Africa: Africa in History

Of course, the idea that it is inhabited by people with black skins is true. But what about the Berbers of North Africa, or of the KhoiSan of South Africa. They are not black. Are they not Africans? And not all black skinned people look the same, and their languages and cultures are equally distinct. People in Africa cannot be categorized by race.

Africa contains an enormous variety of people who identify themselves with their tribe or nation. The idea of being Africans is new to the people of Africa. It is not very clear where the word “Africa” comes from, but it is certain that the Ancient Romans referred to their colony in Eastern Algeria and Tunisia as Africa, and that the term may come from the Latin word “aprica” which means “sunny”. The Arabs later turned this into Ifriqiya.

And of course Africa has a history. A great, glorious, wonderful history. But very few people know anything about it. The names of Mapungubwe, Kongo and Mali mean nothing to most of us, and yet these were once great kingdoms. The kingdoms of Ancient Egypt and Nubia or Great Zimbabwe have often been attributed to foreigners. Many books have been written to prove that the Ancient Egyptians were not really Africans and attempts have been made to show that Great Zimbabwe was built by the Queen of Sheba, or the Arabs. 1    2    3     4