Started reading Guns, Germ, and Steel, and debated about this with my friend. I do understand that Africa’s North/South orientation adds a lot of climate diversity, which makes it difficult for people to collaborate. To what extent did this actually affect Africa’s economic development? Like for example, are there other countries that may have pulled off thriving under this orientation, or is this a red herring to distract away from the serious impact of European colonization? I do understand this is not a simple question, but let’s try!
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It is also worth noting that the assumption that geography hindered economic development in Africa is built on the assumption that there weren’t ever historically and economically developed places in Africa. That’s patently false. Mansa Musa was the richest man in history—he literally crashed entire economies by the sheer size of his tithes—and he was the leader of the Mali Empire in the 13th century. Before him, Ancient Egypt was entirely oriented North-South, and is one of the most well-known ancient civilizations ever. Successful, but less known civilizations—from the Axum and D’mt in modern Ethiopia, to the Benin Kingdom and Mali Empire, to the Islamic Caliphates spanning Northern Africa, and trading across the Sahara and Red Sea back into Arabia.
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