History and Geography
Morocco is a diverse country with a strong culture. Morocco had a hard time in establishing its independence, but its unique culture helped it to establish its own civilization . The Berbers ruled Morocco and the west coast countries of North Africa. The Berbers are a civilization of nomadic Christian, Pagan, and tribal people. Morocco was invaded constantly in its early stages. In the 12th century the Phoenicians invaded and established trading posts. The Phoenician settlements were occupied by the Carthaginian invaders. In the 2nd century the Romans sent away the Carthaginians and they dominated the African Mediterranean coast for six centuries. When the Arabs invaded some Christian Berbers and Pagans were converted to Islam. Mohamed ruled Morocco and it became, Spainish influenced by French, and Portuguese in the 15th century. There was a slave trade in Morocco, slaves would come to Morocco to try and go to Spain, but instead were executed. Spain and Portugal invaded Morocco and developed a settlement. Spain was the European country that colonized Morocco. Spain wanted more power over different countries. Morocco gained independence in 1957 under the rulership of Muhammad H. The independence opened up freedoms in the country and Spain gave back their holdings in Morocco.
Morocco has a varied landscape. There are mountain ranges, deserts and beaches. The Atlas mountain range is a beautiful range with great features. There is also a rift region
In this time period there were two major sea trading routes, the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean, and a massive network of land trade called the Silk Roads (World History 272). Muslim merchants used Arabic and money credits called sakks in their deals (World History 272). These trade routes provided optimal environments for Islam to spread because the merchants had personal interactions with people where they could inform them of the religion and provide them an opportunity to convert. Muhammad spread his word directly on his journey from Mecca to Medina known as the Hijrah (World History 265). This was a turning point for the spread of Islam because Muhammad became a political leader as well as a religious leader (World History 269). This change allowed religion to inspire governing which was the starting point of the Muslim Empire controlling the region. The Abbasid family pushed out the Umayyads and murdered most of their members as they took control of the Muslim region, but one prince named Abd al-Rahman escaped and fled to Spain (World History 271). He set up a caliphate in Spain and pushed out the Berbers, a Muslim group from North Africa. The Berbers advanced North into Europe and continued to spread Islam farther from its place of origin (World History 271). This change of rule allowed for the Umayyads to
Colonial rule began in the mid 1800s and divided the land inhabited by ethnic Somalis into several territories. The French controlled the northernmost region (the area that is now Djibouti), the British colonized northern
It is likely that these merchants brought the religion of Islam into the region. However, the lucrative trade and extended contact, brought with it the threat of colonization. In the late nineteenth century, native societies in Africa were unable to fend off European forces with advanced weaponry, and like many lesser developed territories, Somalia was colonized and divided among the imperial powers. At one point, the Somalilands (which included Puntland, Mogadishu, southern Somalia and portions of Djibouti and Eritrea) were compartmentalized under the rule of French, British, Italian and Ethiopian colonies.
Although, they all wanted to for different reasons. In France's case, they wanted to expand their territory for the sake of nationalism, by receiving more land and territory. This was because, when, the countries were all competing, all trying to be the most powerful nation. The land owned was a major part of that. Along with that, the French colonized Algeria partially because of the White Man's Burden, so that they could spread Christianity to the Algerians (Algeria: The Revolution Institutionalized 12). The White man's Burden was one of the many reasons that New Imperialism started, the Europeans believed their religion was superior and that it was their duty to spread it to the lesser beings. During the French control over Algeria, the French had proven to be very direct rulers. This meaning that the French were ruling Algeria themselves, instead of the French controlling having Algerian
West Africa has experienced migration, because of the cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups it contains, and because of the minerals, and goods it can produce. Around the ninth century C.E., in the trans- Saharan route, slave trade became popular. These slaves were used by the Arabs for military service, administration, domestic service, and concubinage. Extensive trade in the region led to urbanization, as well as the introduction of Islam. Muslim Berbers contributed to the expansion of Islam, by controlling the trade routes in Africa, and becoming conduits for economic activities, by the tenth century. During the mid-11th century, cities like Gao and Timbuktu had Muslim scholars traveling the routes, because of the intrusion of the Almoravids, and this resulted in turning these cities into hotspots for study and trade. The eleventh century brought the acceptance of the Islamic culture, and led to conversion of the elites, so they can have legal, political, administrative, cultural, and economic benefits. The Islamic culture did not disrupt indigenous African shamanist and animist beliefs, it united ethnic groups, and led to the development of Islamic states throughout Africa. (Africa, 3000 B.C.-A.D. 1500 / West African Trade /
Changes in political and cultural traditions during the post-classical period occurred in Africa because of intensive Islamic contact. When Arab conquerors introduced the Islamic faith into northern Africa, they expanded the region of commerce. Muslim merchants established trading centers for copper, iron, salts, and cotton textiles. The newly established trade affected traditional social and religious beliefs. After 1000 C.E., the kin-based social structure experienced difficult challenges. Increased conflict between peoples led to the creation of military forces for both offensive and defensive use. This led to the formation of chiefdoms exhibiting more formal structures of governing such as in the kingdoms of Kongo, Ghana, and Mali. Because most traders were Muslim, many African societies converted to Islam to improve their relations with the
Watching a video of a dance piece called “The Moroccan Project,” choreographed by Alonzo King was quite impressive. Living in San Francisco and taking dance classes brought me to Lines Ballet which is King’s dance studio. I have seen a great deal of different types of dance at the studio waiting for my Ballet classes and there are some great dancers. It comes as no surprise that Alonzo would have such great dancers. It appears that Alonzo King is exploring different cultures in dance in Contemporary Ballet. His near-perfect choreography is articulate, passionate, and graceful- he brings diversity in dance to San Francisco and other parts of the world. This piece articulates the expression of the two dancers coming together yet dancing apart at times- it is a fusion of several different types of dances into one using video editing to create a story about the coming together of two individuals.
Algerians were once under the rule of the Ottoman empire and a lot of Algerians ended up becoming Muslim. Although the Algerian people were happy to see the end of the Ottoman rule they did not want to be under the new rule of the French government who had helped them get rid of the Ottoman. In an Article called Algeria: What were the effects of assimilation the author describes the life of Muslim Algerian natives after the French came a drove out the Ottoman Empire and the struggles Algeria faced to become independent. “By the late 19th century, colonial policies had turned Muslims into second class citizens compared to European settlers. Laws defined Algerians as subjects rather than citizens unless they agreed…”. The French that governed
Morocco is rich in mineral deposits and the third largest phosphate rock producers. Morocco has vast reserves of phosphate rocks, copper, cobalt, anthracite coal, silver, gold, iron ore, zinc, manganese etc. The quality of water in the areas surrounding mining sites is compromised during and after the mining with harmful agents such as Arsenic (As), Lead (Pb), Zinc(Zn) etc.Due to this water pollution and the fact that water resources are limited, a large number of people and livestock in villages close to the mining sites are affected with serious life threatening diseases. In such areas thirty percent of the wastewater that is untreated is discharged directly into natural water bodies. As an example, the Sebou basin that constitutes
A multitude of people come to Egypt because of our booming economy. Specifically, they see that we always have a surplus of food lingering in the markets no matter the season.
Arab power endeavored to extend pass the towns and island of east Africa; be that as it may, they fizzled. Portugal kept their responsibility for African realms, yet their power didn't augment much pass the coast and waterway valley. Most of Africa stayed ruled by Africa, with each one of those outside invasions. The contact of Africa and Europeans had change somewhere around 1880 and 1900, and the assault was known as the European "Scramble of Africa."
When the Afrika Korps surrendered on May 12, 1943, a group of about twelve of us decided to head for neutral Spanish Morocco to avoid being captured. To prepare for the long journey, we loaded five motorcycles and sidecars with rations, water, and extra gasoline. Traveling by night and hiding during the daytime, we managed to evade capture for eleven days. After traveling about 580 miles, we were finally caught on May 23, 1943 by French/Algerian desert police when we were about 125 miles south of Constantine, near the small town of Gauhss. The next day we were brought to Sétif, located at a railroad junction. From there we were shipped to French POW camps at Bou Arfa and then to nearby Foum Defla in southern Morocco. With a bare minimum of
What is a good country? Is a good country a country with a cheerful population? Is a good country a country which controls more land than the next? Is a good country a country whose government and economic system has absolutely no problems? Or is a good country a country that has a delicate balance of benefits and problems. Well, we are here today to discuss the corruption of Egypt, a good country, by Britain, a huge and powerful country. Although Britain was not the first, Britain has retained control of Egypt for nearly 40 years and I am here today to ask for the freedom and decolonization of Egypt from Britain.<br><br>This problem all started in 1882 when the British forced Napoleon Bonaparte, the leader of the French Army, out of
Tariq ibn Ziyad crossed the Straight of 'Gibraltar' at first with the sole intention of avenging king Roderic for the crime he committed. However, because of the weakness of the kingdom due to civil war, Tariq opted to continue his occupation of Roderic's entire empire. Another theory for the occupation by the Arab Muslims of Spain is that because of their persecution, the Jews called upon their contacts in North Africa, who in turn encouraged the able Arabs to capture Spain. This allowed the Almoravids and the Almohads to establish themselves in Spain.Nevertheless, without a doubt, the Jews supported and welcomed Muslims in Spain because they were great beneficiaries under Muslim rule.
Algeria is the most populous country in northwest Africa and is the largest country, in North Africa. The northern portion of the county screeches 998 km (620 mi) along the Mediterranean Sea and borders Morocco on the west, Tunisia on the northeast, and Libya on the east. Algeria is divided into three main topographical regions, coastal plains, High Plateaus, and the desert. Unfortunately, the majority of the country consists of uninhabitable desert. “Algeria has a total land area of 2,381,741 sq km (919,595 sq mi), almost three and a