Georgia's Exploring Our World: Africa, Southwest Asia, and Southern and Eastern Asia © 2012

Chapter 2: History and Cultures of Africa

Chapter Overviews

Highly developed societies have prospered in Africa for thousands of years. The earliest Africans lived as hunter-gatherers. Over time people began to create communities and empires. Ancient Egypt was a large and powerful empire in North Africa. Trade helped spread the Egyptian culture to other lands such as Kush and Axum. Kush was located in present-day Sudan and grew wealthy from trade and ironworking. In the A.D. 300s, Kush was defeated by the kingdom of Axum. Axum was located in present-day Ethiopia and became the center of African Christianity. The Bantu people prospered in several East African coastal cities, spreading their knowledge of farming and ironworking skills south. Today, millions of Africans speak Bantu languages. The West Africa trading empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai emerged from the A.D. 800s to the A.D. 1500s.

Beginning in the 1400s, Africans saw greater trading with Europeans. Their arrival changed the region dramatically. Europeans increased the slave trade that already existed in the region and sent nearly 12 million Africans to the Americas. This destroyed homes, families, and entire communities. Even when the trade ended in the 1800s, Europeans did not leave Africa. Rather, countries claimed different colonies in Africa for political advantage and the exploitation of Africa's raw materials. Though the Europeans brought education, medical care, and improved technologies and skills, they also placed many hardships on the African people. Africans had fewer rights and economic opportunities than the Europeans who lived there.

It wasn't until the last half of the 1900s that Africans achieved independence from European rule. This freedom, however, brought many challenges. Civil wars plagued many countries because of ethnic differences. In particular, South Africa had a system of apartheid that separated ethnic groups and limited the rights of black South Africans. In the 1990s, this system was finally changed.

Africa has a rapidly growing population, which has brought many challenges to the region. In urban areas, there is pollution, overcrowding, and poor sanitation. In rural areas, many people lack clean water, food, and good sanitation. Disease is also widespread, so health care is a major issue for the government. AIDS has had an especially destructive impact on the region.

Africans belong to many different ethnic groups, speak thousands of different languages, and practice a variety of religions. European languages are also spoken in the region, and in some countries Arabic is an official language. The most widely spoken language is Swahili. Most people in Africa are Christian or Muslim, but hundreds of traditional religions are also practiced. The cultural traditions in the music, art, and dance of Africa have also influenced cultures around the world.

Most Africans live in rural areas and depend on farming or herding for their livelihoods. Both men and women work long hours at farming to make a living. People are increasingly moving to cities in search of better jobs and healthcare. For Africans, a person's family ties are extremely important. Generally, families are organized by clans. A clan is a large group of people who are united by a common ancestor in the far past. In rural areas, most people live in extended families, or households made up of several generations. Those living in cities are often comprised of nuclear families, or those with only the parents and their children.