The size of Africa as its development factor
Africa is the second largest continent in the World after Eurasia; it takes about 20.4 percent of the World dry land. It is difficult for us to imagine how much 11.7 million sq mi is we may just think about 11 hours that we would need to fly by plane from Tunis to Cape Town. However, the actual situation makes this distance even more dramatic: while for an American citizen the distance between California and Alaska is equal to the distance between his/her chair and the screen of his/her laptop, for an ordinary African who has no opportunity to use modern transport or information technology the distance between Tunis and Cape Town is absolutely “insurmountable.”
This situation has existed in Africa for ages. Having dispersed on the territory, tribes developed independently and had their own culture and traditions. Each tribe had its own political, social, and cultural life; this “cultural mosaic” (Blijde et.al., 205) exists in Africa till today. The development of This impact of economy, as it is difficult to concentrate on resources, cooperate, and trade. This disunity can be considered one of the reasons why African tribes were not able to resist colonization.
When we look at the map of the ethnic areas of Subsaharan Africa (202), we see how fine this “cultural mosaic” is; colonization influenced the borders of modern African states that do not coincide with those historical: colonizers divided territories based on their interests. Today this situation makes representatives of different ethnic groups co-exist, which often leads to disagreements, lack of understanding, and confrontations within these societies.
The colonization of Africa as its development factor
Colonization in the Congo led to the killing of many Congolese citizens by the Belgium officers; citizens were used in improving infrastructure, which was to benefit the colonizers (Blijde et.al., 204). To develop successfully, the country needs to overcome the internecine conflicts that tear the country apart. Besides, today the country exports raw materials (wood, diamonds, coffee, crops et.al.,) but imports products of the processing industry.
The Congo should develop technology to process materials on their own, export them, and benefit from them. Tanzania has gone through a period of domination of the Communist ideas, but today it is oriented on democracy. This country is one of the poorest states in the world; they should also orient on processing materials and developing technology to improve the economy. Somalia today can be classified as one of the most impoverished and most insecure places in the world. Until the problem with security remains unsolved, the successful development of the country is impossible.
Namibia has no opportunity to develop farming, as the territory suffers from droughts (215). This country should focus on mining: create working places, develop the technology of mining to get money for further development. Angola suffers from inner conflicts (216), which the country needs to overcome. It has substantial prospects in agriculture and in attracting investors (ibid.). In Nigeria, large oilfields are discovered, which creates the significant economic potential for this country (223). However, it is necessary to overcome corruption and create appropriate conditions for investment and business.
Besides, all countries should focus on health care and education, as these issues form the basis for further development.
Works Cited
Blijde, Harm J., Peter O. Muller, and Antoinette Winklerprins. The World Today: Concepts and Regions in Geography. 4th ed. USA: John Wiley & Sons, 2008. Print.