There was a meeting of civilizations that changed the way of life of many peoples of the world, but not always for the better. For Africans, it turned into a terrible disaster - the slave trade. The Europeans have turned the continent into a real hunting ground for people.

From slave trade to conquest

Tens of millions of people were taken out of Africa - the strongest, healthiest and hardiest. The shameful trade in black slaves has become an integral part of European history and the history of the two Americas.

In the 19th century, after the slave trade was over, the Europeans began to conquer the African continent. The most dramatic events took place in the last third of the century. The European powers were literally tearing Africa apart, and completed their "work" by the start of the First World War.

Exploring Africa

On the eve of the decisive battle for Africa, that is, by the seventies, only a tenth of the vast continent was in the possession of the European powers. Algeria belonged to France. Cape colony in South Africa - England. In the same place, two small states were created by the descendants of Dutch settlers. The remaining European possessions were strongholds on the sea coast. The hinterland of Africa was a mystery behind seven castles - unexplored and inaccessible.

Henry Stanley (left) traveled to Africa in 1869 in search of Livingston, who remained silent for three years. They met on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in 1871.

European expansion into the deep regions of the African continent in the 19th century. made possible by extensive geographical research. From 1800 to 1870 more than 70 large geographical expeditions were sent to Africa. Travelers and Christian missionaries have collected valuable information about the natural wealth and population of Tropical Africa. Many of them made a great contribution to science, but European industrialists took advantage of the fruits of their activities.

Prominent travelers were the Frenchman Kaye, the German Bart, the Scot Livingston and the Englishman Stanley. Only brave and hardy people could overcome great distances, barren deserts and impenetrable jungles, rapids and waterfalls of the great African rivers. Europeans had to contend with adverse climatic conditions and tropical diseases. Expeditions lasted for years, and not all participants returned home. The history of the exploration of Africa is a long mortyrology. In it, the most honorable place is occupied by the most noble and disinterested of travelers, Livingston, who died in 1873 from a fever.

Riches of Africa

European colonialists were attracted to Africa by its enormous natural wealth, valuable raw materials, such as, for example, rubber and palm oil. Manila has the opportunity to grow cocoa, cotton, sugarcane and other crops in favorable climatic conditions. On the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, and then in South Africa, gold and diamonds were found. Finally, new flows of European goods could be sent to Africa.

The exploration of the African continent forced Europeans to recognize the existence of original African art. String musical instrument. Ritual musical instruments

Leopold II and Africa

The beginning of the decisive battle for Africa was laid by the Belgian king Leopold II. His motive was greed. In early 1876, he read a report that in the Congo basin there was a "marvellous and fabulously rich country." The man who ruled a very small state, literally set on fire with the idea of ​​​​getting himself a huge territory, equal in size to one third of the United States. To this end, he invited Henry Stanley to serve. He was already a famous traveler and became famous for finding the lost expedition of Livingston in the wilds of Africa.

On behalf of the Belgian king, Stanley went to the Congo on a special mission. By cunning and deceit, he concluded a series of agreements with African leaders for territorial possessions. By 1882, he managed to purchase more than 1 million square kilometers for the King of Belgium. At the same time, England occupied Egypt. The territorial division of Africa began.

The Belgian king, lucky and enterprising, was worried. How will the European powers react to his actions?

Berlin conference

France and Portugal made no secret of their displeasure. Still would! After all, they were bypassed at the very moment when they planned to seize the Congolese territories. The disputes that arose were resolved at the Berlin International Conference, convened in 1884 on the initiative of the German Chancellor Bismarck.

Representatives of 14 European states "legitimized" the territorial division of Africa at the conference. To acquire any territory, it was enough to "effectively occupy" it and notify the other powers in a timely manner. After such a decision, the Belgian king could be completely calm. He became the "legitimate" owner of territories dozens of times the size of his own country.

"Great African Hunt"

In acquiring African territories, Europeans in most cases resorted to deceit and cunning. After all, treaties were signed with the leaders of the tribes, who could not read and often did not delve into the content of the document. In return, the natives received a reward in the form of several bottles of gin, red scarves or colorful clothes.

If necessary, the Europeans used weapons. After the invention of the Maxim machine gun in 1884, which fired 11 bullets per second, the military advantage was completely on the side of the colonialists. The courage and bravery of blacks practically did not matter. As the English poet Belloc wrote:

Everything will be as we want;
In case of any trouble
We have a machine gun "Maxim",
They don't have Maxim.

The conquest of the continent was more like a hunt than a war. It is no coincidence that it went down in history under the name of the "Great African Hunt".

In 1893, in Zimbabwe, 50 Europeans armed with 6 machine guns killed 3,000 Ndebele blacks in two hours. In 1897, in northern Nigeria, a military detachment of 32 Europeans with 5 machine guns and 500 African mercenaries defeated the 30,000th army of the Emir of Sokoto. In the battle for Omdurman in Sudan in 1898, the British destroyed 11 thousand Sudanese during a five-hour battle, losing only 20 soldiers.

The desire of the European powers to get ahead of each other more than once caused international conflicts. However, it did not come to military clashes. At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. The division of Africa ended. Huge territories of the continent were in the possession of England, France, Portugal, Italy, Belgium and Germany. And although the military advantage was on the side of the Europeans, many African peoples offered them fierce resistance. The most famous example is Ethiopia.

Ethiopia against European colonization

Back in the 16th century. Ethiopia tried to conquer the Ottoman Turks and the Portuguese. But all their attempts were unsuccessful. In the 19th century developed European powers, especially England, began to show interest in it. She openly interfered in the internal affairs of this African country, and in 1867 a 15,000-strong British army invaded its borders. European soldiers were armed with new-style guns. There was one, but decisive battle - the battle of a man with a machine. The Ethiopian troops were defeated, and the emperor, not wanting to surrender, shot himself. The British lost only two men.

The defeated country lay at the feet of the conquerors, but England was unable to enjoy the fruits of her victory. The same thing happened as in Afghanistan. Against the conquerors were both nature and people. The British did not have enough food, drinking water. They were surrounded by a hostile population. And they were forced to leave the country.

At the end of the XIX century. A new threat looms over Ethiopia. This time from Italy. Her attempts to establish a protectorate over Ethiopia were rejected by the intelligent and far-sighted Emperor Menelik II. Then Italy started a war against Ethiopia. Menelik appealed to the people with an appeal: “Enemies have come to us from across the sea, they have violated the inviolability of our borders and seek to destroy our faith, our fatherland ... I am going to defend the country and repulse the enemy. Let everyone who has strength follow me.” The Ethiopian people rallied around the emperor, and he managed to create an army of 100,000.

Emperor Menelik II personally directs the actions of his army. In the battle of Adua, the Italians out of 17 thousand soldiers lost 11 thousand killed and wounded. In the struggle for the integrity of his country, Menelik II tried to rely on Russia. The latter, in turn, was interested in a strong independent Ethiopia

In March 1896, the famous battle of Adua took place. For the first time, an African army managed to defeat the troops of a European power. Moreover, a peace treaty was signed, according to which Italy recognized the sovereignty of Ethiopia, the only independent African state at the end of the 19th century.

Boer War

Dramatic events took place in southern Africa. It was the only place on the continent where whites fought whites: the British with the descendants of Dutch settlers - the Boers. The fight for South Africa was long, hard-fought and unfair on both sides.

At the beginning of the XIX century. The Cape Colony passed into the hands of England. The new masters abolished slavery and thus dealt a severe blow to the agricultural and pastoral economy of the Boers, based on slave labor. In search of new lands, the Boers began their great migration to the north and east, deep into the continent, ruthlessly destroying the local population. In the middle of the XIX century. they formed two independent states - the Orange Free State and the Republic of South Africa (Transvaal). Soon, huge reserves of diamonds and gold were found on the territory of the Transvaal. This discovery sealed the fate of the Boer republics. England has done everything possible to take fabulous wealth into its own hands.

In 1899 the Anglo-Boer War broke out. The sympathies of many people of the world were on the side of a small fearless people who challenged the largest power of that time. The war, as expected, ended in 1902 with the victory of England, which began to reign supreme in southern Africa.

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At the beginning of the XIX century. In the United States, the "American Society of Colonization" arose, created with the aim of resettling freed Negro slaves in Africa. The territory on the Guinean coast of West Africa was chosen as the place of settlement. In 1821, the "Society" purchased land from local leaders for perpetual use for six guns, a case of beads, two barrels of tobacco, four hats, three handkerchiefs, 12 mirrors, and other goods worth a total of 50 dollars. First, Negro settlers founded the settlement of Monrovia on these lands (in honor of American President D. Monroe). In 1847, the Republic of Liberia was proclaimed, which means "free". In reality, the free state was dependent on the United States.

High Chief Lobengula and his people

Moving inland, the Boers drove the Matabele out of the Transvaal in the Zambezi-Limpopo interfluve. But even here the exiles did not find peace. The struggle for the interfluve, which was claimed by the British, and the Boers, and the Portuguese, and the Germans, was fueled by rumors of rich gold deposits in the new Matabele lands. The most important force in this struggle were the British. Under the threat of force, they forced Lobengula to “sign” (put a cross) in 1888 on an unequal treaty. And in 1893 the British invaded the Matabele lands. An unequal struggle began, ending three years later with the accession of the interfluve to the British possessions in South Africa. Due to differences in cultures and ideas about life and the world around it, it was difficult for Africans to understand Europeans. And yet the most far-sighted people, such as Chief Lobengula, were able to understand the deceptive maneuvers of the British and their methods of fighting for South Africa: “Have you ever seen a chameleon hunting a fly? The chameleon stands behind the fly and remains motionless for a while, then begins to cautiously and slowly move forward, silently moving one foot after the other. Finally, approaching enough, he throws out his tongue - and the fly disappears. England is a chameleon and I am a fly."

References:
V. S. Koshelev, I. V. Orzhehovsky, V. I. Sinitsa / World History of the Modern Times XIX - early. XX century., 1998.

The book of the well-known German (GDR) historian T. Buttner is devoted to the history of Africa from ancient times to the territorial division of the continent between the imperialist powers. Written from a Marxist standpoint and using the works of progressive foreign scholars, this work exposes the racist and colonial apologetic concepts of bourgeois historiography.

INTRODUCTION

“Africa will write its own history, glorious and honorable for the entire continent, from north to south,” said the unforgettable Patrice Lumumba shortly before he was assassinated in 1961. Indeed, Africa is now

with its revolutionary enthusiasm revives the most important historical traditions and restores cultural values. At the same time, it has to constantly overcome the barriers that the colonialists erected and carefully guarded in order to isolate the Africans from the truth. The legacy of imperialism penetrates deeply into the most diverse areas of life. Its ideological impact on the consciousness of the peoples of Tropical Africa was and remains no less important than the economic and social backwardness, poverty, humiliation and dependence on foreign monopolies inherited from colonialism.

Today, however, the peoples of Africa are resolutely tearing off the chains with which they were bound by the colonialists. In the 1950s and early 1960s, most of the peoples of Africa, under the yoke of imperialism, achieved political independence. This was an important milestone on the difficult path of their struggle against imperialism, for national sovereignty and social progress. Gradually they come to understand that their struggle is part of a world revolutionary process in which the main role belongs to the socialist community of states headed by the Soviet Union. The African peoples are making great efforts to consolidate the political independence they have won and to repulse the numerous intrigues of the neo-imperialists. They are faced with such complex tasks as profound social and economic transformations, democratic agrarian reforms, the elimination of the predominance of foreign monopolies, and the creation of an independent national economy. However, at the current stage, the task of reviving the national culture, partially destroyed or belittled by the colonial powers, and restoring historical traditions and glorious deeds of the past in the memory of the people is no less urgent.

The study of the history of African peoples has received a new direction. In order to fight successfully against imperialism, one must not only know about the glorious exploits of the fighters against colonialism, but also imagine the remarkable history of state formations in the pre-colonial period. Researchers have succeeded almost everywhere in tearing down the veil of romance and mysticism that enveloped it, and now they are striving to identify the most important progressive and revolutionary traditions so important for the modern national liberation revolution. Progressive African historiography can only accomplish this difficult task with the support of Marxists and other forces throughout the world fighting against imperialism. They are united by a common desire to overthrow the yoke of the imperialists and neo-colonialists, to eliminate the discrimination they inculcate and, of course, to refute the reactionary bourgeois theories of African history, which are an apology for colonialism.

What fabrications did the capitalists resort to in order to justify the robbery of the colonies! The idea runs through many printed works that before the advent of the colonial masters, Africans were completely or almost completely deprived of the ability to social progress. This idea was developed in every way and was intensively distributed. Just 30 years ago, a colonial official called Africans "savages who have passed history." There are no number of statements that classify the peoples of Africa as "unhistorical" and even reduce them to the "level of wild animals." The history of Africa was portrayed as a constant ebb and flow from outside "waves of higher civilization", which to a certain extent contributed to the development of the African population, doomed to stagnation. The European colonizers attributed to "dynamic, creative, cultural impulses coming from the outside" a lasting rational impact, because "ancient African culture is devoid of the Faustian desire inherent in Western civilization for eternal life, research and discovery"

In fact, the history of the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa has been reduced to a system of alien cultural strata. For greater persuasiveness, the imperialists were portrayed as "the highest culture-tragers." Continuing to falsify the history of Africa, the apologists of colonialism evaluated the ruthless colonial robbery of Africans as a boon, especially beneficial for their culture and supposedly opened the way for them from stagnation to modern progress. It is quite obvious what political and social functions such theories are called upon to perform: they are designed to mask the true nature and extent of colonial oppression and thereby deprive the anti-colonial and national liberation movement of its anti-imperialist orientation.

Chapter I

IS AFRICA THE CRADE OF HUMANITY?

DEVELOPMENT TRENDS IN ANCIENT AND ANCIENT HISTORY

Apparently, the first people on earth appeared on the African continent, so it occupies a very special place in the study of the entire history of mankind, and the history of the most ancient and ancient periods of our civilization in particular. The discoveries of recent years in South and Southeast Africa (Sterkfontein Taung, Broken Hill, Florisbad, Cape Flats, etc.), in the Sahara, especially in East Africa, have shown that the past of mankind is estimated in millions of years. In 1924, R. A. Dart found in South Africa the remains of australopithecines (human apes), whose age is about a million years. But prof. L. Leakey, later his son and wife after long and difficult excavations in Kenya and Tanzania - in the Olduvai Gorge south of Lake Victoria, and in the area of ​​Koobi Fora and Ileret (1968), as well as the Laetvlil burial in the Serengeti (1976) - found bone remains, whose age is estimated already from 1.8 to 2.6 million, and in Laetvil - even at 3.7 million years.

It has been established that bone remains representing all stages of human development were found only on the African continent, which obviously confirms Darwin’s evolutionary doctrine based on the latest anthropological and paleontological data, who considered Africa the “ancestral home of mankind”. In the Olduvai Gorge in East Africa, we find the remains of representatives of all stages of evolution that preceded the emergence of Hoto sapiens. They evolved (partly in parallel and not always getting further development) from Australopithecus to Noto habilis, and then to the last link in the evolutionary chain - neoanthropus. The example of East Africa proves that the formation of Hoto sapiens could occur in a variety of ways and that not all of them have been studied.

The climatic changes that occurred in the Quaternary and lasted more than a million years, especially the three great pluvial (wet) periods, had a great impact on Africa and turned the areas that are now deserts into savannahs, where prehistoric people hunted with success. Pluvial-related displacements and changes in water level can be used, among other methods, to date primitive finds. Already among the archaeological materials relating to the first pluvial periods, along with the bone remains of the pre-human, the first stone, or rather, pebble tools, were found. On the territory of Europe, similar products appeared much later - only during the interglacial periods.

Finds of the oldest pebble and stone tools of the Olduvai and Stellenbosch cultures, as well as numerous remains of thick and thin processed cores and axes with a handle dating back to the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic (about 50 thousand years ago), now found in many areas of the Maghreb (ater, capsium), Sahara, South Africa (foursmith), East Africa and the Congo Basin (Zaire), testify to the development and success of early and late Paleolithic people on African soil

A huge number of improved stone tools and rock carvings dating back to the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) indicates a significant increase in population and a high level of prehistoric culture in certain areas of Africa since the 10th millennium BC. e. The Lupembe and Chitole cultures in the Congo Basin, as well as the Mesolithic centers in northeastern Angola, in some areas of Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and on the northern coast of the Gulf of Guinea, represent an important stage in the further progress of culture. The people of the Lupemba culture were able to make chisels and hollow objects, pointed points with a knocked back and stone leaf-shaped points for spears and dagger-type tools that compare with the best stone points found in Europe.

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History of Africa

Introduction

The oldest archaeological finds that testify to the processing of grain in Africa date back to the thirteenth millennium BC. e. Pastoralism in the Sahara began c. 7500 BC e., and organized agriculture in the Nile region appeared in the 6th millennium BC. e. In the Sahara, which was then a fertile territory, groups of hunters-fishermen lived, as evidenced by archaeological finds. Many petroglyphs and rock paintings have been discovered throughout the Sahara, dating from 6000 BC to 6000 BC. e. until the 7th century AD. e. The most famous monument of the primitive art of North Africa is the Tassilin-Ajer plateau.

1. Ancient Africa

In the 6-5th millennium BC. in the Nile Valley, agricultural cultures (Tasian culture, Faiyum, Merimde) were formed, based on the civilization of Christian Ethiopia (XII-XVI centuries). These centers of civilization were surrounded by the pastoral tribes of the Libyans, as well as the ancestors of the modern Cushite- and Nilotic-speaking peoples. On the territory of the modern Sahara desert (which was then a savannah favorable for habitation) by the 4th millennium BC. e. a cattle-breeding and agricultural economy is taking shape. From the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. e., when the drying of the Sahara begins, the population of the Sahara retreats to the south, pushing the local population of Tropical Africa.

By the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. the horse is spreading in the Sahara. On the basis of horse breeding (from the first centuries AD - also camel breeding) and oasis agriculture in the Sahara, an urban civilization was formed (the cities of Telgi, Debris, Garama), and the Libyan letter appeared. On the Mediterranean coast of Africa in the XII-II centuries BC. e. the Phoenician-Carthaginian civilization flourished. In Africa south of the Sahara in the 1st millennium BC. e. iron metallurgy is spreading everywhere. The culture of the Bronze Age did not develop here, and there was a direct transition from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. Iron Age cultures spread both west (Nok) and east (northeast Zambia and southwest Tanzania) of Tropical Africa.

The spread of iron contributed to the development of new territories, primarily tropical forests, and became one of the reasons for the settlement of Bantu-speaking peoples throughout most of Tropical and South Africa, pushing the representatives of the Ethiopian and capoid races to the north and south.

2. The emergence of the first states in Africa

According to modern historical science, the first state (south of the Sahara) appeared on the territory of Mali in the 3rd century - it was the state of Ghana. Ancient Ghana traded gold and metals even with the Roman Empire and Byzantium. Perhaps this state arose much earlier, but during the existence of the colonial authorities of England and France there, all information about Ghana disappeared (the colonialists did not want to admit that Ghana is much older than England and France).

Under the influence of Ghana, other states later appeared in West Africa - Mali, Songhai, Kanem, Tekrur, Hausa, Ife, Kano and other states of West Africa. Another hotbed of the emergence of states in Africa is the vicinity of Lake Victoria (the territory of modern Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi). The first state appeared there around the 11th century - it was the state of Kitara.

In my opinion, the state of Kitara was created by settlers from the territory of modern Sudan - Nilotic tribes, who were forced out of their territory by Arab settlers. Later, other states appeared there - Buganda, Rwanda, Ankole. Around the same time (according to scientific history) - in the 11th century, the Mopomotale state appeared in southern Africa, which will disappear at the end of the 17th century (it will be destroyed by wild tribes). I believe that Mopomotale began to exist much earlier, and the inhabitants of this state are the descendants of the most ancient metallurgists of the world, who had connections with the Asuras and Atlanteans.

Around the middle of the 12th century, the first state appeared in the center of Africa - Ndongo (this is a territory in the north of modern Angola). Later, other states appeared in the center of Africa - Congo, Matamba, Mwata and Baluba. Since the 15th century, the colonial states of Europe - Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, England, France and Germany - began to interfere in the process of statehood development in Africa. If at first they were interested in gold, silver and precious stones, then later slaves became the main commodity (and these countries were engaged in countries that officially rejected the existence of slavery). Slaves were exported by the thousands to the plantations of America. Only much later, at the end of the 19th century, the colonialists began to attract natural resources in Africa. And it is for this reason that vast colonial territories appeared in Africa.

The colonies in Africa interrupted the development of the peoples of Africa and distorted its entire history. Until now, significant archaeological research has not been carried out in Africa (the African countries themselves are poor, and England and France do not need a true history of Africa, just like in Russia, Russia also does not conduct good research on the ancient history of Russia, money is spent on buying castles and yachts in Europe, total corruption deprives science of real research).

3. Africa in the Middle Ages

The centers of civilizations in Tropical Africa spread from north to south (in the eastern part of the continent) and partly from east to west (especially in the western part) as they moved away from the high civilizations of North Africa and the Middle East. Most of the large socio-cultural communities of Tropical Africa had an incomplete set of signs of civilization, so they can more accurately be called proto-civilizations. From the end of the 3rd century A.D. e. in West Africa, in the basins of Senegal and Niger, the Western Sudanese (Ghana) develops, from the VIII-IX centuries - the Central Sudanese (Kanem) civilizations that arose on the basis of trans-Saharan trade with the Mediterranean countries.

After the Arab conquests of North Africa (7th century), the Arabs for a long time became the only intermediaries between Tropical Africa and the rest of the world, including across the Indian Ocean, where the Arab fleet dominated. Under Arab influence, new urban civilizations are emerging in Nubia, Ethiopia, and East Africa. The cultures of Western and Central Sudan merged into a single West African, or Sudanese, zone of civilizations that stretched from Senegal to the modern Republic of Sudan.

In the 2nd millennium, this zone was united politically and economically in the Muslim empires: Mali (XIII-XV century), to which the small political formations of the peoples of the Fulbe, Wolof, Serer, Susu and Songhay (Tekrur, Jolof, Sin, Salum, Kayor, Soco and others), Songhai (mid-15th - late 16th century) and Bornu (late 15th - early 18th century) - Kanem's successor. From the beginning of the 16th century, between Songhai and Bornu, the Hausan city-states (Daura, Zamfara, Kano, Rano, Gobir, Katsina, Zaria, Biram, Kebbi, etc.) were strengthened, to which in the 17th century the role of the main centers of the trans-Saharan trade. South of the Sudanese civilizations in the 1st millennium CE. e. the Ife proto-civilization is taking shape, which became the cradle of the Yoruba and Bini civilization (Benin, Oyo). Its influence was experienced by the Dahomeans, Igbos, Nupe, and others. To the west of it, in the 2nd millennium, the Akano-Ashanti proto-civilization was formed, which flourished in the 17th - early 19th centuries. To the south of the great bend of the Niger, a political center arose, founded by the Mosi and other peoples speaking Gur languages ​​(the so-called Mosi-Dagomba-Mamprusi complex) and turned into a Voltian proto-civilization by the middle of the 15th century (the early political formations of Ouagadugu, Yatenga, Gurma , Dagomba, Mamprusi).

In Central Cameroon, the proto-civilization of Bamum and Bamileke arose, in the Congo River basin - the proto-civilization of Vungu (the early political formations of the Congo, Ngola, Loango, Ngoyo, Kakongo), to the south of it (in the 16th century) - the proto-civilization of the southern savannahs (the early political formations of Cuba, Lunda, Luba), in the Great Lakes region - an inter-lake proto-civilization: early political formations of Buganda (XIII century), Kitara (XIII-XV century), Bunyoro (from the XVI century), later - Nkore (XVI century), Rwanda (XVI century), Burundi (XVI century), Karagwe (XVII century), Kiziba (XVII century), Busoga (XVII century), Ukereve (late XIX century), Toro (late XIX century), etc. In East Africa, flourished since the X century Swahili Muslim civilization (city-states of Kilwa, Pate, Mombasa, Lamu, Malindi, Sofala, etc., the Sultanate of Zanzibar), in Southeast Africa - Zimbabwean (Zimbabwe, Monomotapa) proto-civilization (X-XIX century), in Madagascar the process of state formation ended at the beginning of the 19th century with the unification of all early political the name of the island around Imerin, which arose around the 15th century. Most African civilizations and proto-civilizations experienced an upswing in the late 15th-16th centuries.

From the end of the 16th century, with the penetration of Europeans and the development of the transatlantic slave trade, which lasted until the middle of the 19th century, their decline took place. All North Africa (except Morocco) became part of the Ottoman Empire by the beginning of the 17th century. With the final division of Africa between the European powers (1880s), the colonial period began, forcibly introducing Africans to industrial civilization.

4. Colonization of Africa

tasian african colonization slave trade

In ancient times, North Africa was the object of colonization by Europe and Asia Minor. The first attempts by Europeans to subjugate African territories date back to the times of the ancient Greek colonization of the 7th-5th centuries BC, when numerous Greek colonies appeared on the coast of Libya and Egypt. The conquests of Alexander the Great marked the beginning of a rather long period of Hellenization of Egypt. Although the bulk of its inhabitants, the Copts, were never Hellenized, the rulers of this country (including the last queen Cleopatra) adopted the Greek language and culture, which completely dominated Alexandria. The city of Carthage was founded on the territory of modern Tunisia by the Phoenicians and was one of the most important powers of the Mediterranean until the 4th century BC. e.

After the Third Punic War, it was conquered by the Romans and became the center of the province of Africa. In the early Middle Ages, the kingdom of the Vandals was founded on this territory, and later it was part of Byzantium. The invasions of the Roman troops made it possible to consolidate the entire northern coast of Africa under the control of the Romans. Despite the extensive economic and architectural activities of the Romans, the territories underwent weak Romanization, apparently due to excessive aridity and the ongoing activity of the Berber tribes, pushed back but not conquered by the Romans. Ancient Egyptian civilization also fell under the rule of the Greeks first, and then the Romans. In the context of the decline of the empire, the Berbers, activated by the vandals, finally destroy the centers of European, as well as Christian civilization in North Africa on the eve of the invasion of the Arabs, who brought Islam with them and pushed back the Byzantine Empire, which still controlled Egypt.

By the beginning of the 7th century A.D. e. the activities of the early European states in Africa completely cease, on the contrary, the expansion of the Arabs from Africa takes place in many regions of southern Europe. Attacks of the Spanish and Portuguese troops in the XV-XVI centuries. led to the capture of a number of strongholds in Africa (the Canary Islands, as well as the fortresses of Ceuta, Melilla, Oran, Tunisia, and many others). Italian navigators from Venice and Genoa have also traded extensively with the region since the 13th century. At the end of the 15th century, the Portuguese actually controlled the western coast of Africa and launched an active slave trade. Following them, other Western European powers rush to Africa: the Dutch, the French, and the British.

From the 17th century, Arab trade with Africa south of the Sahara led to the gradual colonization of East Africa, in the Zanzibar region. And although Arab quarters appeared in some cities of West Africa, they did not become colonies, and Morocco's attempt to subjugate the lands of the Sahel ended unsuccessfully. Early European expeditions focused on colonizing uninhabited islands such as Cape Verde and Sao Tome, and establishing forts along the coast as trading bases. In the second half of the 19th century, especially after the Berlin Conference of 1885, the process of African colonization acquired such a scale that it was called the "race for Africa"; practically the entire continent (except for the remaining independent Ethiopia and Liberia) by 1900 was divided between a number of European powers: Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Portugal retained and somewhat expanded their old colonies.

During the First World War, Germany lost (mostly already in 1914) its African colonies, which after the war came under the administration of other colonial powers under League of Nations mandates. The Russian Empire never claimed to colonize Africa, despite its traditionally strong position in Ethiopia, except for the Sagallo incident in 1889.

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Socio-economic development of Asian and African countries on the eve of colonization, features of the genesis of the capitalist structure in these countries. The first colonial conquests of European states in Asia and Africa. Political map of Asia at the turn of modern times.

abstract, added 02/10/2011


Causes of the colonial division of Africa. Intense competition between the imperialist powers of Europe for research and military operations aimed at capturing new territories in Africa. Forms and methods of exploitation of African colonies.

abstract, added 04/04/2011


The appearance of the first modern people in Europe (Cro-Magnons), the rapid growth of their cultures. The history of the appearance of the ancestors of modern man. Characteristics of the appearance and anthropological features of the Cro-Magnon skeleton, their differences from Neanderthals.

presentation, added 11/12/2012


The study of the religious beliefs of the ancient Greeks, the features of the reflection in religion of inequality among the Greeks. Analysis of the main mythical works of Greece. The history of the emergence of the first Greek states. Greek campaign against Troy. Dorians invade Greece.

abstract, added 04/30/2010


Civilizations of the East, Greece, Rome, Russia in the eras of the ancient world and the Middle Ages, in modern times. The birth and development of industrial civilization, the ways of establishing capitalism in Western Europe and Russia; scientific and technological progress: losses and gains.

The history of the peoples of Africa goes back to ancient times. In the 60-80s. 20th century on the territory of South and East Africa, scientists found the remains of human ancestors - Australopithecus monkeys, which allowed them to suggest that Africa could be the ancestral home of mankind (see Formation of mankind). In the north of the continent, about 4 thousand years ago, one of the most ancient civilizations arose - the ancient Egyptian, which left numerous archaeological and written monuments (see Ancient East). One of the most populated regions of Ancient Africa was the Sahara with abundant vegetation and a diverse wildlife.

Starting from the III century. BC e. there was an active process of migration of Negroid tribes to the south of the continent, associated with the advance of the desert to the Sahara. In the 8th century BC e. - IV century. n. e. in the northeast of Africa, there were the states of Kush and Meroe, connected in many respects with the culture of Ancient Egypt. Ancient Greek geographers and historians called Africa Libya. The name "Africa" ​​appeared at the end of the 4th century. BC e. at the Romans. After the fall of Carthage, the Romans founded the province of Africa on the territory adjacent to Carthage, then this name spread to the entire continent.

North Africa met the early Middle Ages under the rule of barbarians (Berbers, Goths, Vandals). In 533-534. it was conquered by the Byzantines (see Byzantium). In the 7th century they were replaced by the Arabs, which led to the Arabization of the population, the spread of Islam, the formation of new state and social relations, and the creation of new cultural values.

In antiquity and the early Middle Ages in West Africa, three large states arose, replacing each other. Their formation is associated with the expansion of intercity trade in the Niger River basin, pastoral agriculture, and the widespread use of iron. Written sources about the first of them - the state of Ghana - appear in the 8th century. with the arrival of the Arabs in Africa south of the Sahara, and oral traditions date back to the 4th century BC. Its heyday belongs to the VIII-XI centuries. Arab travelers called Ghana the country of gold: it was the largest supplier of gold to the Maghreb countries. Here, crossing the Sahara, caravan routes passed to the north and south. By its nature, it was an early class state, whose rulers controlled the transit trade in gold and salt and imposed a high duty on it. In 1076, the capital of Ghana, the city of Kumbi-Sale, was captured by newcomers from Morocco - the Almoravids, who initiated the spread of Islam. In 1240, the Malinke king from the state of Mali, Sundiata, subjugated Ghana.

In the XIV century. (the time of its highest prosperity) the vast state of Mali stretched from the Sahara to the edge of the forest in the south of Western Sudan and from the Atlantic Ocean to the city of Gao; its ethnic basis was the Malinke people. The cities of Timbuktu, Djenne, and Gao became important centers of Muslim culture. Within Malian society, early feudal forms of exploitation spread. The well-being of the state was based on income from caravan trade, agriculture along the banks of the Niger, and cattle breeding in the savannah strip. Mali has been repeatedly invaded by nomads and neighboring peoples; dynastic strife led to its demise.

The state of Songhai (the capital of Gao), which came to the fore in this part of Africa after the fall of Mali, continued the development of the civilization of Western Sudan. Its main population was the Songhai people, who still live along the banks of the middle reaches of the Niger River. By the 2nd half of the 16th century. an early feudal society developed in Songai; at the end of the 16th century. he was captured by the Moroccans.

In the area of ​​Lake Chad in the early Middle Ages, the states of Kanem and Bornu (IX-XVIII centuries) existed.

The normal development of the states of Western Sudan was put to an end by the European slave trade (see Slavery, Slave trade).

Meroe and Aksum are the most significant states of Northeast Africa between the 4th century BC. BC e. and VI century. n. e. The kingdoms of Kush (Napata) and Meroe were located on the territory of the north of modern Sudan, the state of Aksum - on the Ethiopian highlands. Kush and Meroe represented a late phase of ancient Oriental society. Few archaeological sites have survived to this day. In the temples and on the steles near Napata, several inscriptions in the Egyptian language have been preserved, which allow us to judge the political life of the state. The tombs of the rulers of Napata and Meroe were built in the form of pyramids, although they were much smaller than those of Egypt (see Seven Wonders of the World). The transfer of the capital from Napata to Meroe (Meroe was located about 160 km north of modern Khartoum) was apparently associated with the need to reduce the danger from the invasions of the Egyptians and Persians. Meroe was an important center of trade between Egypt, the states of the Red Sea coast and Ethiopia. An iron ore processing center arose near Meroe, iron from Meroe was exported to many African countries.

The heyday of Meroe covers the III century. BC e. - I century. n. e. Slavery here, just as in Egypt, was not the main thing in the system of exploitation, the main hardships were borne by the village community members - plowmen and pastoralists. The community paid taxes and supplied labor for the construction of pyramids and irrigation systems. The civilization of Meroe is still insufficiently explored - we still know little about the daily life of the state, its relations with the outside world.

The state religion followed the Egyptian models: Amon, Isis, Osiris - the gods of the Egyptians - were also the gods of the Meroiites, but along with this, purely Meroitic cults also arise. The Meroiites had their own script, the alphabet contained 23 letters, and although its study began as early as 1910, the Meroe language still remains difficult to access, making it impossible to decipher the surviving written monuments. In the middle of the IV century. King Ezana of Aksum inflicted a decisive defeat on the Meroitic state.

Aksum is the forerunner of the Ethiopian state, its history shows the beginning of the struggle waged by the peoples of the Ethiopian highlands to preserve their independence, religion and culture in a hostile environment. The emergence of the Aksumite kingdom dates back to the end of the 1st century BC. BC e., and its heyday - to the IV-VI centuries. In the IV century. Christianity became the state religion; monasteries arose throughout the country, exerting great economic and political influence. The population of Aksum led a settled way of life, being engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding. Wheat was the most important crop. Irrigation and terraced agriculture developed successfully.

Aksum was an important trade center connecting Africa with the Arabian Peninsula, where in 517-572. he belonged to South Yemen, but the powerful Persian power ousted Aksum from the south of Arabia. In the IV century. Aksum established ties with Byzantium, controlled the caravan routes from Adulis along the Atbara River to the middle reaches of the Nile. The Aksumite civilization brought cultural monuments to our days - the remains of palaces, epigraphic monuments, steles, the largest of which reached a height of 23 m.

In the 7th century n. e., with the beginning of the Arab conquests in Asia and Africa, Aksum lost its power. Period from the 8th to the 13th century. characterized by deep isolation of the Christian state, and only in 1270 begins its new rise. At this time, Aksum loses its importance as the political center of the country, it becomes the city of Gondar (to the north of Lake Tana). Simultaneously with the strengthening of the central government, the role of the Christian church also increased, the monasteries concentrated large land holdings in their hands. Slave labor began to be widely used in the country's economy; corvée and in-kind deliveries are being developed.

The rise also affected the cultural life of the country. Such monuments are being created as chronicles of the life of kings, church history; the works of Copts (Egyptians professing Christianity) on the history of Christianity, world history are translated. One of the outstanding Ethiopian emperors - Zera-Yaikob (1434-1468) is known as the author of works on theology and ethics. He advocated strengthening ties with the Pope, and in 1439 the Ethiopian delegation took part in the Florentine Cathedral. In the XV century. The embassy of the king of Portugal visited Ethiopia. The Portuguese at the beginning of the 16th century assisted the Ethiopians in the fight against the Muslim Sultan of Adal, hoping then to penetrate the country and capture it, but failed.

In the XVI century. the decline of the medieval Ethiopian state began, torn apart by feudal contradictions, subjected to raids by nomads. A serious obstacle to the successful development of Ethiopia was its isolation from the centers of trade relations on the Red Sea. The process of centralization of the Ethiopian state began only in the 19th century.

On the east coast of Africa, the trading city-states of Kilwa, Mombasa, and Mogadishu grew up in the Middle Ages. They had extensive ties with the states of the Arabian Peninsula, Asia Minor and India. The Swahili civilization arose here, absorbing African and Arab culture. Starting from the X century. Arabs played an increasing role in the ties of the east coast of Africa with a large number of Muslim states in the Middle East and South Asia. The appearance of the Portuguese at the end of the XV century. disrupted the traditional ties of the eastern coast of Africa: a period of long-term struggle of the African peoples against the European conquerors began. The history of the interior regions of this region of Africa is not well known due to the lack of historical sources. Arabic sources of the 10th century. It was reported that between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers there was a large state with a large number of gold mines. The civilization of Zimbabwe (its heyday dates back to the beginning of the 15th century) is best known during the period of the Monomotapa state; Numerous public and religious buildings have survived to this day, testifying to the high level of building culture. The collapse of the Monomotapa empire came at the end of the 17th century. due to the expansion of the Portuguese slave trade.

In the Middle Ages (XII-XVII centuries), in the south of West Africa, there was a developed culture of the city-states of the Yoruba - Ife, Oyo, Benin, etc. Crafts, agriculture, and trade reached a high level of development in them. In the XVI-XVIII centuries. these states took part in the European slave trade, which led them to decline at the end of the 18th century.

A large state of the Gold Coast was the confederation of Amanti states. This is the most developed feudal formation in West Africa in the 17th-18th centuries.

In the Congo River basin in the XIII-XVI centuries. there were early class states of the Congo, Lunda, Luba, Bushongo, etc. However, with the advent in the 16th century. the Portuguese, their development was also interrupted. There are practically no historical documents about the early period of development of these states.

Madagascar in the 1st-10th centuries developed in isolation from the mainland. The Malagasy who inhabited it were formed as a result of a mixture of newcomers from Southeast Asia and Negroid peoples; the population of the island consisted of several ethnic groups - gelding, sokalava, betsimisarak. In the Middle Ages, the kingdom of Imerina arose in the mountains of Madagascar.

The development of medieval Tropical Africa, due to natural and demographic conditions, and also because of its relative isolation, lagged behind North Africa.

The penetration of Europeans at the end of the XV century. was the beginning of the transatlantic slave trade, which, like the Arab slave trade on the east coast, delayed the development of the peoples of Tropical Africa, caused them irreparable moral and material damage. On the threshold of a new era, Tropical Africa turned out to be defenseless against the colonial conquests of Europeans.

Ifriqiya - the Arabic name of the Roman province of Africa (roughly corresponded to the current Tunisia without the Sahara). The capital of Ifriqiya was Kairouan. The name of this small territory became the name of the whole continent (in Arabic and modern Africa - Ifriqiya). There is a version that the Roman "Africa". And the Arabic "Ifriqiya" goes back to the name of the aboriginal Berber tribe Ifren (Ifran), who lived in the Atlas.

Or: The name "Africa" ​​probably comes from the Latin "afrigus", which means frostless, not knowing the cold, as the Romans called a small tribe and its habitat south of Tunisia.

Africa is the only continent that lies almost evenly across the northern and southern hemispheres. Cape Ras Engela is the northernmost point of continental Africa (37 0 21 /). It is often confused with Cape El Abyad (Cap Blanc), located 10 km to the east and less protruding to the north. (Ras - cape, protruding part).

The southernmost - Cape Agulhas - 34 0 52 // S.l. Africa stretches from north to south for almost 8000 km, lies between the tropics, partly in the subtropics. Due to this geographical position, the sun is high above the horizon all year round. As a result, in Africa throughout the year there is a more or less uniform duration of day and night, and in most parts of the continent there are high temperatures.

From west to east, in the widest part of Africa, it has a length of about 7400 km, its western point is Cape Almadi - 17 0 32 // W, and the eastern point is Cape Ras Hafun - 51 0 23 // E. in the south, the mainland narrows strongly.

Africa is second only to Asia in size and occupies 29.2 million km 2, and with the adjacent islands about 30 million km 2.

Africa is washed by the waters of the Indian Ocean in the east, the Atlantic - in the west, in the north Africa is separated from Eurasia by the Mediterranean Sea, in the northwest - by the Strait of Gibraltar, whose width is 14 km. Africa is separated from Asia by the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Only in the place of the Isthmus of Suez mother is connected with Arabia. This isthmus was cut by a canal in 1869. However, the history of its development, Africa is closely connected with Arabia and Southern Europe.

Coastline.

The coastline is poorly developed, the mainland has a fairly simple outline. Africa has one large gulf - Guinea, which in turn, going into the land, forms the gulf of Benin and Biafra. To a small extent, the coastline is dissected by such bays as Delagoa, Sidra, Gabes, Tunisian.

The only major peninsula is the massive peninsula of Somalia, connected to the mainland by a wide base.

The absence of bays protruding deep into the mainland and protruding peninsulas into the open sea determines the massiveness of Africa and the remoteness of its central parts from the coasts - 20% of the territory is 1000 km away from the coastline.

Africa includes a number of islands, the total area of ​​\u200b\u200bwhich is about 2% of the mainland. With the exception of the island of Madagascar, which has an area of ​​\u200b\u200babout 590 km 2, all the islands are small, significantly remote from the mainland, only a few have a common origin - Mafia, Zanzibar, Pemba, Socotra, the islands of the Gulf of Guinea. The islands of Madagascar, Comoros, Mascarene, Seychelles are part of the land that once connected Africa with other continents. The most remote from the mainland - the islands of Tristan da Cunha, St. Helena, Ascension, Cape Verde, Canaries, Madeira are mainly of volcanic origin.

The coast of Africa is predominantly abrasion, steep. Especially where the mountains come close to the coast along the Atlas Mountains, where the Cape Mountains rise. Low accumulative shores stretch where the coastal lowlands reach their greatest width - the Nile Delta, on the coast of the Côte de Voire, in some places on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, the Mozambique Lowland, on the Somali Peninsula, on the coast of the Indian Ocean.

Coral structures develop along the coast of the Red Sea and in the Indian Ocean in warm tropical waters, in places rising in the form of coral reefs. The eastern shores of Africa, washed by the warm Mozambique current, are framed by mangrove vegetation, which prevents ships from entering the mouths of the rivers, where they form especially dense thickets.

In the Mediterranean Sea, in addition to abrasion coasts, there are bays, along the coast of Gabes and Sidra - low-lying flat coasts. The mountainous coast of the Red Sea belongs to the shores of the sherm type (shores characterized by the presence of short bays, angular outlines, separated from one another by straight sections). Lagoon shores are characteristic of the Gulf of Guinea and the Gulf of Biafra.

3.History of the formation of the territory of Africa.

The mainland of Africa, with the exception of the Atlas Mountains in the northwest and the Cape Mountains in the extreme south, as well as the island of Madagascar and the Arabian Peninsula adjacent to Africa in the northeast, form the African (African-Arabian) platform. Separate cores of this platform arose at the end of the Archean era (about 2 billion years), such cores are known in the Sahara, in the southern part of the mainland.

Archean structures are also exposed in the eastern half of Madagascar. In the Sahara and along the northern coast of the Gulf of Guinea, the ancient Archean plinth was broken into blocks.

At the beginning of the Proterozoic, the main contours of the African Platform were already outlined, except for its marginal parts. However, soon a new geosynclinal belt arose within the newly formed platform, extending through Zaire, Uganda, Tanzania, i.e. almost across the middle of the mainland. This (Karagve-Ankolian)_ geosyncline was filled mainly with sandy-argillaceous sediments, later transformed into quartzites, partly limestones. Its development ended 1.4 million years ago with folding, metamorphism, and intrusion of granites.

In the Late Proterozoic, another geosynclinal belt developed parallel to this - Katanga, covering part of the territories of Zambia and Angola, closing at Kinshasa.

Geosynclinal formations of the Late Proterozoic (Baikalian folding), which experienced folding and metamorphism, are widely developed almost along the entire periphery of the most ancient, post-Archaean part of the African Platform. They are established in the Anti-Atlas mountains, distributed on both sides of the Red Sea graben, appearing within the so-called Mozambique belt, forming a continuous strip along the western coast.

At that time, sediments accumulated in the already formed Taoudenny syneclises in the west of the Sahara and Sudan, the Kalahari basin, along the entire northern and eastern periphery of the Congo basin.

Caledonian folding. At that time, almost the entire platform, with the exception of the extreme northern and southern extremities, as well as the Archean massifs - Ahaggar and others, remained uplifted and retained the continental regime. The seas covered the northwest of Africa, the western half of the Sahara. At that time, the Atlas hesyncline was actively developing.

Hercynian folding. At this time, the sea left the platform depressions. In the Atlas geosyncline, folding occurred, the intrusion of granites. The depressions of the Congo, Kalahari, Karru have finally taken shape. These depressions were filled with “karru” deposits - glacial at the bottom, coal-bearing above, and even higher - with deposits of desert reds and massive outpourings of basalts.

In the Permian, the Mozambique trough formed, separating the island of Madagascar from the mainland. The formation of the depression of the western part of the Indian Ocean began. By the end of the Triassic, folding and uplifts covered the Cape zone in the extreme south of the mainland, where the Cape Mountains were formed.

Mesozoic. Its beginning is characterized by the dominance of the continental regime and the gradual leveling of the relief. However, since the beginning of the Jurassic, starting from the area of ​​the Atlas Mountains, the territory has been covered by transgression, the maximum of which occurred in the Late Cretaceous. At this time, the sea covers the northern part of the mainland, penetrates deep into the Sahara and connects the Mediterranean basin with the Gulf of Guinea basin through the Benue depression in Nigeria. For a short time, the sea also intrudes into the Congo depression. Large faults and subsidence marked the beginning of the formation of the Atlantic Ocean depression and shaped the configuration of the western part of the mainland.

Cenozoic. Starting from the end of the Paleogene (Oligocene), Africa entered a phase of general uplift, especially vigorous in the east, where it began earlier (at the end of the Cretaceous) and was associated with the sinking of the Mozambique Channel and the western part of the Arabian Sea. The largest fault zone has finally taken shape, dividing into several branches with grabens located along them. The Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the largest lakes in Africa - Tanganyika, Nyasa, etc. are confined to these grabens. Movement along the faults was accompanied by intense volcanic activity - first of the fissure type (platobasalts of the Abyssinian highlands), and then in the Neogene - of the central type, with the formation of powerful volcanic cones - Kilimanjaro, Kenya, Meru, etc.

Young (Neogene-Quaternary) volcanism also manifested itself in the western half of the continent, in the strip following from the Gulf of Gabes through the Ahaggar massif to Cameroon and further to Angola. Young volcanoes are also known on the coast of West Africa (Sinegal). Another band of volcanoes follows from the volcanic islands of the Gulf of Guinea to the Tibesti volcanic massif.

In the Pliocene-Quaternary epoch, the Atlas was uplifted as a whole and split with the formation of a system of grabens. Simultaneously, volcanic activity began, both effusive and intrusive. As a result, the volcanic Comoros and Mascarene Islands arose.

Of the geological events experienced by Africa, it should be noted glaciations, which repeatedly plunged the southern part of the mainland, as evidenced by tillites - ancient glacial boulder clays. The question of the number of glaciations is controversial. In southern Africa, clear traces of continental glaciation that took place in the Proterozoic have been found. In the Lower Devonian, South Africa underwent secondary glaciation. The nature of the deposits of this time indicates the presence of a powerful ice sheet. The third glaciation took place in the Carboniferous. This glaciation covered vast areas of Gondwana and spread throughout South Africa. In the Quaternary, glaciation in Africa, apparently, did not have any significant distribution.

At the end of the Pleistocene, natural zoning acquired characteristic features on the African continent.

4.Minerals of Africa

The abundance and diversity of minerals in Africa is due to the peculiarities of the geological history and tectonics of the mainland, due to which ancient rocks containing valuable minerals turned out to be exposed or lying close to the earth's surface. The abundance of minerals is explained by active volcanic activity, accompanied by the release of lavas and the formation of mineral-rich metamorphic rocks.

Africa occupies a prominent position in the extraction of diamonds, cobalt, gold, manganese ores, chromites, lithium, antimony, platinum. Africa is far from the last place in the extraction of tin, zinc, lead, beryllium, iron ores, and graphite.

The largest gold deposits are concentrated in South Africa in the Transvaal, which are confined to late Archean formations. Gold deposits are also known in the Congo basin, in a number of countries on the Guinean coast, in Kenya, and on the island of Madagascar.

Africa provides more than half of the world's total diamond production. The largest diamond deposits are located in South Africa - in the vicinity of Kimberley. Here, diamond-bearing rock - blue rock - kimberlite, belonging to the type of volcanic breccias, fills the channels - "explosion pipes" penetrating the thickness of sandstones, clay and quartzite shales that are part of the Karoo formation. But in addition to these primary deposits, diamonds in South Africa are also found in placers - clay, sand and pebble deposits of river valleys. In addition to southern Africa, there are diamond deposits in equatorial Africa and the countries of Guinea.

Copper ores are confined to the Riphean deposits of Katanga, where the so-called "ore series" occurs, containing the richest deposits of copper and copper-cobalt ores in southern Katanga and northern Zambia. The origin of these ores has not yet been fully elucidated: some scientists consider them sedimentary, others hydrothermal. With the introduction of granites in the Riphean, vein deposits of uranium and cobalt are also associated in this territory.

In the second half of the Paleozoic, folding occurred in the Atlas geosyncline, the intrusion of granites, which created vein deposits of lead, zinc, and iron ores. Deposits of tin and tungsten are associated with the development of the Karagwe-Ankolia geosyncline and are located mainly in Nigeria, the upper reaches of the Congo.

Significant reserves of manganese and chromite ores. Manganese deposits are available in Morocco, South Africa, Equatorial and West Africa; chromite deposits - South Africa. The richest iron ore deposits are located in the Atlas Mountains, in the countries of South Africa, Upper Guinea.

Of the energy deposits in Africa, there are coal reserves. The largest of them are in South Africa, Atlas, Nigeria.

Deposits have been explored in the south of Algeria, west of Libya, where oil and gas are confined to Paleozoic sandstones. Within the peripheral basins, filled with chalk deposits, large oil fields were also discovered, especially in Libya, Nigeria, Gabon, and Angola.

Of the non-metallic minerals, phosphorites should be noted, the extraction of which is of world importance. Their deposits are confined to the shelf sediments of the Upper Cretaceous - Lower Eocene of northwestern Africa, especially Marroco and Tunisia.

In the recent and modern era in the tropical zone of Africa, especially along the northern coast of the Gulf of Guinea, as a result of intense chemical weathering, the richest deposits of aluminum ores - bauxites - arose.

Graphite is mined on about. Madagascar.