AFKICA. 



The policy of the British authorities with 

 regard to the civil troubles in Afghanistan, if 

 we are to believe their official professions, has 

 been one of non-intervention. They claim to 

 have been willing, all the time, to recognize 

 the victor, whoever he might be. During 

 the wars following the death of Dost Mo- 

 hammed, both Shere AH and Afzool Khan re- 

 ceived letters from Lord Lawrence, who, in 

 one of those to Afzool Khan, expressly declared 

 that as long as Shere Ali held possession of He- 

 rat, and desired friendly relations with Eng- 

 land, he would recognize him as Emir of He- 

 rat, while at the same time he felt no hesita- 

 tion in recognizing Afzool Khan as Emir of 

 Cabool and Candahar as long as he held those 

 places. Toward the end of the civil war be- 

 tween Shere Ali and his rivals, the Govern- 

 ment of India appears, however, to have taken 

 a very active interest in the success of Shere 

 Ali. After the battle of Mainmanah, in 1868, 

 and after the victorious entrance of Shere Ali 

 into Cabool, the Indian Government sent him 

 60,000 sterling, to enable him to fully con- 

 quer his opponents. At the durbah of Am- 

 ballah, Lord Mayo is reported to have prom- 

 ised to Shere Ali an annual subsidy of 120,- 

 000. From the English Blue-Book it appears 

 that in November, 1869, Prince Gortchakoff re- 

 marked to the British embassador in St. Pe- 

 tersburg that the Indian Government was sup- 

 porting the Emir of Afghanistan with regular 

 subsidies. In 1873, shortly before the procla- 

 mation of Abdallah Jan as heir to the throne, a 

 Mohammedan was sent by the Government of 

 India as special envoy to Cabool, and it was 

 surmised that he was to assure Shere Ali of 

 the approval of the proposed change in the 

 succession by the viceroy, and to promise him 

 support in case of war. 



In September, the hostilities between Shere 

 Ali and Yakoob Khan actually commenced. 

 The latter was supposed to have the entire sym- 

 pathy not only of Russia, but Persia, which 

 has been hankering after Herat ever since she 

 lost it. In November, a report was received in 

 Calcutta that Yakoob Khan had been treach- 

 erously arrested and imprisoned in his own 

 capital. He was charged with .the design to 

 surrender Herat to the Persians. It was ex- 

 pected that this arrest would be followed by 

 serious complications. 



AFEICA. The growth of Egypt stands 

 from year to year more conspicuously forth as 

 the prominent feature of the recent history of 

 Africa. A new expedition under Colonel Gor- 

 don has been sent into the regions of Central 

 Africa, which in .1873 were explored by Sir 

 Samuel Baker, and it now appears more prob- 

 able than ever that immense tracts of .land 

 extending southward to the equator may soon 

 be permanently incorporated with Egypt. A 

 war with the Sultan of. Darfur resulted in a 

 complete victory for Egypt, and may lead to 

 the annexation of this country also to the do- 

 minions of the Khedive. While thus in point of 



extent the country will probably become one of 

 the largest empires of the world, great reforms 

 continue to be introduced in all the branches 

 of public administration. {See EGYPT.) 



The war of England against the Ashantees, 

 which began in 1873, was a brilliant success. 

 One of the worst native governments of Af- 

 rica was thoroughly humbled, another power- 

 ful blow dealt to the slave-trade, and a new 

 road paved for the steady progress of civiliza- 

 tion in "Western Africa. (See ASHANTEE.) 



A war between the English colony of Natal 

 and the Zulus, under their chief, Langalobele, 

 which also began in 1873, ended early in 1874, 

 by the capture of the Zulu chief, who on Feb- 

 ruary 9th was sentenced to banishment for life. 

 An appeal against this sentence was moved by 

 Bishop Colenso, on the complaint of several 

 members of the tribe, and was allowed. 



The new Emperor of Morocco, though just, 

 is reported to be severe and energetic. Tow- 

 ard the close of the year he set out on an ex- 

 pedition to punish several rebellious tribes. 

 The imposition of a gate-tax at Mogador was 

 considered by the foreign consuls of that town 

 as a violation of the commercial convention 

 between Morocco, Great Britain, and Spain. 

 (See MOROCCO.) 



The trade of the eastern coast of Africa, 

 which is chiefly in the hands of East Indians, 

 has assumed much larger dimensions since the 

 opening of the Suez Canal. In January, 1873, 

 a monthly steamship-line was opened between 

 Aden, Zanzibar, and Madagascar; the ves- 

 sels belong to the British Indian Steamship 

 Company. The revenue of the company in 

 December, 1873, from goods shipped from 

 Zanzibar to Aden, was about $20,000 ; and 

 their vessels were not large enough to satisfy 

 all demands. 



The diamond-fields in South Africa continue 

 to attract large crowds of natives from the in- 

 terior, who find it easy to be employed by the 

 diggers, and who returning to their homes dif- 

 fuse among the native population a general 

 acquaintance with the progress of civilization. 

 New extensive gold-fields were discovered in 

 September on the Blyde Kiver. 



The new British possession in South Africa, 

 Griqualand West, which on October 27, 1871, 

 was annexed to the CapB Colony, has been or- 

 ganized by a royal decree, dated February 7, 

 1873, and proclaimed by the governor of the 

 Cape Colony, on July 5, 1873. It has received 

 the official name, Province of Griqualand 

 West, and will have a lieutenant-governor, and 

 a Legislative Assembly, consisting of four mem- 

 bers, elected by the three districts, Kimberleg 

 (2), Barkly (1), and Hag (1), and four members 

 appointed by the crown. 



The total area of Africa is now estimated (see 

 Behm and Wagner, " Bevolkernng der Erde," 

 II., Gotha, 1874) at 11,555,855 square miles; 

 population, 203,300,000. This includes the 

 island of Madeira and the Canary Islands, which 

 often are considered a part of Europe. 



