November 25, 2021 – Happy Thanksgiving -African Geography and history

I want to wish everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving, a great and save holiday with friends and family. I also wish the best for all of you at this time where ever you are.

Geography is one of the most important conditions for a country’s survival and growth, even more so than who the government is led by.

The continent of Africa has the shortest coast line of any continent. That is in part why there are so few sheltered harbors. Many ships anchor off shore to unload their contents. It is more expensive and time consuming.

The continent is a high plateau with rivers not well suited for travel by large vessels. They are often shallow and have rapids and large waterfalls to contend with due to the large changes in the topography of the land. Thus, using trucks over roads is often, the only choice. The is more expensive than river travel and leads to high costs.

There are no large mountain ranges to collect the snow that would provide for the stable depth of its rivers running across the continent or reliable rain fall.

Many of the European cites and others around the world are less than five hundred miles form the sea and these continents have well traveled and easily navigable rivers. Not so in Africa.

The Tsetse fly makes animal husbandry and farming difficult in Tropical Africa. Malaria is an issue as well and kills millions of people. These issues add to the difficulties of farming and commerce in Africa.

It is important to look at as many issues as possible when trying to determine why a country or continent is having economic difficulties.

History is an important factor as well, but geography is equally important and often drives history.

If you are interested in an exciting sailing adventure, history and African history, read my novel. “Sailing Away.”