There are 47 countries on the African continent, including the disputed territory of Western Sahara. However, the islands off the coast are also usually listed as African, bringing the total to 53. The island nations are Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Madagascar, the Comoros, the Seychelles, and Mauritius. Each is an independent nation.
Mes Deux Cents shared the African map that I have down below. Over the coming weeks, I will share info about these African countries. I'll be learning new stuff ... perhaps you will as well. I wish that I knew which African country my ancestors came from ... that is something that we lost during the slavery period here in America. Perhaps we can find some connections on a personal, political, professional or economic level between African Americans and Africans as a result of these postings. Time will tell.
Villagers, do you have any preference on which country we should use to begin this educational journey? Do you have any thoughts on the type of information that should be shared in these posts over the coming weeks and months?
14 comments:
I can hardly wait for this exploration to launch, Wayne. Meanwhile, until it does launch, I have three items for Electronic Village I'd like to share with you but you'll need to pick them up, if you'll be so kind. You may pick them up, here anytime you have a free moment.
Thanks!
Please don't forget to also retrieve the awards in the immediate two posts below the one you left the comment in, Wayne.
I have the Village in my reader. I regret to say that I don't always drop in but I do read each new post here at Electronic Village.
You deserve all three awards, kiddo. Please accept them.
You most likely come from somewhere on the north western side of Africa where Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Senegal lie.
I am from South Africa, so naturally I think you should start your journey in my country. We are headed for turbulent times with conflict looming around the change of leadership of the ruling party, the African National Congress.
Africa is a diverse place and unique.
Saboma - Asante sana for the recognition. All three awards have been acknowledged in my sidebar as part of the Village Honors.
Krokodil - I appreciate your comments. I look forward to starting the journey/exploration of African countries. I appreciate your speculation about the birthplace of my ancestors. Your guess is as good as anyone!
And then please be sure to stop by Jamati.com, Africa's Premiere Entertainment Portal for exciting and inspiring information about Africans at home and in the Diaspora.
P.S. We're giving away AFROKICKS --sneakers that bear the flags of African nations.....stop by soon
and continue the Village lessons there. Thanks Villager for this...
Excellent idea Wayne! I'm looking forward to reading this. I've also wondered which African country my ancestors were from.
Africa has changed so much since the slave trade, and countries that exist now didn't exist then. Most of us come from the coast of West Africa, but that's all we will know.
I think you should begin with coastal countries of the west, since they will probably have the most in common with us, since that's where we probably originated.
Saba, Ink - Thank you for the referral to jamati.com and the information about AfroKicks.
Mrs. Grapevine and BHC - I hope that I'm able to pull this thing off. I appreciate the suggestions that you've each made. I should post my first one today.
I would start with Angola, 1 in 4 of us was taken from there.
HomelandColors - I didn't know that so many Africans were enslaved from Angola and brought her to America. In any case, I will probably go in alphabetical order ... so Angola should be near the top. If I can complete one per week ... then it will be a nice journey over the course of 2008...
hey Villager, I found your blog from listening to an NPR show. Nice blog man. Very informative. I wanted to tell you that there is a DNA test that you can take that will tell you what part of modern day Africa you come from. I did a quick google search and found this page. I am sure others are doing it as well. Hope this is helpful and keep up the good work
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/slavery2.html
Dragonfly - Welcome to our village. I hope you will come back often. Thank you very much to the link re: DNA testing. That is some interesting stuff...
I know that my great great grandmother was an African Slave and she conceived my great grandfather with a Dutch slave trader. I don't know where she came from though.
And my stepfather [we used to call him Saddam] was from Morocco. So I can't wait to SKIP that week's exploration:)
LadyShay - Yikes ... I'll have to be careful when I do the post on Morocco! Anyhow, I am looking forward to this journey. It will be a learning experience for me as well as others that travel on the journey with me. I should start it over the coming weekend...
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