Bangladesh, Geogrphy

Bangladesh is low-lying country located in south Asia on the north side of Bay of Bengal.It has tropical monsoon climate formed by a delta plain at the confluence of the Ganges (Padma), Brahmaputra (Jamuna) and meghnarivers and their tributaries. Bangladesh'Alluvial soil is highly fertile, but vulnerable to flood and draught. It has a trpical monsoon climate chacterised by heavy rainfall.Natural disasters are frequent to them. A cyclone in 1991, killed 136,-000 lives and anothyer in 2007, nov. affected Khulna about half of the Sunderbans.
Roughly 80 % of the landmass is made up of fertile alluvial lowland called the Bangladesh plain. about 10,000 sq. kil. of the total area of bangladesh is covered with water.
About 67 % of the nonurban land is arable.The country produces large quantity of timber, bamboo, sugarcane etc.
Heavy rainfall is characteristic Bangladesh causing flood.

Bangladesh, Introduction

Bangladesh, officially known as the republic of Bangladesh is an Islamic country in southern Asia, bordered three sides, north, east and west by India and bay of Bengal to the south. At the extreme south east corner there is Burma.
Bangladesh is the former eastern side of the Bengal of Indian Union.Its people were converted to Islam during the period of the Mogul Empire (1576-1857). In 1947, it became part of the new nation Pakistan, and was called east pakistan.
In 1971, East pakistan broke away and formedthe independent nation Bangladesh.More than 95 % of the people are Bengalees. it is one of the poorest country of the world with rank 174 in the list of national average of per capita income , atlas method, est.2003. and from the bottom its rank is 32nd. Its per capita income in the above list is 400 $.
In IMF,WB and CIA list its rank and est. are:
ranl/est......rank/est......rank/est
156/463.....151/427...161/481

kemya, pictures

kenya

kenya

kenya

kenya

kenya

kenya

kenya

Beauties of Kenya

sunset, kenya

Kenya, Indepependence Era (contd)

President Mwai Kibaki
The authoritarian traits of Kenyatta's Govt. was gradually increasing which resulted in a coup in 1982.APresidentrap moi received support of the west, who saw in him a bulwark against communist influences from Tanzania, Ethiopia,and Uganda.After the end of the cold war, this support fell away. Foreign donors, including the USA, now withheld financial aid if Moi would not allow political reforms.So in 1992 elections were held again, an Moi won these as well as the 1997 elections by skifully exploiting fear of the smaller tribes that they would be dominated by the big tribes.Also election fraud might have taken place.
The Kibaki Presidency
The constitution forbade Arap Moi to run again for president in the 2002 elections. Mwi Kibaki won the elections on the promise to fightcorruption and became the third president.he was a minister under Arap Moi.He was praised for abolishing school fees for primary education which increased the no.of students by 1.7 million.But he could not remove corruption. His cabinet ministers purchased costly cars by 14 million dollars.
He cvhanged the constitution by referendum to increase the power of President.
In april, 2008, Raila Odinga, from Orange Democratic Movement won the election.

Kenya, Independence Era

Statue of Jomo Kenyatta,Nairobi


Lancaster House Conference held in 1963 for Kenya's Independence
World War I proved that the Europeans were not so civilised as they appeared to be. The British lost a lot of prestige in the eyes of Africans. Several movements began to agitate against colonisation. The kenians became more concious about their past history, which they had learned from the missionary schools.One of them was Harry Thuku, who wa sent to prison for 11 years for organising mass protests in 1921 with young Kikuyu Organisation, which was converted to Kenya African National Union (KANU) led by Jomo Kenyatta. The famous Mau Mau rebellion from 1952-1960 was the road to culmination of British rule in Kenya. Although the British had sentenced Kenyatta to 7 years hard hard labor for his rebellion in Mau Mau, Kenyatta became the first president of Independent Kenya.
After his death in 1978, Daniel Arap Moi-vice president of Kenyatta,became the second president of Kenya.

Kenya, Colonial Period

The colonial history of Kenya started from the Berlin Conference of 1885, when the European powers first partitioned East Africa into speres of influence . In 1895, the UK govt. established the East African Protectorate , and soon after, opened the fertile highlands to white settlers. The settlers wereallowed a voice in govt. even before it was officially made a UK colony in 1920, but Africans were prohibited from direct political participation until 1944.



From October 1952 to Dec. 1959, Kenya was under a state of emergency arising from the "Mau Mau" rebellion against British colonial rule. During this period , African participation during this process increased rapidly. The first direct elections for Africans to the legislative council took place in 1957. Kenya became independent on Dec.12, 1963, and the next year joined the commonwealth.

Kenya, Ancient History

Cushitic language speaking people from northern Africa moved into the area that is now Kenya

begigining around 2000 BC . Arab traders began frequenting the Kenya Coast around the 1st. century AD. Kenya's proximity to the Araabian Peninsula invited colonisation,and Arab and persian settlements sprouted along the coast by the 8th century. During the firwt millineum AD, Nilotic and Bantu peoples moved into the region, and the laternow comprise 3/4 of Kenya's population.

In the 1890s the interior of Kenya was coompletely unknown to the Europeans, because of the desert between it and the caost, and itwas indeed barredto them by the fierce and warlike Masai-who are not negroes but nilotics like the peasants of Egypt.The masais are nomads , terrifying and decimating the Bantu peoples like the Kikuyu, and keeping the interior highlands unpopulated by their raids.The settled tribes who dared to cultivate the land near the forest areas keep watching so that they could flee when the Masais attack.

The coast, however, had been colonised by Arabs since the 10th century. They raided for slave.

Kenya, Introduction

Map of Kenya
Kenya has been called "the cradle of mankind", the place where the first humans appeared. Fossils found in great rift valley,around lake Turkana(in the north of Kenya), suggest that hominids ( the family of man apes and humans) walked around there several millions of years ago. The Republic of Kenya. with a spectacular scenery, pleasant climate, and varied wildlife, has developed an important tourist industry.
Kenya was settled by 40 language groups, the largest being the Bantu Speaking Kakuyu, the Nilotic Luo,the Bantu speaking Luhya and Kamba and the non-bantu Kalenjin. there are Arabs,Asian, and European minorities.
Lying along the Indian Ocean , at the equator , Kenya is bordered by Ethiopia in the north, Tanzania south, Uganda and Lake Victoria in the west.
The rank of Kenya in the list of national average per capita income using atlas method ,est. 2003. , is 175 with est 390 $. Inthe methods of IMF,WB and CIA , est.,2007, 2007, and 2008 are as follows:
rank/est.......rank/est..........rank/est
141/780.....137/786.........145/794.

Haiti, pictures

Mangrova forest, Haiti


Haiti


Haiti

Flood,Haiti

Flamingo

Haiti, Economy

Compared to political history, the economic history of Haiti is relatively simple. Originally, sugarplantation was economic basis of Spanish Colony.In addion to that, coffee, cotton and cacao were the other plantation introduced by the French. The Haitian sugar industry was major
source of sugar for Europe. Sugar offee were the two exports of French colonialism. In the later part of the 20th century tourism became another important source but the public assciations of Haiti increased the scope of AIDS resulting deterioration of tourism industry.
In recent days manufacturing assembly operations became a good substitute since the pay scales of Haiti labors are very low.Haiti has a large source of material for the supply of fuel and other purposes. In this small region a very high amount of biodiversity in proportion of its size.
Haiti is one of the world's poorest and least developed countryIts rank is 146th in 177 countries in the list of Human Development Index.
The literacy rate is 52.9, lowest in the region.

Haiti, Post Independence era (cont.)

In mid-Sept. 1994, with US troops prepared to enter Haiti by force for Operation Uphold democracy president Bill Clinton dispatched a negotiating team led by former president Jimmy Carter to persuade the authorities to step aside and allow for the return of constitutional rule. With intervening troops already airborne , cedras and other top leaders agreed to step down.
Aristide won in the election on June, 1995 from his political party Lavalas Political Organisation. Later one his ally, Rene preval, became the president in 1996. Later both of them formed separate po. parties.The split between the two led to a political deadlock.In the election of 2000 Aristide again became the President. But the deadlock resulted in a coup d'etat and Aristide was asked to step down by the opposition.
The 2004 coup d'etat and Aristide's ouster
Anti-Aristide protests in Jan. 2004, led to violent clashes in Port-au-Prince,causing several deaths. In Feb. a revolt broke out in the city of Gonaives, which was soon under rebel control. The rebellion began to spread and Cap- Haitien, Haiti's second largest city, was captured.A mediation team offered a plan of continueing by Aristide till the end of his term which was not accepted by the opposition.
On feb. 2004, a rebellion contingent marched towards Port-au-Prince, and Aristide departed from Haiti. He actually went to Bangui, capital of Central African republic where he stayed as asylum. The Govt.was taken over by Supreme court under chief Boniface Alexadre.
At the petition by Alexadre the UNsecurity council intervened A strength of force of 7,000 from Argentina,Chile, Jordan, Morocco, Nepal, Peru, Philipines, Spain,Sri lanka, and Uruguay,Rene Preval won. but in 2008, there were demonstration against rising of food prices.

Haiti,Post Independence (cont.)

From Feb. 7,1986-when the 29 years dictatorship of the Duvalier family ended--until 1991,Haiti was ruled by a series of provisional Govt. In March 1987, a constitution was ratified that provides for an elected bicameral parliament, an elected president that serves as head of state , and a prime minister, cabinet, ministers, and a supreme court appointed by the president with parliament's consent. The Haitian conetitution also provides for political decentrlisation through the election of mayors and administrative bodies responsible for local govt.

1991-1994--An Interrupted Trnsition

In Dec. 1990, Jean Bertrand Aristide, a charismatic Roman Catholic priest, won 67% of the vote in presidential election that international observers deemed largely free and fair. Aristide took office on Feb. 1991, but was overthrown that Sept. in a violent coup led by dissatisfied elements of the army and supported by many of the country's economic elite. Following the coup , Aristide began a 3-year exile in the US. Several thousands Haitians may had been killed during the de facto military rule. The coup contributed to a large-scale exodus of Haitians by boat. The US Coast Guard rescued a total of 41,342 Haitians at sea during 1991 and 1992, morethan the number of rescued boat people from the previous 10 years combined.

From Oct. 1991, to Sept. 1994 an unconstitutional military de facto regime governed Haiti. Various OAS and UN initiatives to end the plolitical crisis through the peaceful restoration of the constitutionally 1993, failed.When the military refused to uphold its end of the agreements, the defacto authorties refused to allow a return to constitutional govt. even though the economy was collapsing and the country's infrastructure deterioratedfailed from neglect.

Haiti, Post Independence era (continued)

King Henry's palace,Sansouci

Two separate regimes- north and south- emerged after independence but were unified in 1820. Two years later, Haiti occupied Santo Domingo , the eastern, Spanish-Speaking part of Hispaniola. In 1844, however, Santo Domingo broke away from Haiti and became the Dominican Republic. With 22 changes of government from 1843 to 1915, Haiti experienced numerous periods of intense political and economic disorder, prompting the US military interventionof 1915 , Following a 19-year occupation, US military forces were withdrawn in 1934, and Haiti regained sovereign rule.

Haiti, post independence era

By Jan.1804, local forces defeated an army sent by Napoleon Bonapare,established independence from France, and renamed the area Haiti. The impending defeat of the French in Haiti was widely credited with contributing to Napoleon's decision to sell the Louisiana territory

to the United States in 1803. Haiti is the World's oldest black republic and the second oldest

republic in the wester Hemisphere, after the Unit

ed States. Although Haiti actively assisted the independence movements of many Latin American States , the independent nation of the former slaves was excluded from the hemisphere's first regional meeting of independent nations, in Panama in 1826, and did not receive U.S. diplomatic recognition until 1862.

Haiti, freedomom struggle

The rebellion of Haiti was not a simple black versus white affair. Instead the political matrix was as follows :
_______________________________

Political affiliation

Racial-Ethnic group...Royalist.....Republican

Blacks............................xxxx...........xxxx

Mulattoes..................../////..........xxxx

Whites........................XXXX.........xxxxx

-------------------------------------------

The political changes taking place in Franceat the time of the French Revolution brought change for the colonies. the National Assembly decreed that the Mulattoes of the colonies who owned land and pid taxes would have the rights of citizens including the right to vote. The colonial Administrators in Haiti refused to grant those rights to mulattoes and the mulattoes rebelled in 1790. The French put down the mulatto rebellion using black volunteers.

In 1791 a vclique of black leaders including some maroons initiated a slve rebellion . Along the north coast the slaves massacredall the whites they encountered . But the whites of the city of Cap Francais were able to defeat the slave rebels. The death toll was ten thousand blacks and two thousands whites. A thousands plantations had been had been destroyed in the uprising.

Some leaders emerged from the chaos. The background of one of the very few black Haitian leaders could read and write . When Toussaint heard of the slave rebellion he arranged for the evacuation of his master's family from hiti. He then joined the rebellion.

Francois-dominique Toussaint Louverture

In april 1793 Repulican french forces with the aid of thousands of black recruits to the republican cause were promised their freedom. In Aug. of 1793 the republican french administrator of Haiti abolished slavery.

In 1802 Napoleon Bonaparte sent 16 to 20 thousands troops under the command of his brother-in-law to take controlaway from Toussaint.These forces with the aid of white andmulatto forces wore down Toussaint army and two of his lieutenants with their troops switched sides,Toussaint surrendered and was later taken to France where he was imprisoned and later he died.

On jan., 1, 1804 Haiti declared independence from France and Dessalines declared himself Emperor of Haiti.

Jean-Jacques Dessalines

Haiti, Code Noir

One of the cruelest law that ever enforced by any colonialist country for governing their colony. To regularize slavery, in 1685 Louis XIV enacted the Code Noir, which accorded certain human rights to slaves and respohsibilities to the master, who was obliged to feed , clothe, and provide for the general well-being of their slaves. The Code Noir also sanctioned corporal punishment , allowing masters to employ brutal methods to install in their slaves the necessarydocility,while ignoring provisions intendedto regulate the administration of punishments. A passage from Henry Christophe's personal secretary, who lived more than half his life as a slave, describes the crimes perpetrated against the slaves of Saint-Domingue by their French masters.

Code Noir

Alexandre Dumas

"Have they not hung up men with heads downward, drowned them in sacks,crucified them on planks, burried them alive,cushed them in mortars ? Have they not forced thgem to eat shit ? and having fled them with the lash, have they not cast them alive to be devoured by worms, or onto anthills, or lashed them to stakes in the swamp to be devoured by mosquitoes ? Have they not thrown them into boiling cauldrons of cane syrup ? Have they not put men and women inside barrels studded with spikes and rolled them down mountainsides into the abues ? Have they not consigned these miserable blacks to man-eating dogs until the later, sated by human flesh, left the mangled victims to be finihed off with bayonet and poniard ?"

Haiti, Colonial Era

Treaty of Ryswick and slave colony

French and Spain settled hostilities on the island by the treaty of Ryswick 0f 1897, which divided Hispaniola between them. France received the western third and subsequently named it Saint Domingue. Many French colonist soon arrived and established plantations in Saint- Dominigue

due to high profit potential. From 1713 to 1787, approximately 30,000 colonists, emigrated from Bordeaux,France to the wetern part of the island. By about 1790, Saint-Domingue had greatly overshadowed its eastern counterpart in terms of wealth and population. It quickly became the richest, French colony in the New World due to the immense profits from the sugar, coffee and indigo industies. The labor and knowledge of thousands of enslaved Africans made it possible, who brought skills and technology for indigo production to the island. The French-enacted Code-Noir (Black Code), prepared by Colbert and ratified by Louis VI, established rigid rules on slave treatment and permissible freedom. It had been described as one of the most brutally efficient slave colonies there ever was - a third of new arrivals died within a few years.

The Haitian Revolution

Jean jacques Dessalines of the Haitian Revolution and the first ruler of an independent Haiti.

The French Revolution contributed to social upheavals in Saint- Domingue, starting on the northern plans in 1791. In 1792 the French government sent three commissioners with troops to try to reestablish control. They began to build an alliance with gens de couleur, who were looking for their rights. In 1793, France and Great Britain went to war , and British troops invaded Saint-Domingue. The execution of Louis XVI heightened tensions in the colony. To build an alliance with the gens de couleur and slaves, the French commissioners Southonax an polverel abolished slavery in the colony. Six months later, the national convention endorsed abolition and extended it to all of the French colonies.

Toussaint L'Ouverture, a former slave and leader in the slave revolt who rose in importance as a military commander becauseof his many skills, achieved peace in Saint-Domingue after year of war against both external invaders and internal dissension. He had established a disciplined, flexible army and drove out both the Spaniards and the British invaders who threatened the colony. he restored stability and prosperity by daring measures, including inviting the return of planters and insisting that freed men work on plantations to renew revenues for the island . He also renewed trading ties with great britain and the United States.

Haiti, History

The island of Hispaniola, of which Haiti occuppies the the Westernthird, was inhabitedby the Taino arawaks, a seafaring branch ofthe south american Ararawaks, Christopher columbus landed at mole St.Nicholas on 5 dec. 1492, and claimed the island for spain.90 days later, his ship SantaMariaran aground near the present site ofCap-haitien, columbuswas forcedto leave 39 menfounding thesettlement of LaNavidad Ayiti, which means "maountainous land", isa name usedby the Tiano - Arawak people, who also valledsome sectionsof it Bohio,meaning "rich villages" . Kiskeya was yet a third term that has been attributed to the Tainos for the island.

followingn the destruction of La Navidad by the Amerindians, columbus moved to the eastern side of the island and established La Isabela.The Spanish Colony, Santo Domingo, became a staging point for later expeditions and provided supplies for the conquistadores in Mexico and elsewhere.

The first aministrator for santo Domingo was a brother of Christopher Columbus. The spaniards were given estates on the island and the right to compel the labor of the natives. The native population very nearly disappeared during the first half of the 16th century as a result of epidemies and enslavement.

by the end of the 16th century Spain was losing control of the seas to French, Dutch and british forces. By the middle of the 17th century French settlers occupied the island of Tortuga off the north coast of Hispaniola and later French huguenots began to settle the north coast of what is now Haiti.

History of Haiti

Chronology

Before 1492

1492-1791

1791-1804

1804-1843

1843-1915

1915-1986

1986-present

Topics

Saint domingue

Haitian Revolution

United states occupation

2004 Haitian rebellion

Time line

Military History

Haiti, Introduction

Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a creole-and French speaking Caribean country. Along with the Dominican Republic , it occupies the island of Hispaniola. Ayiti (land on high) was the indegenous name of Taino. the country's highest point is 8,793 ft high.

Haiti's regional, historical, and ethnolinguistic position is unique for several reasons. It was the first independent nation in latin America, the first post-colonial independent black-led nation in the world, and the the only nation whose independence was signed as part of a successful slave rebellion. Haiti is the only predominately francophone independent nation in the Americas, and one of only two (along with canada) which designate french as an official language.

Haiti is a country with a number of notable attributes, some good and some bad. It is one of the two countries which werenotable to abolish slavery without the extensive bloodshed of civil war wereHaiti and the US. The US and haiti share the record for the extremes of percapita income. The US has the highest percapita income in the Americas and haiti has the lowest.

As per national average per capita income using Atlas method , est.2003, is 380 $. Its rank from the top is 176 and from the bottom is 30th. in the world and first in Latin America.

In IMF, WB and CIA measurement with est. 2007 and 2008,

IMF..................WB................CIA

rank/est........rank/est.....rank/est

147/699......144/638.....153/624.

Zambia, economy

After Independence zambia adopted a left wing economical policy. The economy was to some extent run by central planning , under five years plans. private companies were nationalised and incorporated into big state owned conglomerates. . in the mid-70s the economy started to decline drastically. During the the period beteen 1975to 1990, Zambia's economy dropped by approximately 30 %. The reason was snk of copper industry.

Kalambo Falls

Independence

The major Nkana open coppert mine, kitwe

About 68 % of zambins live below the recognised national poverty line, with rural poverty line being 78 % and urban 53 %.

Wire craft in Kitwe

Zambian children

Mwata Kazembe XVII, chief of the Lunda in zambia. 1961

Zambia, Independence Era

The nationalist movemenet was given impetus in the early 1950s when the colonial office agreed to have Northern Rhodesia joined in afederation withNyasaland (Malawi), a British protectorate, and southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). Southern Rhodesia under white settler rule, was bankruptand saw Northern Rhodesia, with its copper wealth as, to quote one of its political figures , a "milch cow".

Zambian opposition to Federation , in which few whites and asians were prominent, was not strong enough to prevent to prevent its imposition in 1953. During its ten years of existence, as Zambians had anticipated , hundreds of millions of pounds were siphoned off to southern Rhodesia. The white settlers there built up an impressive economic structure while the milch cow remained without a single decent tarred highway, let alone a university or even an adequate school system or health service.

In the mid-fifties, the failed campaign against federation became struggle for full independence. The federation was disslved in1963 and zambia at midnight of 24th oct. 1964, became an independent republic with him as president.

From 1964 to 1991 Zambia was an one party state. after oct. 1991, in which Fredrick Chiluba, a trade unionist became the president in place of Kaunda. In a fresh constitution an election was held on Dec. 2001 and Mwanawasa sworn in as president and he continued till date.

Cecil Rhodes

LIberation Statue in front of a government Building

A poster from the Anti-corruption Commission

Zambia, European Invasion

The earliest European made byFrancisco de Lcerdain the late 18th century, followed by other explorers in the 19th century.The mostprominent of these was David livingstone, whohad a visionof ending the slave tradethrough the "3Cs" (Christianity, commerce andcivilisation). Hewas the first Europeanto see themagnificient waterfalls on the Zambezi river in 1855, naming them Victoria falls, afterQueen Victoria. locally the falls are known "Mosioa-Tunya". The town of Livingstone, near the falls, is named after him.

A statue of livingstoneon the Zambian side of Victoria

Highly publicised accounts of his journeys motivated a wave of explorers, missionaries,and traders after his death in 1873.

In 1888, The british South African Company, (BSA) led by Cecil Rhodes , obtained numerous rights from the Litunga, the King of the Lozi for the area which later became north-western Rhodesia.To the east, the King Mpezeniof the Ngoni resisted but was defeated in battle and that part of the country came to be known as North-Eastern Rhodesia. The two were administered as separate units until 1911 when they were merged to form northern Rhodesia.In 1923, the company ceded control of Northern Rhodesiato the British Government after the government decided not to renew the the company's charter.

The same year , Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), which was also administered by the BSA Company,became self governing . In 1924, after negotiations, administration of Northern Rhodesia transferred to the British Colonial office. In 1953, the creation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland grouped together Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia and Nyasaland (now Malawi)as a single semi-autonomous region.This was undertaken despite opposition from a sizeable minorityof Africans, who demonstrated against it in 1960-61. Northern rhodesia was the centre of much of the turmoil and crisis characterizing the federation in its last years. Initially , Henry Nkumbula's African National Congress (ANC) led the campaign that Kenneth Kaunda's United National Independence Party (UNIP) subsequently took up.

A two stage election held in Oct. and Dec. 1962 resulted in an African majority in the legislature and an uneasy coalition between the two African nationalist parties. and in Jan. 1864 Kaunda won an election to form Northern Rhodesia.

Northern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zambia on 24 Oct. 1964, with Kaunda as the first Prime Minister.

Zambia, Immigration (continued)

By 1516 the Portuguese had through the force of arms seized the Indian Ocean trade and what is relevant to the course of Mozambique abd angola.

Although the portuguese happily bought the ivory and copper that central africa produced the slave rapidly became and for centuries remained a major item of commerce . This monstrous crime against humanity was as easily condoned by believers on God as was the holocaust ny the Nazis.

zambezi River

The tendencies of the slave trade penetrated remorselessly into the deep interior of te central Africa, where, during the same period, the later iron age monarchies , we had mentioned , were being instituted.

Zambezi delta

Domestic slave trade was a part of social order of central African states, with, for example, miscreants, criminals, and prisners of war held in bondage. very rarely i the portuguese have to go raiing to capture slaves by selling the rulers goods such as cloth, rum, jewellery, and firearmsthey drew the rulers into their colonial economy as supplies of slave labor for the mines and plantations across the Atlantic.

zambia, Immigration

The centuries between 1500 1n 1800 AD saw many of the peoples of Zambia organised into chieftaincies or monachies.The Chew in the east, the Lozi in the west, The bemba and Lunda in the north,were the largest of these, all established under the influence, some as direct extensions of the large and powerful Lunda empire of the Mwata Yamvo in what is now southern Zaire. By the 18th century, probably much earlier, the empire was trading with the AtlanticCoast , and other states on the eastern seaboard , where the world economy was represented by the Swahili city states from Somlia to south of the Zambezi delta. Copper, Ivory, Rhino horn had a ready market as well as slaves.

Victoria

The European factor

The wealth of the indian Ocean trade inspired the Portuguese to embark on their bold Voyages of Discovery. Africa had been circumnavisated from east to west by a phoenician fleet in Faraonic times, and the Portuguese were determined to do the same from west to east and break the Muslim grip on the supply of Spices from asia to Europe which was being drained of billion to pay for them In 1498, Admiral vasco da gama, having sailed his ships around the Cape of Good hope, arrived at calcutta in southern India and having bombardedand plundered the city , returned to Lisbon with a cargo of immense wealth.

Zambezi river basin