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African redirects here. For other meanings see African (disambiguation).

The term African people can refer to people who live in Africa, or people who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa. ^[1] This includes members of the "African diaspora" resulting from the Atlantic Slave Trade such as Black British, Afro-Latin Americans, African Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, and Black Canadians. The term Black people is often used as a synonym for people of African ancestry (in particular Sub-Saharan Africa), particularly in the Americas and Europe, although the two terms are not always considered synonymous.

PEOPLE OF AFRICA SUCK!!!

African-descended people outside Africa

Recently, the idea of an African diaspora, encompassing all people of African identity regardless of where they live, has emerged. There are substantial newcomer populations of people descended from indigenous Africans outside Africa, most notably in Brazil, the United States, Canada and the Caribbean, as a result of the forcible removal of their ancestors from Africa through slavery and the historical Atlantic slave trade. There are also large populations of people of African descent in many South and Central American countries such as: Brazil, Suriname, Guyana, Panama, Honduras, and Belize. Brazil received one of the largest amounts of African slaves out of all of the countries in the Americas and today has the largest population of people of African descent of any country outside of Africa.

There are also substantial minority populations in Europe of African-descended people who emigrated to Europe, and Europe is a popular destination for recent migrants from Africa.

African identity

The term "African" has been used to describe people in a wide variety of contexts.

African Americans

In particular, people who identify themselves as African American acknowledge the fact that they are of African descent,^{[citation needed]} though in most cases they and their ancestors have lived outside Africa for hundreds of years and may have significant non-African ancestry.

Pan Africanism

The Pan Africanist Marcus Garvey was an important proponent of the Pan Africanism, which encouraged those of African descent to look favorably upon their ancestral homelands. This movement would eventually inspire other movements ranging from the Nation of Islam to the Rastafari movement (which proclaimed him a prophet). Garvey said he wanted those of African ancestry to "redeem" Africa and for the European colonial powers to leave it.

References

^ African Definition

External links

People of Africa

[1] African Definition

[1]

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 <!--The native population of Africa exhibits greater genetic variation than that of populations in any other continent, including, for instance [[Haplogroup L1 (mtDNA)|L1]] and [[Haplogroup L2 (mtDNA)|L2]] as well as the more widespread [[Haplogroup L3 (mtDNA)|L3]] [[Human mitochondrial DNA haplogroups|mtDNA haplogroups]].-->
+PEOPLE OF AFRICA SUCK!!!
-== The people of Africa ==
-{{seealso|Demographics of Africa}}
-The African continent is today home to many different groups of people with established culture and history in the land over several centuries. A people of a wide range of phenotypical traits, both indigenous and foreign to the continent, diverse origins, as well as several cultural, communal, artistic traits ranging in similarity. Distinctions within the African continent itself such as the different climates across the continent have nurtured diversity in lifestyles amidst its inhabitants within its deserts and jungles, some of the African population living in modern cities across the nation as well.
-=== Prehistoric populations ===
-[[Image:WellsGenMarkersAfrica.jpg|thumb|Study of the Y-Chromosome show that three waves of migration from Africa populated the world with Homo sapiens sapiens.]]
-[[Image:African Genetics (primal).jpg|left|thumb|Study of Mitochondrial DNA show that the original Homo sapiens sapiens population in Africa has diverged into three main lines of descent, identified as L1, L2, and L3. See the world map [[Media:Map-of-human-migrations.jpg|here.]]]]
-Perhaps it is a function of the number of excavations actually performed in given areas, but it is at least suggestive that the five very earliest out of the twelve of earliest archaeological discoveries of [[Homo sapiens sapiens]] have been in Africa and the adjacent Arabian peninsula.<ref>Cavalli-Sforza et al., ''The History and Geography of Human Genes'', Fig. 2.1.4, p. 63</ref>
-As early as 1964, A. W. F. Edwards and others had discovered that three populations in Africa were related but distinguishable on the basis of a relatively small set of genetic information (20 [[alleles]]). Those populations were called [[Tigray-Tigrinya people|Tigre]] (Ethiopians), [[Bantu peoples|Bantu]] (in southern Africa), and [[Ghana]]ian (West Africa).
-When general [[anthropometrics]] were taken as the criteria for grouping, the African population was split into a different three groups: the more closely related Pygmy (such as the [[Mbuti]]) and [[Bushmen]] (such as the [[Khoisan]]) and the Bantu.<ref> Cavalli-Sforza, op cit., Fig. 2.2.3, p. 71. </ref>
-By 1988 more genetic details were known, more groups could be distinguished on the basis of genetic information, but the relationships among these groups were accounted as different depending on which was the data was construed.  The groups analyzed at this time were Bantu, [[Berber people|Berber]] and [[North African]], [[Ethiopian]], Mbuti Pygmy, [[Nilotic]], San (Bushman), [[West Africa]]n.<ref> Cavalli-Sforza, op cit., Fig. 2.3.2.A and Fig. 2.3.2.B, p. 78.</ref>
-[[Image:Cavalli-Sforza.Fig.2.3.5.partial.jpg|thumb|A representation of genetic distances by one analysis]]
-In his recent book, Spencer Wells traces the migration of the early Africans beyond their own continent by noting the appearance of new genetic markers on the [[Y-chromosome]] as the migrations progressed.<ref>Spencer Wells, ''The Journey of Man'',Random House, 2003, ISBN 0-8129-7146-9</ref>
-Studies of mitochondrial DNA conducted within the continent of Africa have shown that the indigenous population has diverged into three divergent main lines of descent.
-A number of scholars such as Alan Templeton hold that support is found for traditional racial categories because many studies use the pre-defined categories to begin with, and subsequently insert data into those categories rather than let data speak for itself.<ref>Human Races: A Genetic and Evolutionary Perspective, Alan R. Templeton. American Anthropologist, 1998, 100:632-650; Apportionment of Racial Diversity: A Review, Ryan A. Brown and George J. Armelagos, 2001, Evolutionary Anthropology, 10:34-40</ref> Tempeton uses modern DNA analysis to argue that human "races" were never "pure", and that human evolution is based on "many locally differentiated populations coexisting at any given time" -  a single lineage with many locally gradated variants, all sharing a common fate.
-Researchers such as [[Richard Lewontin]] maintain that most of the variation within human population is found ''within'' local geographic groups and differences attributable to traditional "race" groups are a minor part of human genetic variability.<ref>Richard Lewontin, "The Apportionment of Human Diversity," Evolutionary Biology, vol. 6 (1972) pp. 391-398</ref> Several other researchers (Barbajuni, Latter, Dean, et. al) have replicated Lewontin's results.<ref>Apportionment of Racial Diversity: A Review, Ryan A. Brown and George J. Armelagos, 2001, Evolutionary Anthropology, 10:34-40 webfile:http://www.as.ua.edu/ant/bindon/ant275/reader/apportionment.pdf</ref> According to a study by researcher L. Luca Cavalli-Sforza:
-<blockquote>It is often taken for granted that the human species is divided in rather homogeneous groups or races, among which biological differences are large. Studies of allele frequencies do not support this view, but they have not been sufficient to rule it out either. We analyzed human molecular diversity at 109 DNA markers, namely 30 microsatellite loci and 79 polymorphic restriction sites (restriction fragment length polymorphism loci) in 16 populations of the world. By partitioning genetic variances at three hierarchical levels of population subdivision, we found that differences between members of the same population account for 84.4% of the total, which is in excellent agreement with estimates based on allele frequencies of classic, protein polymorphisms. Genetic variation remains high even within small population groups. On the average, microsatellite and restriction fragment length polymorphism loci yield identical estimates. Differences among continents represent roughly 1/10 of human molecular diversity, which does not suggest that the racial subdivision of our species reflects any major discontinuity in our genome.<ref>Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 94, pp. 4516-4519, April 1997, Barbujani, Magagnidagger , MinchDagger, and L. Luca Cavalli-Sforza</ref></blockquote>
-In the wake of this research, a number of writers{{Who|date=September 2008}} question the classification of African peoples like Ethiopians into "Caucasian" groups, holding that given the minor proportion of human genetic diversity attributable to "race", grouping of such African peoples is arbitrary and flawed, and that DNA analysis points to a range or gradation of types rather than distinct racial categories. Rather than arbitrarily allocating such African groups to a European "race", the range of physical characteristics like skin colour, hair or facial features are more than adequately covered by the differentiation ''within'' local geographic groupings.<ref>Rick Kitties, and S. O. Y. Keita, "Interpreting African Genetic Diversity", African Archaeological Review, Vol. 16, No. 2,1999, p. 1-5</ref>
-=== Indigenous peoples and ancient settlers ===
-{{see|Indigenous peoples of Africa}}
-Speakers of [[Bantu languages]] (part of the [[Niger-Congo language family]]) are the majority in southern, central and east Africa proper. However, there are several [[Nilotic]] groups in East Africa, and a few remaining [[Indigenous peoples of Africa|indigenous]] Khoisan ('[[Bushmen|San]]' or '[[Bushmen]]') and [[Pygmy]] peoples in southern and central Africa, respectively. Bantu-speaking Africans also predominate in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, and are found in parts of southern Cameroon and southern Somalia. In the [[Kalahari Desert]] of Southern Africa, the distinct people known as the Bushmen (also "San", closely related to, but distinct from "[[Khoikhoi|Hottentots]]") have long been present. The San are physically distinct from other Africans and are the indigenous people of southern Africa. Pygmies are the pre-Bantu indigenous peoples of central Africa.
-The peoples of [[North Africa]] comprise two main groups; [[Berber people|Berber]] and [[Arabic language|Arabic]]-speaking peoples in the west, and [[Egyptians]] in the east. The [[Arab]]s who arrived in the seventh century introduced the [[Arabic language]] and [[Islam]] to North Africa. The Semitic [[Phoenicia]]ns and [[African Jews|Jews]], the Iranian [[Alans]], and the European [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]], [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] and [[Vandals]] settled in North Africa as well. Berbers still make up the majority in [[Morocco]], while they are a significant minority within [[Algeria]]. They are also present in [[Tunisia]] and [[Libya]]. The [[Tuareg]] and other often-nomadic peoples are the principal inhabitants of the Saharan interior of North Africa. [[Nubians]] are a [[Nilo-Saharan]]-speaking group (though many also speak Arabic), who developed an ancient civilization in northeast Africa.
-Some [[Ethiopia]]n and [[Eritrea]]n groups (like the [[Amhara people|Amhara]] and [[Tigray-Tigrinya people|Tigrayans]], collectively known as "[[Habesha]]") speak [[Semitic languages]]. The [[Oromo]] and [[Somali people|Somali]] peoples speak [[Cushitic]] languages, but some Somali clans trace their founding to legendary Arab founders. [[Sudan]] and [[Mauritania]] are divided between a mostly Arabized north and a native African south (although the "Arabs" of Sudan clearly have a predominantly native African ancestry themselves). Some areas of East Africa, particularly the island of [[Zanzibar]] and the Kenyan [[Lamu Island|island of Lamu]], received [[Arab diaspora|Arab]] Muslim and [[Southwest Asia]]n settlers and merchants throughout the [[Middle Ages]] and in antiquity.
-===Colonisation===
-==== European ====
-Beginning in the [[sixteenth century]], Europeans such as the [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] and [[Dutch people|Dutch]] began to establish [[trading post]]s and [[Fortification|forts]] along the coasts of western and southern Africa. Eventually, a large number of Dutch augmented by French [[Huguenot]]s and [[Germans]] settled in what is today [[South Africa]]. Their descendants, the [[Afrikaner]]s and the [[Coloured]]s, are the largest European-descended groups in Africa today. In the nineteenth century, a second phase of colonisation brought a large number of [[French people|French]] and [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] settlers to Africa. The Portuguese settled mainly in Angola, but also in Mozambique.The [[Italians]] settled in [[Libya]], [[Eritrea]], [[Ethiopia]], and [[Somalia]].  The French settled in large numbers in [[Algeria]] where they became known collectively as ''[[Pied-noir|pieds-noirs]]'', and on a smaller scale in other areas of North and West Africa as well as in Madagascar. The British settled chiefly in South Africa as well as the colony of [[Rhodesia]], and in the highlands of what is now [[Kenya]]. Germans settled in what is now [[Tanzania]] and [[Namibia]], and there is still a population of German-speaking white Namibians. Smaller numbers of European soldiers, businessmen, and officials also established themselves in administrative centers such as [[Nairobi]] and [[Dakar]]. Decolonisation during the 1960s often resulted in the mass emigration of [[White Africans|European-descended]] settlers out of Africa &mdash; especially from Algeria, Angola, Kenya and Rhodesia. However, in South Africa and Namibia, the white minority remained politically dominant after independence from Europe, and a significant population of [[European ethnic groups|Europeans]] remained in these two countries even after [[liberal democracy|democracy]] was finally instituted at the end of the [[Cold War]]. South Africa has also become the preferred destination of white [[Whites in Zimbabwe|Anglo-Zimbabweans]], and of migrants from all over southern Africa.
-==== Indian ====
-European colonisation also brought sizable groups of [[Asian people|Asian]]s, particularly people from the [[Indian subcontinent]], to British colonies. Large [[Non-resident Indian and Person of Indian Origin|Indian communities]] are found in South Africa, and smaller ones are present in Kenya, Tanzania, and some other southern and east African countries. The large Indian community in [[Uganda]] was expelled by the dictator [[Idi Amin]] in 1972, though many have since returned. The islands in the [[Indian Ocean]] are also populated primarily by people of South Asian origin, often mixed with Africans and Europeans.<ref>[http://www.lvlr.net/crocvl/2006/html/reunion_island.html Réunion Island]</ref>
-The [[Malagasy people]] of [[Madagascar]] are a [[Austronesian people]], but those along the coast are generally mixed with Bantu, Arab, Indian and European origins. Malay and Indian ancestries are also important components in the group of people known in South Africa as [[Cape Coloured]]s (people with origins in two or more races and continents).
-==== Others ====
-During the past century or so, small but economically important colonies of [[Demographics of Lebanon#The Lebanese Diaspora|Lebanese]]<ref>[http://countrystudies.us/ivory-coast/72.htm Ivory Coast - The Levantine Community]</ref> and [[Overseas Chinese|Chinese]]<ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/17/africa/malawi.php Chinese flocking in numbers to a new frontier: Africa]</ref> have also developed in the larger coastal cities of [[West Africa|West]] and [[East Africa]], respectively.<ref>[http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2007-07/2007-07-10-voa46.cfm?CFID=217937260&CFTOKEN=51832029 Lebanese Immigrants Boost West African Commerce]</ref>
-===Decolonisation===
-{{see|Decolonisation of Africa}}
-Decolonisation has left some nations in power and marginalized others.
-Conflicts with ethnic aspects taking place in Africa since Decolonisation include
-*[[Lord's Resistance Army insurgency]] (since 1987)
-*[[Somali Civil War]] (since 1988)
-*[[Casamance Conflict]] (since 1990)
-*[[Conflict in the Niger Delta]] (since 1990)
-*[[Insurgency in Ogaden]] (since 1995)
-*[[Second Congo War]] (1998-2003)
-*[[War in Darfur]] (since 2003)
-*[[Kivu conflict]] (since 2004)
-*[[Civil war in Chad (2005–present)]]
-*[[Second Tuareg Rebellion]] (since 2007)
-===Contemporary demographics===
-{{main|Demographics of Africa}}
-Total population of Africa is estimated at 888 million as of 2006, projected to reach 1 billion by 2015.
-The demographics of Africa is characterized by high [[population growth]], high [[infant mortality]], low [[life expectancy]] (partly due to [[malnutrition]] and [[HIV/AIDS in Africa|HIV]]) and [[poverty]] (low [[Human development index]]).
-These characteristics mostly apply to Central and sub-Saharan Africa, with the Mediterranean ([[Arab world|Arabic]]) North and [[South Africa]] showing different patterns.
 == African-descended people outside Africa ==