	African History: An Overview

Human history is believed to have begun in Africa, probably in the eastern and southern part of the continent,as human ancestors evolved into the species homosapiens , perhaps 200,000 years ago, and began peopling the sub-Saharan region. Pre-colonial Society

There is wide agreement among Africanists that loyalties to large ethnic groups, such as "the Yoruba" in present-day Nigeria or "the Tutsi" of east Africa, werelargely absent in pre-colonial Africa, even though they are a dominant feature of African politics today. For a number of years, U.S. Navy ships were stationed off the African coast to participatein efforts to halt the trade, but with limitedsuccess. (16)
The Atlantic slave trade was conducted by European traders based on the West African coast. (21) It seems certain that warfare relatedto the slave trade, the loss of millions of people in their most productive years, and the psychological damage toindividuals resulting from political instability andfear of capture, weakened Africa and left it ill-prepared to cope with the onset of direct European colonization. The development of Africa's indigenous political entities was halted by the European scramblefor Africa, which began in competition over the Niger and Congo River basins in the 1870s. (29) Britain and Germany had come to favor recognition of Leopold's IAC as a means of thwarting thegrowth of French influence in west and central Africa. (39)
End of Colonialism. Southern Africa. (42) Oppositionto white minority rule had existed for decades, but in 1948, the National Party (NP), representing conservative,nationalistic Afrikaners, came to power and imposed an institutionalized system of racial segregation known asapartheid (apart-ness). Universal-suffrage elections were held in April 1994, and Mandela became President in May of that year. Independent Africa

In the first years of the 1960s, the future for western and eastern Africa seemed quite bright. Independent Africa confronted a major population challenge as well. This competitive Cold War involvement, critics maintain, tended tostrengthen governments on both sides that wereanti-democratic and following inefficient, state-oriented economic policies, often marked by considerablecorruption. (48)

		The 1990s

In the later 1980s and early 1990s, as the colonial era fell farther into the past and the Cold War waned, scholars began to focus on characteristics of the Africanstate and African societies to explain the continent's difficulties. These developments brought favorable reactions froma number of analysts. (55)
Sub-Saharan Africa's AIDS epidemic continues to intensify. U.S. Policy

The Clinton Administration's policy toward Africa had a decidedly Afro-optimist tone. In July 1999, theAdministration launched a major new effort against the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa and worldwide, known asthe LIFE (Leadership and Investment in Fightingan Epidemic) Initiative. Nonetheless, Africa's many other conflicts were a source of frustrationto Administration policymakers, since theyundermined efforts to promote economic growth and political reform. Principal Congressional Actions

As noted at the beginning of this report, Congress has dealt with a wide range of issues related to Africa. 105-385 ) to promoteAfrican food security through U.S. assistance programsand other measures. Congress enacted the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act ( P.L. Congress passed a large emergency supplemental appropriation for African famine relief ( P.L. The Scramble for Africa, 1876-1912 . Reader, John. Congo (Formerly Zaire) , by [author name scrubbed].
Congress has dealt repeatedly with issues related to sub-Saharan Africa since the late 1950s. This report provides basic background on Africa and its history, U.S.policy, and congressional involvement, for the general congressional reader.
The modern human species is believed to have emerged in Africa approximately 200,000 years ago. Perhaps 2,500 years ago, the Bantu people began to expandfrom a West African base, gradually spreading a complex agricultural system over much of the continent. Africanists generally agree that loyalties to large ethnicgroups, a key factor in African politics today, were largely absent in pre-colonial Africa.
The Atlantic slave trade, which began about 1450 and lasted 400 years, removed millions of people in their most productive years from Africa and left thecontinent ill-prepared to cope with the European "scramble for Africa." From the 1870s through the early twentiethcentury, nearly the entire sub-Saharan regionwas divided among the European powers. The Europeans built a basic economic infrastructure; but imposed abureaucratic system of government andstrengthened traditional chiefs and other "big men" to help them rule. These patterns deepened divisions in Africansocieties and strengthened anti-democraticpatterns of government.
After World War II, African nationalists organized political parties and began to demand independence. By the early 1960s, independence had come to most ofeastern and western Africa, but white minority rule persisted in southern Africa, ending only in 1994, whenuniversal-suffrage elections were held in South Africa.
In the first years of the 1960s, there were high hopes that the end of colonialism would bring rapid economic growth. Instead, Africa confronted a number ofproblems, including inefficient, state-centered economic systems; frequent military coups; ethnic strife; andcorruption. The Cold War contributed to Africa'sdifficulties, flooding the continent with arms and strengthening a number of repressive regimes that had superpowerbacking. French policy also tended to bolster authoritarian governments in former French colonies.
In the early 1990s, hopes for Africa's future revived following widespread political and economic reforms and the end of the Cold War. Later in the decade,however, the pace of reforms slowed and central Africa fell into an era of violent conflict. "Afro-pessimists" believethat these developments have gravelydamaged Africa's prospects, but others argue that they are temporary problems masking an underlying "AfricanRenaissance." The Clinton Administration sidedwith the "Afro-optimists," despite frustrations over the war in Congo (formerly Zaire) and other problems.
The 106th Congress passed legislation to strengthen U.S.-African economic ties and to boost spending to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa and worldwide. Previous Congresses acted on a number of African issues, including African food security, apartheid in SouthAfrica, and covert U.S. involvement in Angola.