Encyclopedia
North Africa or
Northern Africa is the
northernmost region of the
African
continent. Geopolitically, the
UN definition of Northern Africa includes the following seven territories:
The
Spanish plazas de soberanía are on the southern coast of the
Mediterranean Sea, surrounded by Morocco on land.
The Spanish
Canary Islands and
Portuguese Madeira Islands in the
North Atlantic Ocean are northwest of the
African mainland and often included in this region.
Geographically, the Azores, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti are sometimes included.
The
Maghreb includes Western Sahara , Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. North Africa generally is often included in common definitions of the
Middle East, since they in many respects have closer ties to
Western Asia than to sub-saharan Africa. In addition, the
Sinai Peninsula of Egypt is part of
Asia, making Egypt a
transcontinental country.
Landscape
The
Atlas Mountains, which extend across much of
Morocco, northern
Algeria and
Tunisia, are part of the fold mountain system which also runs through much of
Southern Europe. They recede to the south and east, becoming a
steppe landscape before meeting the Sahara desert which covers more than 90% of the region. The sediments of the Sahara overlie an ancient plateau of
crystalline rock, some of which is more than four billion years old.
People
The inhabitants of North Africa are generally divided in a manner roughly corresponding to the principal geographic regions of North Africa: the
Maghreb, the
Nile Valley, and the
Sahara. Northwest Africa on the whole is believed to have been inhabited by
Berbers or
Amazighs since the beginning of recorded history, while the eastern part of Northern Africa has been home to the Egyptians, Abyssinans and
Nubians , although ancient Egyptians record extensive contact in their Western desert with peoples that appear to have been
Berber or proto-
Berber. Following the Muslim-Arab conquest in the 7th century AD, the region underwent a process of
Arabization and Islamization that has defined its cultural landscape ever since. Questions of ethnic identity usually rely on an affiliation with
Arabism and/or
Islam, or with indigenous cultures and religions. Northern Africans exhibit a wide range of phenotypical characteristics from fair to dark-complexioned.
Culture
The people of the Maghreb and the Sahara speak various dialects of
Berber and
Arabic, and almost exclusively follow
Islam. The
Arabic and
Berber groups of languages are distantly related, both being members of the
Afro-Asiatic family. The Sahara dialects are notably more conservative than those of coastal cities . Over the years,
Berber peoples have been influenced by other cultures with which they came in contact:
Nubians,
Greeks,
Phoenicians,
Egyptians,
Ethiopians,
Romans,
Vandals, Arabs, and lately
Europeans. The cultures of the Maghreb and the Sahara therefore combine indigenous Berber, Arab and elements from neighboring parts of Africa and beyond. In the Sahara, the distinction between sedentary
oasis inhabitants and nomadic
Bedouin and
Tuareg is particularly marked.
The diverse peoples of the Sahara are usually categorized along ethno-linguistic lines. In the Maghreb, where Arab and Berber identities are often integrated, these lines can be blurred. Some
Berber-speaking North Africans may identify as "Arab" depending on the social and political circumstances, although substantial numbers of
Berbers have retained a distinct cultural identity which in the
20th century has been expressed as a clear ethnic identification with Berber history and language. Arabic-speaking Northwest Africans, regardless of ethnic background, often identify with Arab history and culture and may share a common vision with other Arabs. This, however, may or may not exclude pride in and identification with Berber and/or other parts of their heritage. Berber political and cultural activists for their part, often referred to as Berberists, may view all Northwest Africans as principally Berber, whether they are primarily Berber- or Arabic-speaking .
The Nile Valley through northern
Sudan traces its origins to the ancient civilizations of
Egypt and
Kush. The Egyptians over the centuries have shifted their language from
Egyptian to modern Egyptian Arabic , while retaining a sense of national identity that has historically set them apart from other people in the region. Most Egyptians are Sunni Muslim and a significant
minority adheres to
Coptic Christianity which has strong historical ties to the
Ethiopian Orthodox Church. In
Nubia, straddling Egypt and Sudan, a significant population retains the ancient Nubian language but has adopted
Islam. The northern part of the
Sudan is home to the, largely, Arab Muslim population, but further down the Nile Valley, the culturally distinct world of the largely non-Muslim Nilotic and
Nuba peoples begins. Sudan is the largest and most diverse of all North African countries.
North Africa formerly had a large
Jewish population, many of whom emigrated to France or Israel when the North African nations gained independence. A smaller number went to Canada. Prior to the modern establishment of
Israel, there were about 600,000-700,000 Jews in Northern Africa, including both Sfardim as well as indigenous
. Today, less than fifteen thousand remain in the region, almost all in Morocco and Tunisia, and are mostly part of a French-speaking urban elite.
History
After the
Middle Ages the area was loosely under the control of the
Ottoman Empire, except Morocco. After the
19th century, it was colonized by
France,
the United Kingdom,
Spain and
Italy. In
World War 2 from 1940 to 1943 the area was the setting for the
North African Campaign. During the
1950s,
1960s and into the
1970s, all of the North African states gained independence.
Land and sea
Sheltered valleys in the Atlas mountains, the Nile valley and delta, and the Mediterranean coast are the main sources of good farming land. A wide variety of valuable crops including cereals, rice and cotton, and woods such as cedar and cork, are grown. Typical mediterranean crops such as olives, figs, dates and citrus fruits also thrive in these areas. The Nile valley is particularly fertile, and most of Egypt's population lives close to the river. Elsewhere, irrigation is essential to improve crop yields on the desert margins.
Many north African nomads, such as the
Bedouin, maintain a traditional pastoral lifestyle on the desert fringes, moving their herds of sheep, goats and camels from place to place - crossing country borders in order to find sufficient grazing land.
Transport and industry
The economies of Algeria and Libya were transformed by the discovery of oil and natural gas reserves in the deserts. Morocco's major exports are
phosphates and agricultural produce, and as in Egypt and Tunisia, the tourist industry is essential to the economy. Egypt has the most varied industrial base, importing technology to develop electronics and engineering industries, and maintaining the reputation of its high-quality cotton textiles.
Oil rigs are scattered throughout the deserts of Libya and Algeria. Libyan oil is especially prized because of its low
sulphur content, which it means it produces much less pollution than other fuel oils.
See also
