9.2: Introduction
Africa is the second-largest continent in the world. Today, it has over 50 independent countries. You can also find just about every imaginable environment, from savannahs, rainforests, and deserts, to glaciers and snow-capped mountains in Africa. Its over 1,000 languages (or about one-third of the world’s languages) demonstrate the continent’s diversity. 1 Africa is home to more than a billion people, who are living, working, and raising their families.
Historically, Africans faced significant environmental challenges that limited population growth. There are exceptions, but overall, African soils are poor and rainfall unpredictable. Soils are comparatively unfertile, due in part to the geologic age of the continent. Also, the more temperate climates in a number of regions slow the decomposition of organic materials in the soil, leading to few minerals and nutrients. Rainfall also tends to be concentrated in just two or three months a year.
Considering the past 5,000 years of African history, malaria, yellow fever, and trypanosomiasis (also known as sleeping sickness) have made the biggest impacts on population growth and settlement patterns. Even today, all three diseases affect the continent. Both malaria and yellow fever are spread to people by mosquitos. So, many people avoid more forested and wetter areas. Additionally, Africans continuously adapted their herding and farming techniques to overcome environmental challenges.
1 African Language Program, Department of African and African American Studies, “African Languages,” Harvard University, aaas.fas.harvard.edu/greeting...nguage-program.