African Development
Countries which have not technologically or sociologically progressed through the years are considered under-developed. This means that most or much of the population still live as they did in past centuries. Most of the population lives in poverty and there are not enough schools or hospitals. There is not enough drinkable water and children in the regions still die from conditions which have been easily treated for decades in more advanced places of the world. As a whole, people living in Africa have the shortest projected life expectancy of anywhere else in the world. Despite a wide variety of natural resources which are available for human use and consumption, the continent of Africa as a whole remains heavily underdeveloped. The reasons for this continued underdevelopment are many and scientists and sociologists have endeavored to isolate these reasons to little progress, but most experts agree that the key explanations for Africa's underdevelopment are: the physical geography of the continent, "top down" factors such as post-colonialism and rampant corruption of those in positions of power, and "bottom up" factors which refer to the sociology of the population including ethnic differences which leads to violence between groups.
The geographical features which make Africa less likely to be developed include both the terrain of the continent itself as well as the inhospitable climate which covers most of the land. Features such as the expansive Sahara Desert in the north of Africa have served as a natural barrier, separating the people of Africa from the progression of other empires until the Europeans began exploring around 1500. Traveling into the continent's interior was highly problematic as the terrain made travel difficult and except for the Nile and Niger Rivers, the waterways on Africa were highly difficult for explorers to navigate. On the continent, there are also a large number of indigenous diseases which are bred and carried by creatures such as the tsetse fly which carries malaria among other conditions (Simensen 1). This fly affects humans and animals alike, particularly known to infect large working animals which could improve the agricultural field by plowing. A lack of such animals makes it harder for those working on farms to improve their lands as they can only plant and harvest manually without the use of plough horses or other farming animals.
Between the 14th and 20th centuries, Africa was heavily colonized by European nations. The continent was divided up and each portion under the control of a different empirical government. Populations were divided, even if they were from the same tribe because of where they lived in terms of the colonizers. In the 1960s, much of the continent was decolonized and the nations able to control their own citizens and rule under their own sovereignty. Centuries of marginalization and oppression were now relieved and the people free, except that the new governments were usually as corrupt and dangerous if not more so than the colonizers who had left (Simensen 1). The plan for many of the European nations was to teach the African people how to self-govern as they had not developed the ability to do this for themselves except for in their relatively limited population within tribes. However, the Africans were unwilling to wait for the Europeans to approve of their sovereignty when the opportunity for freedom was close at hand. This quickening of the timetable is arguably one of the reasons that the governments that did eventually come to power were backed by large militant groups; most of them earned their titles by bloodshed rather than political acumen (Rodney 278). The desire for independence came from the African people and as they had not naturally developed their nations over time, but instead had their boundaries forced upon them by their colonizers. Author Christopher Warburton claims that many of the factors which contribute to Africa's underdevelopment have to do with the regimes that are in control. Further, he says:
Four issues are therefore, key to understanding the evolution of underdevelopment in Africa: (i) the making of the contemporary African states; (ii) the perception that political authority is economic entitlement; (iii) the theory that ethnic and other social differences are power reinforcing, belief in which results in alienation and loss of hope; and (iv) the tacit recognition of illegitimate regimes in the name of national self-determination...
Africa's Political Crisis Most African colonies became independent in the 1950s and 1960s amid hopes that this would be the prelude to an era of democracy and development (Cooper, 2002). By the end of the 1980s, Africa was plagued by instability, authoritarianism, poverty, war and famine. In some countries, the state itself had begun to disintegrate. There are many reasons for Africa's current state of political instability. For one, continuous rivalry between
Africa and the Slave Trade Give a brief description of Africans' way of life prior to the Atlantic Slave Trade, meaning their Political, economic, cultural and societal organizations. Please take into consideration the Documentary films: " Caravans of Gold" and " King and City." As is demonstrated in the documentaries 'Caravans of Gold' an 'King and City,' the embattled and economically delayed Africa with which we are familiar today is a far
Technological advancements are rare in the bulk of sub-Saharan nations, which remain among the poorest in the world due to their weak levels of exports. However, some Sub-Saharan nations possess a range of natural resources from ore to agriculture. Some sub-Saharan African countries such as Sierra Leone rely on a corrupt and dangerous gem mining industry, the profits of which do not reach the general population. Many African nations
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" (UNDP, 2007) Therefore, the official voice of the UN draws the attention on the necessity of the societies facing difficulties that the best means possible for the re-launch of their economic segment and automatically the eradication of poverty is the share value of the work they undergo. Despite the realistic tone of most official commentaries, the reality on the ground rarely coincides. In this respect, there are other factors as
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