The divisions, plans, and chronologies were established by the Europeans, who once argued that there was no such idea as African heritage. Some thought the history of Africa started with the story of the Europeans in Africa, followed by African historiography (Chimee, 2021). The early Western cultural historians periodized what they termed African history in sequences that they believed appropriate and fitting with this mindset (Chimee, 2021). Due to this, periodization in African history tends to emphasize contemporary events as opposed to those that occurred before the invasive European explorers arrived. Therefore, it led to the misconception that Africa has no history and created a gap in the periodization of African history.
The origin of the transatlantic slave trade had more to do with the framework of African historiography than it did with African experiences. In order to accurately depict the unique characteristics of the continent’s history, African history should be periodized in a way that considers the many remnants of its past (Chimee, 2021). It includes some aspects that now are partially missed, such as faiths, languages, religions, philosophies, arts, music, dance, architecture, farming, astrology, traditions, crafts, industries, and much more. Eventually, society now has a gap in the historiographical literature on Africa due to the periodization all along the lines of centuries, which left a lot to be carefully captured.
Nevertheless, numerous rapidly growing cities are at the edge of the Sahara. The reproduction rates driving population growth were significantly impacted by shifts in government policies, educational backgrounds, the availability of contraception, movements for women’s equality, and the severity of climate change (Bearak et al., 2021). Still, the measure was insufficient to prevent most big African urban areas from growing much faster than city areas on other continents.
Sub-Saharan Africa has yet to begin its demographic shift from high to low fertility, and its population is still expanding quickly. The African culture is recognized significantly more than the previous decades, and the level of knowledge and research about the topic is. Even though the continent continues to evolve, it still does not match the quality of life in developed countries. Population growth on the edge of Africa might cause both positive and negative outcomes.
References
Bearak, M., Moriarty, D., & Ledur, J. (2021). Africa’s rising cities: How Africa will become the center of the world’s urban future. The Washington Post. Web.
Chimee, I., N. (2021). African historiography and the challenges of European periodization: A historical comment. TRAFO. Web.