Historical review of Africa

A well executed blend of genetic, anthropological and archaeological studies unveils that Africa is the cradle of humanity. Scientists have uncovered crucial evidence to attest that the human race, generally alluded to as Homo Sapiens, took birth in Africa about 200.000 years ago, and later dispersed to other parts of the world; with their now observed respective forms, subsequently shaped by various factors. It is held that in the ancient era, around 100.000 BC, inhabitants of Africa employed stone tools to engage in subsistence activities; such as gathering. By 5.000 BC, farming had become a prominent activity in North Africa, in an era when the present-day Sahara Desert was still a very fertile and highly productive land.

The Egyptians utilised bronze to produce farming tools and other implements. Meanwhile in about 3.200 BC, writing was invented in Africa’s North-East nation of Egypt. From 1567 to about 1085 BC, Ancient Egypt had attained its pinnacle in wealth, power and territorial conquest; a period generally known as the New Empire. Ancient Egypt was indigenously known as Kemet, which essentially entailed ‘Land of the blacks and Ta-Meri.” The present day Pyramids and Pharaoh Khufu, are outstanding living attestations of Egypt’s eminence in that era. By 600 BC, the production and utilisation of iron tools in Africa had become common place, not only in North Africa, but right through to South Africa. Egypt’s influence stretched along the River Nile; and modern-day Sudan was then pioneered, as the kingdoms of Nubia and Kush. By 100 AD, the kingdom of Axum in Ethiopia was a flourishing civilisation, which traded with Rome, Arabia and India. Meanwhile, the then powerful Roman Empire continued to widen its influence. In 30 BC, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire; while Morocco followed suit in 42 AD.

Nonetheless, the vast Sahara Desert prevented the Romans from exerting their influence in the more Southern territories of Africa. During the Middle Ages in about 642 AD, the Arabs conquered Egypt; followed by Tunisia between 698 and700 AD. They soon introduced Islam in the entire coast of North Africa; and engaged in trade with these territories. Soon, this trade embraced other parts of Africa, resulting in the propagation of Islam in the continent. One of the earliest African kingdoms was ancient Ghana, which included parts of Mali, Mauritania and modern-day Ghana.

By the 11th Century, the city of Ife in South-West Nigeria was the headquarters of an immense kingdom. Around the 13th century, the kingdom of Benin became very powerful and rich. Meanwhile the kingdom of Mali was pioneered in the 13th century; and became very powerful and affluent by the 14th century; with Timbuktu constituting one of its illustrious trading centres. Meanwhile the Arabs sailed down the coast of East Africa, and founded a territory like Mogadishu; while some of them settled on the Island of Zanzibar in Tanzania. West Africa constituted a cardinal trading route, with the emergence of very powerful empires in the region; such as Mali Empire, Kanem Bornu Empire, Fulani Empire, the Dahomey Oyo, Ashanti and Songhay empires. Around 1000 AD, Bantu-speaking entities commenced spreading in present-day Zimbabwe and South Africa. Zimbabwe emerged as a key empire, and exercised control over the trading route from South of Africa, right through to Zambezi. These commercial operations were mostly conducted with Arab Swahili traders.

The Swahilis are held to be descendants of Persian traders, who carried out trading activities in East Africa. In the 15th century, Prince Henry, son of King John I of Portugal, opted to conquer African territories; and to that effect, the Portuguese commenced their exploration of the continent. In 1488, the Portuguese sailed around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. Meanwhile between 1500 and 1800, European nations established a presence in Africa. In the 16th century for instance, the Portuguese settled in Angola and Mozambique; while in 1662, the Dutch founded a colony in South Africa. Subsequently, a multitude of African countries came under the annexation of several other European countries, among them, the British, French, German, Spanish, Belgian, etc. These annexation regimes persisted in Africa until around the middle part of the 20th century, when these political schemes were quashed, and governance reverted to nationals. Following the cessation of these annexation systems, Africa was ruled by both conscious statesmen and ruthless tyrants. With the advent of the 21th century, Africa is progressively shifting to stable democracy.

A brief Geography of Africa

With a vibrant and diverse population of over 1 billion inhabitants, Africa is the second largest continent in the world, encompassing an aggregate surface area of approximately 28.490.000km2 (11 million ml2); which accounts for 5.7% of the planet’s overall surface area; and 20% of its total area on land. The continent stretches from the Mediterranean Sea in the North to Cape Town in the South. A feature quite marvelling about Africa is that, the broadest point of its width is similar in dimension to its length. The continent has a total of 54 recognised sovereign territories; with South Sudan being the latest to that effect, following its official dissociation from Sudan on July 9, 2011.

In Africa, the equator stretches along a distance of about 249km (2,500ml), from the west to the east, passing through the six African countries of Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda, Kenya and Somalia. On Africa thrives about 3000 distinct ethnic groups, while about 2000 ethnic languages are spoken in the continent; each of them having a variety of dialects. The Sahara Desert in North Africa is the world’s largest desert. This mighty arid region which spans almost 9,000,000 km2 (3.5 million ml2); lies mostly in proximity to several North African countries; and constitutes a natural chasm between the countries of North Africa and those of Sub-Saharan Africa. River Nile is Africa and the world’s longest river, with its length spanning 6650 km (4,132ml); and runs from the mountainous regions of Tanzania in East Africa, right through to Egypt in North Africa. Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest lake and it’s situated in an area bordering the countries of Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. With a size of approximately 68,800km2 (26,560ml2), Lake Victoria is also the second largest lake in the world.

 The world-renowned Victoria Falls depict Africa’s largest waterfalls, and are situated in the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia in Southern Africa. The Victoria Falls are approximately 1.7 km (1 mile) wide and 108 m (355 feet) high. Each year, this stunning aquatic spectacle attracts millions of visitors from around the world. The lowest point in Africa is Lake Assal in Djibouti, which lies at 155m (515 feet) below sea level; while the highest mountain in Africa is Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, East Africa; with a high of 5895m (19,340 ft). In general, Africa is naturally graced with the splendour of dramatic features; including escarpments, valleys, plains, shift-flowing voluminous rivers, magnificent waterfalls, alluring lakes, mind-blowing caves, staggering mountains, beautifully undulating hills, astounding beaches etc.

The continent is embellished with a startling array of inspiring vegetation; amongst which are, majestic evergreen equatorial forest, spectacular highland montane forest, enticing semi-deciduous stretches and vast fields of breathtaking wooded savannah. Africa maintains a highly thriving and most extensive wildlife population on earth, rendering it the planet’s most celebrated treasure-bearer of the animal Kingdom. Whether you opt to nourish your sight on inspiring evergreen equatorial forests, be marvelled by vast stretches of savannah grassland, or be ecstatsised by the genial mellows of nature on vast stretches of pristine and pacifying sandy beaches, the latitude is yours. Whether you opt to imbibe the charm of its enchanting lakes, consume the tranquilising echoes of its smooth-flowing rivers, intimately capture the awe of its fascinating mountains and escarpments, or view the splendour of animals in their natural habitat, the discretion is all yours. Whether you are a diehard adventurer, an adrenalin fanatic, eco-enthusiast, cultural explorer, a hedonistic pursuer, a curiosity quencher, or simply seeking spontaneous and organic remedy to your stress and nervous breakdown, Africa awaits to fulfil your demands , needs, wants, fantasies and above all, your cherished expectations. Welcome to Africa.

Tribute to Nelson Mandela

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Greatness is not so much about the exceptionality of your achievements, but in their inherent benevolence; and the scale of their benignity in effectively enhancing the welfare and happiness of others.

Nelson Mandela is one of the most admired heroes in the modern era. His spirit of outstanding fortitude and relentless pursuit of sublime ideals, has inspired and appeased millions of people around the world. He has exemplified genuine heroism, beyond the parochial perspective of self-aggrandisement. These forty poems are designed to embellish and acclaim the multitude of distinctive qualities, which enabled the admired great Nelson Mandela, to serve as a deserving international role-model of exceptional selflessness and exemplary benevolence. They further aim to magnify his compelling precedence of political rectitude, which has reformed and transformed a whole society; while faithfully restructuring the destiny of an entire nation. He remains a planetary icon of a peaceful, benevolent and evolution-driven political revolution. May his engraved ideals contribute towards our persistent quest for enduring world peace. 

 

Considering their inherent solemnity and melodious eloquence, poems are endowed with matchless expressive charisma in channelling a solemn message to their designated recipients. Their genial linguistic personality and compelling magnetism, ensures that the message embodied in them, settles on the consciousness of recipients with grace and elegance. It’s in this regard that the author has elected to transmit this accolade in a poetic manner, so that it may replenish and embellish the hearts and souls of global readers. 

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The Great Rift Valley in East Africa

In simple terms, a rift can be considered as a fissure in the earth's surface that broadens over time; or more technically, as an elongate basin bounded by opposed steeply dipping normal faults. The East African Rift runs from the Afar Triple Junction in Ethiopia, southward through eastern Africa.

The rift is a narrow zone in which the African Plate is in the process of splitting into two new tectonic plates called the Somalian Plate and the Nubian Plate, which are sub plates or protoplates. These two plates are moving away form each other and also away from the Arabian plate to the north. The point where these three plates meet in the Afar region of Ethiopia forms what is called a triple-junction.

The oldest and best defined rift occurs in the Afar region of Ethiopia and this rift is usually referred to as the Ethiopian Rift. Further to the South, a series of rifts occur which include a Western branch, the "Lake Albert Rift" or "Albertine Rift", which contains the East African Great Lakes, and an Eastern branch that roughly bisects Kenya north-to-south, on a line slightly west of Nairobi (Figure 2). These two branches together have been termed the East African Rift (EAR), while parts of the Eastern branch have been variously termed the Kenya Rift or the Gregory Rift (after the geologist who first mapped it in the early 1900's). The two EAR branches are often grouped with the Ethiopian Rift to form the East Africa Rift System (EARS). The complete rift system therefore extends 1000's of kilometers in Africa alone; and several 1000’s more if we include the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden as extensions.

The stretching process associated with rift formation is often preceded by massive volcanic eruptions, which flow over vast areas and are usually preserved or exposed on the edges of the rift. Some geologists consider these eruptions to be "flood basalts", that is, the lava is erupted along fractures, rather than at individual volcanoes; and runs over the land in sheets like water does during a flood.

The East African Rift Zone comprises a number of both active and dormant volcanoes, including the following: Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya, Mount Longonot, Menengai Crater, Mount Karisimbi, Mount Nyairagongo, Mount Meru and Mount Elgon, including Crater Highlands in Tanzania.

The rifting of East Africa is complicated by the fact that two branches have emerged, one to the west which hosts the African Great Lakes, where the rift filled with water; and another nearly parallel rift about 600 kilometers to the east, which nearly bisects Kenya north-to-south before entering Tanzania where it seems to cease. Lake Victoria lies between these two branches. It is thought that these rifts are generally following old sutures between ancient continental masses that collided billions of years ago, to form the African craton; and that the split around the Lake Victoria region occurred due to the presence of a small core of ancient metamorphic rock, the Tanzania craton, that was too hard for the rift to tear through. Considering that the rift could not penetrate this area, it instead diverged around it, leading to the two branches that can be seen today. The East African Rift System is an excellent field laboratory to study a modern, actively developing rift system.

This region is also imperative for grasping the roots of human evolution. The bones of several hominid ancestors of modern humans have been discovered there, including Lucy, a partial yet eye-opening australopithecine skeleton dating back to 3 million years. Some other hominid material recently discovered was found to be 10 million years old. The structure and evolution of the rift may have rendered East Africa more sensitive to climate changes, which led to many alternations between wet and arid periods.

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