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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For the longest time in human history, and to an extent even today, the Sahara desert was an impassable barrier. Sure small groups of people may have traversed it but you could not facilitate any meaningful trade and communication across it. This is the reason why there’s even a distinction between Northern African and subsaharan African countries. For all intents and purposes it was impassable. Northern African countries were engaged in trade with surrounding civilisations for thousands of years whereas the rest of Africa was pretty much isolated. It would be many years before it could be somewhat reliably circumnavigated and even longer before those who visited the coastal areas would venture further inland. This means that for those living in Africa, they had to pretty much fend for themselves.
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