Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest continent and second most populous after Asia. At about 30,244,050 km² (11,677,240 mi²) including its adjacent islands, it covers 20.3 percent of the total land area on Earth. With over 800 million human inhabitants in 54 countries, it accounts for about one seventh of the world human population.

History

Main article: History of Africa

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Africa is home to the oldest inhabited territory on earth, with the human race originating from this continent. The Ishango Bone, carbon-dated to c. 25,000 years ago, shows tallies in mathematical notation.

Related Topics:
Oldest inhabited territory - Human - Originating - Ishango Bone - Tallies - Mathematical notation

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Throughout humanity's prehistory, Africa (like all other continents) had no nation states, and was instead inhabited by groups of hunter-gatherers.

Related Topics:
Prehistory - Nation state - Hunter-gatherers

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Around 3300 B.C. the nation state of Egypt developed, which existed with various levels of influence until 343 B.C. Other civilizations include Ethiopia, the Nubian kingdom, the kingdoms of the Sahel (Ghana, Mali, and Songhai) and Great Zimbabwe.

Related Topics:
Egypt - Civilization - Ethiopia - Nubia - Sahel - Ghana - Mali - Songhai - Great Zimbabwe

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In 1482 the Portuguese established the first of many trading stations along the Guinea coast at Elmina. The chief commodities dealt in were slaves, gold, ivory and spices. The discovery of America in 1492 was followed by a great development of the slave trade, which, before the Portuguese era, had been an overland trade almost exclusively.

Related Topics:
Portuguese - Elmina - 1492 - Slave trade

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But at the same time that serfdom was ending in Europe, in the early 19th century the European imperial powers staged a massive "scramble for Africa" and occupied most of the continent, creating many colonial nation states, and leaving only two independent nations: Liberia, the Black American colony, and Ethiopia. This occupation continued until after the conclusion of the Second World War, when all colonial states gradually obtained formal independence.

Related Topics:
Imperial - Scramble for Africa - Colonial - Liberia - Ethiopia - Second World War

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Today, Africa is home to over 50 independent countries, all but 2 of which still have the borders drawn up during the era of European colonialism.

Related Topics:
Border - Colonialism

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