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The countries of Africa are extremely diverse culturaly, ethnically, a well as in size and levels of development. North Africa is Aran while sub-Saharan Africa is black. Most of the national borders of modern Africa reflect colonial borders rather than African tribal and cultural patterns. Our information on African countries is very limited. Few African readers have contributed information to HBC. This essentially reflects the nature of the intenet. There are realtively few computer users in African countries, essentially because most African countries are not developed economicallt and only a small proprtion of the population has computers and acces to the internet. We have, howeve, begun to compile some basic information on African countries. We encourage African readers to tell us about their countries.
Algeria has had a dual existence. From 1830 to 196?, Algeria was a French colony. The French community in Algeria as well as some Francophone Algerians adopted French culture and fashions, including the boys. Almost all of the French and many of the Franciphone Algerians had to return to France after independence. Modern Algerian fashions are similar to those in the non-fundamentalist Arab world.
Angola is on of the major countries of southern Africa. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive and for 5 century it was a Portuguese colony and heavily affected by the slave trade. A low-level independence movement developed, but Portugal made nor real effort to prepare Angola for independence. Angola actually achieved independent in 1975 after a revolution in Portugal. After independence there was a civil war between the Mouvement pour la libération de l'Angola/Angola Liberation Movement (MPLA) and the Union nationale pour l'indépendance totale de l'Angola/National Union for Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). The conflict involved a power struggle, Cold War politics, tribal rivalries and other issues. The two movements struggle for control of the country and that struugle got involved in the Cold War and devloped into a debilitating civil war (1975-2002). The country was devestted by the war. Angola is riclhy endowed in valuable natural resources (including diamonds and oil) . Even so, most of the Angolan people are very poor.
Cape Verde is an archipelago along the coast of West Africa about 500 kilometers west of Senegal. The islands were
Uninhabited when the Portuguese discovered them as part of the voyages of discovery south along the African coast (1456). They provided a secure location for an outpost. The Islands were added to the expanding Portuguese empire (1495). The population is mostly of mixed Portuguese and African ancestry. As the Islands were located on the great trade routes between Africa, Europe, and the New World, they became a prosperous center for the slave trade. The island location made them
more secure than outposts on the mainland. The Islands experienced an economic decline after Portugal abolished the slave trade (1876). Cape Verde became a Portuguese shipping port. Portugal changed the Islands from a colony to an overseas province (1951). The African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau (also a former Portuguese colony) and Cape Verde (PAIGC) was founded (1956). The Island inhabitants became full Portuguese citizens (1961). The independence movement began to gain a popular following in the 1960s. A coup in Portugal resulted in a new government which granted independence to its former colonies. Cape Verde became independent ( 1975).
The Democratic Republic of the Cogo/Zaire used to be known as the Belgian Congo. It encompased a huge area of central Africa. As a Belgian colony under King Leopold II, it was the scene of terrible attrocities against th naive peoples. We do not yet have a page on the Congo, but a reader has provided us some of his boyhood experiences from the time when Congo was still a Belgian colony. We notice another Western boy in Zaire.
Egypt and the Nile are of course an important foundation of Western civilization. We have done some work on Ancient Egypt, but have virtually no information about modern Egypt. Egypt was conquered by the Arabs in the 7th century. Egypt is the most populace country in the Arab world. Traditional clothes appear to be still widely worn in Egypt, especially in rural areas. We hope that Egyptian readers will help provide some information on Egyptian clothing styles. As far as we know, traditional clothing are generalized Arab and not specificlly Egyptian styles.
We have little information on Eritrea at this time. Like most of the Red Sea coast, what is now Eritrea was Islamacized and there were areas of local independence and other eras of control by Chriistian Ethiopia. The country was colonized by 1taly in the late 19th century and after World war joined with Ethiopia. After a long civil war, Eritrea achieved independence (1991). We note Ethiopian boys wearing both Western and Arab style clothing. We do not yet have a page on Eritrea, but we do have an Eritrean school page.
Ethiopia is a large country in Eastern Africa with an ancoent history. Ehiopian boys commonly wear short trousers. There’re many school uniforms in Ethiopia. They appeared only in recent years. They are mainly red, blue and green in colour. The Ethiopian Orthodox church is very strong in Ethiopia. It is one of the oldest Christian countries. Ther are many different folk costumes in Ethiopia, replecting the many different people that live there.
Gabon is a former French colony in west equitorial Africa. The country since independence (1960) has been dominated by two autocratic leaders. The current president is El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba. He as a result of autocrartic policies is one of the longest-serving heads of state in the world. He has dominated Gabon since the 1970s. Gabon has a nominally democratic multiparty system and a constitution intriduced in the 1990s. The ekections, however, are really competive. Gabon has done better economically than many other African countries. Factors here are a relatively small population, abundant natural resources, and foreign assistance. As a result Gabon in African terms is relatively prosperous and stable. As in much of the rest of Africa, children no longer wear traditional or destinctive clothes. Rather the coutries imports large quantities of used clothing from America and Europe. This has ruined local textile and clothing manufacturing countries. And it means that children now commonly wear Western-styled clothing. We do not have a Gabon page yet, we do have one image from Gabon on the flip-flop page.
Kenya is an east-African country at the equator. It is bordered by Somalia on the east, Ethiopia to the north, Tanzania to the south, Uganda on the west, and Sudan to the northwest. The climate is quite varied. In the north along the Somali-Ethiopian border the land id quite arid. Kenya's southwest touches the fertile, well watered Lake Victoria Basin and part of the Great Rift Valley. This separates the western highlands from the lowland coastal strip. It is in the Great Rift Valley that valuable finds of ancient huminoids have been made. The fertile highlands are part of the extensive greasslands of East Africa. This includes the Serengeti with its renowned population odf wildlife. We are working on a history of Kenya. One of the best know tribes is the Massai. Kenya is promarily Christian with a Muslim population in the northeast along the Somali border.
Kenya has become the refuge for 0.3 million people fleeung conflict or persecution in perhaps a dozen different countries in the region. Most come from war-torn Somalia. The American ship attacked by pirates (2009) was bringing relief supplies these refugees. A reader has orovided some information about a Kenyan boy and his pet. We also have some information on Kenayn schools.
Lesotho is a land-locked kingdom completely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It was formerly Basutoland. The country became a British protecorate (1868). The country became independent as a constitutional monarcy (1966). The country's name means the "land of the people who speak Sotho". The economy is based on farming and livestock. The population is mostly Sotho-speaking Basuto. Bauto is the principal tribal group. Sotho is used in Lesotho primary schools, but English is used in the secondary schools. There was what was called the Great Basuto Migration each year when the men moved to South Africa to work in the mines. The country has one of the world's highest rates of AIDs infections.
Madagascar is the large Indian Ocean island country off the coast of southern Africa. The Arabs dominated the Indian Ocean during the 9th and 14th centuries and established colonies on the island. The ruins of Arab fortifications date from the 9th century.
Arab dominance of the Indian Ocean was first challenged by the Portuguese (16th century). Dutch, English, and French seamen soon followed the Portuguese. The first French settlement appeared (1643). French settlement occurred at Tolagnaro (formerly Faradofay) on the southeast coast. The French were active there for over 30 years. The settlers made an effort to coexist with the Antanosy, the principal local ethnic group. Eventually relatins deteriorated. The Antanosy massacred the French (1674). A few survivors managed to reach Reunion. The French did not return for more than a century. The French finally made Madagascar a protectorate (1883) and a colony (1896). The country achieved independence (1960) and for many years was called the Malagasy Republic. The people referred to are a varied ethnic mix black, Malay, and perhaps Polynesian origins with Arab and European influences. Madagascar's tropical rainforest contain a highly diverse population, but are unrelentless assault. The forests includes lemurs, periwinkles and baobabs, aloes, geckoes, sifakas and octopus trees. The country has serious environmental problems, all exacerbated by over population. We have limited information on Madagascar, but there is a First Communion page.
Mali is a land-locked West African republic. It is set on a mostly arid plateau becoming desert in the north. Two major African rivers flow through Mali. The Senegal River flows northwest to Senegal and Mauritania. THe Niger flows northeast and than southeast to Niger. Most of the population is Moslem. The official language is French with many different African dialects spoken. Mali was emcompased by several African kingdoms (Ghana, Mali, and Songhai). France colonized Mali and adjacent areas of West Africa in the late 19th century. Mali was called French Sudan, although the French made many boundary alterations. The French did not exert effective control of Mali until World War I. Mali became an autonomous republic within the French Community as the Sudanese Republic (1958). A brief confederation with Senegal know as the Mali Federation followed (1959-60). The Sudanese Rpublic after the collapse of the federation changed its name to Mali and withdrew from the French Community (1960).
Namibia was the former German colony of Southwest Africa. German colonia rule was especially harsh in the native people. We have not yet managed to acquire much information on Namibia.
This East African country is centered on the Horn of Africa. It was Islamicized soon after tghe SArab outburst. It was colonized by the Europeans in the late-19th century. A British colony was established in the north (1884). The British defeated the Italians in World War II (1941). After the War it became a U.N. Trusteeship. Somalia was formed during the de-colonization proces following World War II. The former British and Italian Somaliland were united (1960). French Somaliland to the east remained separate as Dijibouti. Thre country consists of coastal lowlands and a largely arid interioir lateau. The border is disputed with ethiopia. THis is a source of friction as well as the presence of ethnic Somalisin Ethiopia and Kenya. The population until recently was largekly nomadic. After a war with Ethiopia and the overthrow of a long-time dictator, Somalia has descended into anarchy.
We have not yet been able to address the topic of South African boys' clothes in detail, but have begun to collect information. Boys clothes in South Africa have primarily been set by English fashions. Dutch styles were less important because until after World War II the country was controlled by the English and English fashions became the accepted standard. The mild climate was another important factor. We have a basic history of South Africa. South Africa is an ethnically diverse country. The racial composition in 2000 was about: black (75 percent), white (14 percent), colored (9 percent), and Indian (3 percent), although there are other varies estimates. There are many strata levels in South African society which in itself is interesting. Due to the temporate climate, some boys (especially in the rural areas) run about in short pants (albiet grubby) and a "T"-shirt and of course barefooted. In the cities boys have generally become more sophisticated and dress well in varying degrees. South Africans speak a great diversity of languages. The two principal European languages are English and Afrikaans. The latter language is easy to understand by Dutch people. HBC at this time does not have detailed information about trends in South African boyswear over time. We have very few historical images in the HBC archives. The limited information we have suggests that since the British seized control of the Cape Colony that South African clothing styles have closely followed British styles. We are less sure about the Bohrs who moved inland and attempted to ditance themselves from the British. After the Bohr War (1899-1902) the images that we have noted suggest that the Bohrs also adopted British clothing styles. We have little informatio on how school uniforms and children's clothing in general has changed over time. We would be interested in any insights and information HBC readers might have to offer.
We have little information about the Sudan at this time. We do note the terrible genocide being conducted by the Arab Sudanese on their fellow Muslims in the Darfur region. A reader has provided us some information about the Dinka people who live in the southern Sudan along both sides of the White Nile. The West was amazed at the Sudanese reaction to teddy bear incident in 2007.
Uganda is a small East African country with a capital and rail hub at Kampala. It is a largely agricultural country, based on a fertile plain where cotton, coffee, and several other crops are grown. There is also some mining. The population is primarily Bantu. Arabs traders dominated the area in the 19th century. The region was unknown to Europeans until the late 19th century when explorers arrived: John Speke (1862) and Heney Stanley (1875). Britain established a protectorate (1894) and later annexed adjacent territory. Uganda became independent with Sir Edward Mutessa II who was king of the Buganda Tribe (1962) Prime-minister Obote removed Mutessa and declared Uganda a "unitary" state (1966). Iddi Amin staged a military coupand waged a virtual reign of terror. One of Amin's actions was to expell the Indians (South Asians) which dominated the financial and merchant sector. This was a popular measure, but had a devestating impact on the Ugandan economy. Modern Uganda is engaged in a guerilla war with the nilhisic Lords Resistance Movement.
Cecil Rhodes obrained mimeral rights from African chiefs (1880s). The British occupied the country (1890). The British separated the colony into northern and southern colonies (1923). Northern Rohodesia eventually became Zambia. Southern Rhodesia became a self-governing colony dominated by the white minority. There was a federation with Nyasaland. Rhodesia was a prosperous colonies with bright prospects as an independent country. Ian Smith's right wing party won elections (1962). Britian refused to grant independence without a degree of blak majority participation. Smith's party won a sweeping party won a sweeping victory (1965). He declared Rgodesia independent. Britin refused to recognize this and asked the United Ntions to apply sanctions. The result was the Bush War and international sanctions. The Lancaster House Agreement ended the War and provided a transitin to majority rule (1980). Britain granted the clony independence with a new name--Zimbabwe. The Government dominated by guerrilla leader Rober Mugabe gradually turned the country unto a dictatorship. Under his rule, the once productive economy steadily deteriorated and by the 2000s Zimbabwe was one of the poorest countries in Africa. Today mamy Zimbweans are surviving at subsistence levels and children wearing rags.
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