and tests on the topic "Subregions of Africa"
- African States - 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, interconnection and interdependence of countries around the world; and also be convinced of the need for a deep understanding of the patterns of social development and the processes that occur in the world.
Basic concepts: Western European (North American) type of transport system, port-industrial complex, "development axis", metropolitan region, industrial belt, "false urbanization", latifundia, ship stations, megalopolis, "technopolis", "growth pole", "growth corridors"; colonial type of industrial structure, monoculture, apartheid, subregion.
Skills and abilities: be able to assess the influence of EGP and GGP, the history of settlement and development, characteristics of the population and labor resources of the region, country on the sectoral and territorial structure of the economy, the level of economic development, the role in the MGRT of the region, country; identify problems and forecast development prospects for the region and country; highlight specific, defining features of individual countries and explain them; find similarities and differences in the population and economy of individual countries and give an explanation for them, draw up and analyze maps and cartograms.
It includes a territory (with an area of about 10 million sq. km and a population of 170 million people) adjacent to the Mediterranean, inhabited mainly by Arabs professing Islam. Countries located in this territory (, Western Sahara,), thanks to their geographical location(coastal, neighboring in relation to the countries and) and higher (in comparison with the states of Tropical Africa) level of economic and industrial development, are distinguished by greater involvement in (export of oil, gas, phosphorites, etc.).
The economic life of North Africa is concentrated in the coastal zone. Almost the entire population of the region is concentrated in this same zone.
Tropical Africa includes the territory located south of, within which, in turn, are distinguished, and. The overwhelming majority of those located on their territory belong to the equatorial (Negroid) race. It is distinguished by great diversity (there are more than 200 peoples), multinational states predominate.
The main sphere of activity of the population is agriculture (with the exception of the countries of South Africa, in whose economy industry and the service sector play a decisive role). Tropical Africa is the most economically backward, least industrialized and least urbanized part of the developing world. Of the 49 countries within its borders, 32 belong to the group of “least developed countries in the world.” Average per capita GNP in Eastern, Western and Central Africa several times (5-7 or more times) less than in the countries of North and South Africa.
Among the countries located south of the Sahara, it occupies a special place.
Firstly, by its geographical location it no longer belongs to Tropical Africa.
Secondly, in terms of socio-economic development it does not belong to developing countries. This is a country of “settler capitalism”. It accounts for: 5.5% of the territory, 7%, but 2/3 of its GDP, more than 50% of manufacturing products and the automobile fleet.
The largest industrial region in Africa, the Witwatersrand, was formed with its center in, which plays the role of the “economic capital” of the country.
In the MGRT, the face of South Africa is represented by the mining industry (gold, platinum, diamonds, uranium, iron, manganese ores, coal), some manufacturing industries (, as well as the production of certain types of agricultural products (cereals, subtropical crops, fine-wool sheep breeding, cattle livestock).
South Africa has the densest transport network on the continent and major seaports.
However, the country's economy is still feeling the effects of apartheid policies. There are great differences between “whites” on the one hand and “blacks” and “coloreds” on the other. Therefore, South Africa is often called a dual economy country. It has the features of economically developed and developing countries.