123 



AFRICA. 



AFRICA. 



128 



The mountain-regions of the Atlas, which by their position and 

 character hardly belong to the continent of Africa, as well as the 

 whole shores of the Mediterranean from the Strait of Gibraltar to the 

 Cyrenajc regions, have been subject to the invasion of conquerors ever 

 since the earliest periods of history. The Phoenician, Greek and 

 Roman, Vandals and Goths, and Arabs from Asia, have at differenl 

 periods possessed portions of these regions, and mixed their blood 

 with that of previous races. The Arab invasion has produced the 

 most permanent effects, and that nation now occupies the most fertile 

 parts of the Atlas region and the towns on the coast, and are gene- 

 rally known to us by the incorrect appellation of Moors ; the subse- 

 quent conquests of the Turks (also an Asiatic race) have done little 

 more than establish a despotic power on a few isolated spots, under a 

 military chief. But it seems not unlikely that, after all these violent 

 revolutions, the Berbers and Shelluhs of the Atlas Mountains are the 

 descendants of the primitive inhabitants, and that they retain their 

 original language in all its substantial parts. It has been well 

 remarked by Hitter, that as the Atlas regions differ in character from 

 the rest of Africa, so its primitive inhabitants have a different character 

 also ; and, however their language or usages may have changed during 

 the lapse of many centuries, we can hardly doubt about assigning 

 them to the wide-spread Arabic family, which there is good reason 

 fur considering indigenous in northern and north-eastern Africa as 

 well as in the great Arabian Peninsula. The wide diffusion of this 

 race, across the continent as far as the waters of the Nile and the 

 Gulf of Aden, according to some opinions, will be examined more 

 particularly under the head of BERBER, a term applied, we believe 

 with no great precision, by many writers on African ethnography. 

 We reserve to the particular description of each subdivision of Africa, 

 a short notice of the political revolutions that have affected the 

 physical and moral character of its present inhabitants, or we shall 

 refer for such information to the best authorities. We need only 

 remark, in order to complete this general sketch of man, in Africa, 

 that the ruling race of Amhara and Tigro', who are included under 

 the name of Abyssinians, must either belong to Arabic stock, or, if 

 they l>e considered as s separate family, they are still nearly related. 

 But at present we cannot attempt to classify the various peoples who 

 occupy the widely-spread Abyssinian provinces ; it is probable that 

 they contain many varieties of the human species, the remnants of 

 nations become extinct, or the result of the intermixture of different 

 races. The Galla, whose invasion of Abyssinia from the south may 

 be compared with the movements of the nomadic tribes of Asia, have 

 not yet been identified with any other nation, and must for the present 

 be considered as a separate family. The Arab race, which sometimes 

 has mingled with negro and other races, now occupies a large part of 

 the countries north oi*Abyssinia as far as the Mediterranean ; but the 

 imputation of the Nile basin is of a very motley character. The 

 Copts, or descendants of the Egyptians, are reduced to a small 

 number; and f all the conquerors or settlers in Egypt, none have 

 stamped their physical and moral character so strongly on the country 

 as the followers of the Prophet. The Arabs have carried their faith 

 as far as Dar-Fflr, and even to the banks of Lake Tchad ; and the 

 Fellatah empire acknowledges the precepts of the Moslem faith. 

 Even in Comassie, the capital of Ashantee, Arabic is taught. The 

 Mohammedan religion has spread over at least one-third of the 

 continent ; and some of its precepts and practices seem well adapted 

 to win the favour of the indolent and pleasure-loving negro. When 

 tli" Portuguese commenced their settlements at Mozambique, they 

 found the Arabs in quiet possession of the coast, and though they 

 succeeded in killing them all, and getting possession of the navigation 

 of the river Zambezi, yet as some of the sovereigns of the interior had 

 at that time adopted Mohammedanism, it is not unlikely that this 

 form of religion exists in those parts of Africa still unknown to us. 



The only African countries where Christianity is now established, 

 excepting the few European settlements, are Egypt and Abyxsiuin. 

 In Egypt it is confined to the Copts, and in Abyssinia both its 

 doctrines and precepts are as ill understood as they are obeyed. 



The Arabic is the only character that is now used in Africa by those 

 who wish to read and write, except those employed by the people of 

 and Amhara. ltd use is, however, limited to very few in Soodan, 

 where it is only great doctors who can read and write. 



The Jews, a nation now dispersed over almost every part of the 

 world, are found also in the Samen of Abyssinia, in Egypt, and indeed 

 scattered as far west as the kingdom of Marocco. They do not seem 

 to have established themselves south of the Sahara. 



The great island of Madagascar, yet so little known, is occupied on 



the west side by negroes, who have at various times furnished large 



" of slaves to the Cape of Good Hope and the Mauritius. 



\\ lifther the negro is aboriginal in this island, we do not know. 



Madagascar at present is, to a great extent, occupied by a race of 



Malay stock, whose arrival in the island is not recorded by any 



historical document Some Kaffirs are found on the south coast. 



Many Arabs also are found in Madagascar, particularly the northern 



'1 of whose arrival there we are entirely ignorant. 



s " ' Africa. In the animal kingdom at least, Africa is 



!i in th- iiMiiilji-r of it* peculiar spwif-s (if they are not so 



kable for the singularity and m .rms which they 



exhibit), as any other quarter of the globe. The peculiar difficulties 



which have at all times opposed the progress of European discovery 

 in this part of the world, have hitherto prevented us from acquiring 

 so satisfactory a knowledge of its zoology as could be wished ; but 

 enough is already known to enable ua to form a general idea of its 

 productions, and to infer, with a tolerable degree of accuracy, their 

 most prominent features and characters. 



Of 300 different species of Mammals which are known to be 

 inhabitants of Africa, upwards of 250 are peculiar to that continent 

 and the neighbouring island of Madagascar ; and of these a vast 

 majority are to be found ouly to the south of the Great Desert. The 

 following table exhibits the relative numbers of the species of African 

 mammals belonging to each of the orders of the Cuvieriau system, 

 compared with the whole number of species belonging to the particular 

 order, and it distinguishes those which are peculiar to Africa, the rest 

 being common to it and other continents. 



An inspection of this table will at once show the relative number 

 of species in each order, as well those which are proper to Africa 

 alone as those which are common to that and the adjoining continents 

 of Europe and Asia, It will be remarked among other things, that 

 Africa is richest in the number of its pachydermatous aud ruminating 

 animals, and most deficient in the number of its rodentia and 

 edentata, compared with the whole number of known species 

 belonging to each of these several orders ; though it must be observed 

 in regard to the rodentia in particular, that we have at present but 

 a very imperfect knowledge of the African species, as well from their 

 diminutive size and timid character which causes them to be less 

 frequently met with than larger and bolder animals as from the 

 danger and difficulty which have nearly always attended scientific 

 researches of all descriptions among the Arab and Negro nations. 

 This remark with respect to the great abundance of pachydermatous 

 and ruminating animals in Africa will not be considered devoid of 

 importance, if we reflect that it is principally from these two orders 

 of mammals that the animal food, not only of man, but likewise of 

 the lower tribes of carnivorous animals, is derived. We proceed 

 to give a brief sketch of the most remarkable species of African 

 animals. 



The quadrupeds of burden are highly valuable. The Arabian 

 camel (Camelua dromtdwiu*) is now spread over all the northern and 

 central parts of the continent, aud is indispensably requisite in 

 crossing the long arid deserts which cover so great a portion of its 

 surface north of the equator. Some writers suppose that the camel 

 was not indigenous in Africa, but we have no historical account of its 

 introduction into this continent. It is mentioned in the book of 

 Genesis as being used by the merchants who traded to Egypt, aud 

 of course must have been well known at that period on the banks of 

 the Nile. The head of the camel is found on obelisks and other 

 ancient Egyptian monuments from the city of Alexandria as far south 

 as 18 25' of N. lat. Camels' heads are cut on the plinth of one of 

 the two granite lions which Lord Prudhoe brought from Jebel Barkol iu 

 Dongola, in 1832. As to the horse, it is spoken of in the Bible, and 

 is represented on some of the oldest specimens of Egyptian sculpture ; 

 but we cannot assert that it is indigenous in Africa, nor on the other 

 band can we mention any period at which it was introduced. Leo 

 Africanus relates that there are wild horses to be met with in Africa, 

 but this report has not been confirmed by any modern traveller, and 

 there is strong reason to doubt its truth. However this may be, it is 

 certain that the soil and climate of Africa are peculiarly adapted to 

 develope the physical and mental qualities of these quadrupeds. 

 The horses and asses of Barbary, those of the Beduins aud of Egypt, 

 yield in no respect to the finest Arabs either in beauty of form or 

 spirit. The first of these races was introduced into Spain during the 

 ascendancy of the Moorish power in that country, and from it the 

 noble Spanish breed of modem times is descended. 



