The History of Africa

Introduction

From as far back as the emergence of civilization until the present industrial age, Africa has had a presence and an influence in world affairs. If a civilization is regarded as “an advanced state of a society possessing historical and cultural unity,” and if political institutions, economic life, and social organizations are considered to be vital components of a civilization, then Africa has indeed constituted an integral part of the broader history of civilization. The continent itself and all that it has had to offer have lured the interests of nations, societies, and people from throughout the world. For example, Africa's abundant natural resources, products, and people fed the strategic, ideological, and more so economic interests of Europe during the colonialism period of the 15th-19th centuries.(Bozzoli,13)

Discusion

Even today, there is worldwide attention directed towards Africa. At present, there is interest in resolving negative issues that are plaguing particular regions of the continent. Particularly, the issues include the AIDS epidemic, civil strife, and localized poverty. At the same time, it must be understood that these problems are products of an extended history of Western interference, primarily in the form of colonialism, which resulted in a diaspora of millions of native Africans to remote regions of the world and the exploitation of those left behind. Accordingly, this dispersal led to sexual, social, and cultural amalgamations between dispersed Africans and Asians, Australians, Europeans, and Native Americans. This goes to show that the African influence on other cultures was a worldwide phenomenon. To this day, their influence can be seen and felt in the same areas they were taken to during the Diaspora. Therefore, it is appropriate to argue that Africa has repeatedly made its mark in the broader history of civilization.

Before establishing a brief discussion of Africa's influence in the history of world civilizations, it is important to recognize that Africa's cultural influence stems from the pre-colonial civilizations and societies of the continent. Many historians and cultural anthropologists observe aspects of the cultures that shaped and defined particular pre-colonial societies. The African way of life, for the most part, was constructed by political, economic, and social organizations.(Bickford,22)

In terms of political institutions, organized kingdoms, isolated family states, and village states were the chief political units in Africa. While all political units were not organized kingdoms, “they all seem to indicate the normal capability and desire of establishing governments to solve the problems that every community encounters” (Franklin and Moss, 12-13). The impact of governing entities was a reflection of the sovereignty owed to them by their constituents. As the number of village states increased, many of them began to merge. These mergers resulted in larger, more developed central political organizations. Eventually, each unit formed its own chain of command and military organization.(Bozzoli,13)

African economy was driven mostly by agriculture and specialization. Agriculture played an important role in the further development of government organization, as communities sought local leadership over division of labor, crop maintenance, and product distribution. In addition to harvesting crops, domestication ...