AFRICA - 3 - ANSWERS

1. B. 1960

"1960" is referred to as the "Year of Africa" because of a series of events that took place during the year—mainly the independence of seventeen African nations—that highlighted the growing Pan-African sentiments in the continent. 17 African countries, 14 of which had been ruled by France, broke free from their European overlords. These were Cameroon (January 1), Togo (April 27), Mali (June 20), Senegal (June 20), Madagascar (June 26), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (June 30), Somalia (July 1), Benin (August 1), Niger (August 3), Burkina Faso (August 5), Côte d’Ivoire (August 7), Chad (August 11), the Central African Republic (August 13), the Republic of the Congo (August 15), Gabon (August 17), Nigeria (October 1), and Mauritania (November 28). The year brought about the culmination of African independence movements and the subsequent emergence of Africa as a major force in the United Nations.

(Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah, who was known for his eloquent oratory, addresses a White House press conference on March 8, 1961, after meeting with US President John F. Kennedy to discuss the prospects of Ghana and other newly independent African countries)

This year also saw the beginning of armed opposition to South African apartheid government, with political ramifications across Africa and around the world.

2. A. Eritrea

Eritrea is a country in the "Horn of Africa" in East Africa, with its capital at Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeastern and eastern parts of Eritrea have an extensive coastline along the Red Sea.

(Flag of Eritrea)

In 1993, after a war of independence that lasted nearly three decades against Ethiopia, Eritrea became a sovereign country. During the long struggle, the people of Eritrea managed to forge a common national consciousness, but, with peace established, they faced the task of overcoming their ethnic and religious differences in order to raise the country from a poverty made worse by years of drought, neglect and war.

(Emblem of Eritrea)

The name "Eritrea" is derived from the ancient Greek name for the Red Sea ("Erythra Thalassa", based on the adjective "erythros" meaning "red"). It was first formally adopted in 1890, with the formation of Italian Eritrea. The name persisted over the course of subsequent British and Ethiopian occupation, and was reaffirmed by the 1993 independence referendum and 1997 constitution.

3. B. Albert Camus

Albert Camus (7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French Algerian philosopher, author and journalist. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44 in 1957, the second-youngest recipient in history.

Camus was born in Algeria to "French Pieds Noirs" parents. (The Pieds-Noirs "Black-Feet" are the people of French and other European origin who were born in Algeria during the period of French rule from 1830 to 1962, the vast majority of whom departed for mainland France as soon as Algeria gained independence.) He spent his childhood in a poor neighborhood as less than a year after Camus was born, his father, an impoverished worker, was killed in World War I. He later studied philosophy at the University of Algiers.

His origin in Algeria and his experiences there in the thirties were dominating influences in his thought and work. Of working-class parents, early attachment to intellectual circles of strongly revolutionary tendencies, with a deep interest in philosophy, he came to France at the age of twenty-five and was there when the Germans invaded France during World War II. Camus tried to flee but finally joined the French Resistance where he served as editor-in-chief at "Combat", an outlawed newspaper.

After the war, he was a celebrity figure and gave many lectures around the world. Camus was politically active and was part of the Left that opposed the Soviet Union because of its totalitarianism. During the Algerian War, he kept a neutral stance, advocating for a multicultural and pluralistic Algeria, a position that caused controversy and was rejected by most parties.

Philosophically, Camus's views contributed to the rise of the philosophy known as "absurdism". Some of his notable works are "The Myth of Sisyphus" (a 1942 philosophical essay), "The Rebel" (a 1951 book-length essay, which treats both the metaphysical and the historical development of rebellion and revolution in societies, especially Western Europe), "The Plague" (a novel published in 1947 telling the story of a plague sweeping the French Algerian city of Oran) and "The Stranger" (a 1942 novel reflecting Camus's philosophy of the "absurd" and "existentialism", though Camus personally rejected the latter label).

4. B. Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa covering an area of about 274,200 sq kms and is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north; Niger to the east; Benin to the southeast; Togo to the southeast; Ghana to the south; and Ivory Coast to the southwest. The country occupies an extensive plateau, and its geography is characterized by a savanna that is grassy in the north and gradually gives way to sparse forests in the south.

A former French colony, it gained independence as "Upper Volta" in 1960. The name "Burkina Faso", which means “Land of Incorruptible People,” was adopted in 1984. The capital, Ouagadougou, is in the centre of the country and lies about 800 kms from the Atlantic Ocean. The country’s three principal rivers—the "Black Volta", the "Red Volta", and the "White Volta" —all converge in Ghana to the south to form the Volta River - the river which had given "Burkina Faso" its earlier name "Upper Volta".

5.  C. Zambezi

Victoria Falls is a waterfall on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, which provides habitat for several unique species of plants and animals. It is located on the border between Zambia (to the north) and Zimbabwe (in south) and is considered to be the world's largest waterfall due to its width of 1,708 metres. Because of its the mighty roar and characteristic veil of mist the local "Kalolo-Lozi" people call the falls "Mosi-oa-Tunya" (“The Smoke That Thunders”).

(The Victoria Falls Bridge across the Zambezi River, connecting Zambia and Zimbabwe)

The British explorer David Livingstone was the first European to see the falls (November 16, 1855) and he named them for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.