In the 16th century, as much as 35% of the world's gold production came from West Africa, mainly the Ashanti Kingdom. In the 19th century, it successfully resisted the British for a long time. 1)
Liberia was created in 1847 by freed slaves from the United States. They introduced a model of government modeled on the United States and named the newly built capital Monrovia - after James Monroe, who supported the idea of colonizing Africa. 2)
Bartolomeu Dias reached the southern edge of Africa during his 1487-1488 expedition. He intended to continue to India but was forced to turn back by a mutinous crew. Dias spent the next ten years in Lisbon, helping to prepare the next expedition, which was later led by Vasco da Gama. During this time, among other things, changes were made to the construction of the ships, adapting them to voyages of several months away from land. 3)
With roots dating back to the second millennium BC, Ethiopia has been an independent monarchy (also known as the Kingdom of Axum) for nearly its entire history. In doing so, it has become a symbol and model of independence for other African nations. When they gained independence after World War II, they often used the colors of the Ethiopian flag in their flags. Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, became the headquarters of several pan-African organizations. 4)
As of July 9, 2011, Algeria is the largest country in Africa, as a result of the secession of its southern part from Sudan, which declared independence as South Sudan. After this event, Sudan dropped to 3rd place in the ranking of Africa's largest countries. In 2nd place is the Democratic Republic of Congo. 5)