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This dramatic aerial shot captures the raw, natural beauty of Namibia’s coast, where the rolling waves of the Atlantic Ocean crash into the stark, sculpted sands of the desert. The image highlights the wild elegance of one of Africa’s most remote and hauntingly beautiful landscapes — the Skeleton Coast, where endless dunes meet the surf in a dance shaped by wind and tide
Robert Wills, African coastline, digital photograph, 2005, Robert and Lucinda's African collection, Newport News, Virginia.
This picture was taken by my uncle and aunt while they were visiting the western coastline of Africa. Here they observed all different kinds of boats sailing the African coastline bringing in imported goods and fish.
When people think of Africa, poverty, political chaos, and third world countries commonly come to mind. Although these terms may have some truth, many people fail to see the major impact that Africa has had on the global economy in the past. To talk about the current economic situation in Africa, it is necessary to take a look at the history of the Trans-Atlantic Trade System.
From as early as the 16th century, slaves were taken from Central and West Africa to the New World and sold into slavery. The coastal ports became important in the economic development of West Africa, but the total impact slavery had on the African economy has been debated. There is no doubt that the journey across the Atlantic was extremely profitable for the Europeans in the New World and Africa’s largest contribution to the global economy, but the outcome of the slave trade devastated the demographics and almost all areas of African society. In the book Problems in African History, author J.D. Fage argues that the slave trade helped spur West Africa’s political and economic advancement even though it destroyed the population and stability of African societies. Conversely, he states that Eastern African did not experience any economic development but rather was economically and socially devastated due to raids that captured slaves but returned no profit to the Eastern coastline. Unfortunately, the ultimate beneficiary of the trade was never Africa but the Europeans who controlled the market. From the end of the slave trade in 1886 until now, Africans have been cleaning up the social, political, and economic mess that was left behind.
Today, Africa’s goal of a stable economy is slowly progressing. Despite the negative effects the Trans-Atlantic slave trade brought to Africa, the present economic situation is starting to look up. Through agricultural advancements and other social improvements, Africans now have something to strive for. According to chinadaily.com, a six percent increase in economic growth is expected in 2008 alone. It has taken a while for the continent that contributed so much to the global economy during the 18th century to stand on its feet again, but the future economic situation continues to look positive—and Africa deserves a positive outcome.
Robert Collins, ed., Problems in African History (New York: Markus Wiener Publishing, 1993), 263.
“Robust Growth Expected in Continent,” Chinadaily.com.cn, May 14, 2007, www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.... (accessed March 11, 2008).
Patrick Manning, “Migrations of Africans to the Americas: The Impact on Africans, Africa, and the New World,” The History Teacher, Vol. 26, No. 3 (1954) 305-310, links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0018-2745(199305)26:3<279:MO... (accessed March 5, 2008).
Wikipedia Links:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Atlantic_slave_trade
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_economy
