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By Root 1563 0

to a market based economy and has achieved a GDP growth of 5.8 percent for 20 years making it the fastest growing economy in the world. Some estimates predict India will overtake the USA in GDP by 2043 (Since the US is going socialist after 2008 election of President Obama one can understand why). Meanwhile, Pakistan, the Muslim nation to India’s west, has not fared so well. Economically stagnant for over 10 years its main economic products remain services and agriculture. Pakistan’s poverty rate is at least 23 percent. Its population is nearly 175,000,000 and growing quickly. Political turmoil haunts Pakistan because of rogue Muslim fundamentalists, such as the Taliban, battling government troops while controlling large regions of the nation. Unfortunately, both India and Pakistan have acquired nuclear weapons and first-rate missile delivery systems, adding a dangerous edge to centuries old feuds.

Let Us Learn

The East teaches us the value of steady progress, and the dangers of pride. By progressing at a steady rate, China, India, and Japan stayed well ahead of the world century after century. Their pride, and their mistreatment of the European newcomers, led to a rather rude awakening when the Europeans flexed their muscle. China, Japan, and India needed to stay in touch with the rest of the world because their isolation eventually let them fall behind the advances taking place in the land of the barbarians. We learn that keeping up with new ideas and advancing technology is critical. So, do not isolate yourself and keep learning.

Books and Resources

The New Penguin History of the World, Roberts, J, 2007, Penguin Books

Roberts divides Eastern history as follows: (all page numbers correspond to the starting page of the section in Robert’s book):

Roberts on China:

Ancient: p. 132

Classical: p. 444

Manchu Empire: p. 461

Republic and European Imperialism: p. 857

People’s Republic: p. 985

Roberts on India:

Ancient: p. 120

Medieval: 338

British Rule: p. 638

Self Government: p. 975

Roberts on Japan:

Early: p. 36

Medieval: p. 466

Modern to 1945: p. 635

Post—1945: p. 1062

Chapter 7

Africa

A Very Modest “History”

Written history is not the stuff of Africa. What we have is oral traditions and some archeological evidence from which we can build up a slight traditional style history of sub-Saharan Africa. Modern African historians normally rely on oral traditions above other methods. The northern coastal regions of Africa were settled and urbanized by people with high cultures that included writing; thus, history. In this case we know a lot about Carthage and Egypt. If we set out south, beyond the desert wastes, we hit a region where virtually nothing was written down, and the climate and building materials are such that physical evidence does not last. In this section we will briefly discuss sub-Saharan Africa.

One of the earliest significant southern (tropical) African civilizations was the kingdom of Kush, in the area of Nubia on the “upper” Nile River.[80] Kush existed in the area where the White and Blue Nile join. Egypt either controlled or heavily influenced the area up to the Nile’s 5th cataract for centuries; however, after the fall of the Egyptian New Kingdom in about 1070 BC, the area of Kush re-asserted itself and built a substantial empire with its capitol at Meroe. The main reason Egypt wanted to control the upper Nile was the gold fields found in this region, and after the reduction of Egypt’s power, the state of Meroe (Kush) traded the precious metal far and wide from 900 BC until its fall in 350 AD. Meroe fell after the nearby kingdom of Axum invaded and overthrew the ailing empire. Once again, trade was the commonality that leads to prosperity. And once again, the Middle Eastern pattern of the rise and fall of empires was repeated all over Africa, albeit on a smaller scale.

Fundamentally, settlements in sub-Saharan Africa were small and usually limited to small scale agriculture, cattle raising, and hunter-gatherer societies. Major trading