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Why Are Africa's Borders Different Shapes

Africa's borders are shaped by physical geography, such as rivers and mountains, and human history, particularly European colonization. Natural features like the Rwenzori mountains and the Orange River define some borders, while others, established during the Berlin Conference, are straight lines that disregard the continent's natural landscape. Overall, Africa's borders reflect a combination of these two factors, with physical geography being more prevalent.

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5 views2 pages

Why Are Africa's Borders Different Shapes

Africa's borders are shaped by physical geography, such as rivers and mountains, and human history, particularly European colonization. Natural features like the Rwenzori mountains and the Orange River define some borders, while others, established during the Berlin Conference, are straight lines that disregard the continent's natural landscape. Overall, Africa's borders reflect a combination of these two factors, with physical geography being more prevalent.

Uploaded by

yeet
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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WHY ARE AFRICA'S BORDERS

DIFFERENT SHAPES?
The shape of Africa's borders are the result of two main factors,
physical geography and human history. In this essay, I will go
through the physical ones such rivers, mountains and seas. In the
end, I will conclude with which ones are more common in Africa.

The first factor is physical geographical.


Different natural and environmental features
such as rivers, mountains and seas shape the
physical borders in Africa. For instance, the
Rwenzori mountains ( situated in eastern
equatorial Africa) are placed at the boundary of
the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
Furthermore, the Orange River forms the
international border between Namibia and
South Africa.

Another factor is the human history,


which was mostly caused by the
European colonisation of countries in
Africa. Africa was randomly divided
as a result of the Berlin Conference in
1884, which was organised by
Europeans. Therefore, there are many
straight line boundaries that do not
align with the natural or cultural
landscape of Africa. For instance,
because of British and French
colonialism, Egypt has straight
borders with Sudan and Libya.

In conclusion, Africa's borders are a mix of both the human history and
natural geography. While there are multiple artificial borders with no
connection to Africa's natural features, there are also ones that are
completely based off of Africa's natural geography. However, most of the
features are physical.
Africa's
Borders
The shape of Africa's borders are the result of
two main factors, physical geography and human
history. In this essay, I will go through the
physical ones such rivers, mountains and seas. In
the end, I will conclude with which ones are more
common in Africa.

The first factor is physical geographical.


Different natural and environmental features
such as rivers, mountains and seas shape the
physical borders in Africa. For instance,
the Rwenzori mountains ( situated in eastern
equatorial Africa) are placed at the boundary
of the Democratic Republic of Congo and
Uganda. Furthermore, the Orange River forms
the international border between Namibia and
South Africa.

Another factor is the human history, which was


mostly caused by the European colonisation of
countries in Africa. Africa was randomly
divided as a result of the Berlin Conference
in 1884, which was organised by Europeans.
Therefore, there are many straight line
boundaries that do not align with the natural
or cultural landscape of Africa. For instance,
because of British and French colonialism,
Egypt has straight borders with Sudan and
Libya.

In conclusion, Africa's borders are a mix of


both the human history and natural geography.
While there are multiple artificial borders
with no connection to Africa's natural
features, there are also ones that are
completely based off of Africa's natural
geography. However, most of the features are
physical.

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