Thank god someone who has done their homework is speaking. I watched the series and enjoyed it as well.

I pride myself in being a self taught student of history, I have read the history of most of the major nations or civilizations on earth. Civilizations rise and fall and you may be right in that the western civilization is ageing and will eventually implode as a result of internal stress.

However, methinks that unlike the Roman empire, the west will simply lag behind more agile countries. I can tell you the Mzungu is very unproductive and even now still depends on historical leverage to out compete the rest of the world, give them something to run and they stand no chance against an Asian. The Asians are catching up because they are better organized.

Africa hakuna, we are stuck in doldrums, tethered to personal interests and likely to make zero go-forward in the foreseeable future. In fact going by the happenings in SA, we are even regressing from positions of advantage.

I think you need to tone down your pride a notch. Reading the Anglocentric bromides that are fed to us in school and the media does not equate to 'reading history'. Otherwise you would not be asking some of the questions you are. So Africans had no architecture, no writing, no Universities, no culture etc? What history have you read?

And of course you repeat the canard, peddled mostly by racist white history writers, that Egypt was not an African civilization? Please READ my brother.

And when at it visit the Cairo museum and riddle me this one: if the rulers of ancient Egypt were white (or Mediterranean) as you insist, why did the vandals make such an effort, over the centuries, to destroy the noses of almost every statue that exist today? What evidence were they trying to erase?

@Obi is making a crucial point that societies do regress. Africans have regressed from that civilization in Egypt. Africans skipped the bronze age and went straight to the iron-age and built better iron furnaces and products than that of the Romans. Then Africans regressed and were living in small tribal areas unable to stop conquest and unable to cope with envirnomental issues and disease. What you are saying is like the latinos priding themselves in the mayan civilization. Total waste of energy because Africans are still poor, still unable to face environmental challenges living off wild fruits and with "modern cities" with no water

http://atlantablackstar....ieval-african-kingdoms/

Watu wapunguze ujinga. Africa had a long line of superpowers. Mansa Musa, king of Mali is the richest man who ever lived on Earth.

Closer home the Buganda, Zulu, Wanga kingdoms controlled their own territories and with trade routes and their own succession lineages.

What we consider civilisation today is the Western concept of civilisation with roots in the Greek and Roman empires.

The Roman empire was the most significant civilisation in the West. What is today Britain, France, Germany and Scandinavia were just tribal enclaves of Celts, Gauls, Goths, Visigoths and other Germanic tribes colonised by Rome.

Even when the Western Roman empire fell in 500 CE or thereabouts, the Eastern (Byzantine) Roman empire remained strong for another 1,000 years.

In western Europe, the period between the fall of the Western Roman empire and the rise of the European monarchies is called the dark ages for a reason. During that period Europe was invaded by Arabs, Turks, Africans. Europe was constantly at war, ravaged by disease and the standard of life was probably the worst in the world.

When Europe was rising from the ashes of the dark ages, even Vasco Da Gama could not through the Suez on the way to India because he feared the Arabs. He went round the Cape just to encounter the Arabs on the East Coast of Africa from Mozambique, to Dar, to Pemba, to Tanga, to Mombasa and Lamu. Only the Sultan of Malindi welcomed him because he was at war with Mombasa and Lamu.

The balance of power obviously changed with the industrial revolution and rise of the great powers of Europe.

For 200 years the world has been dominated by western civilisation. Has the world become a better place? my answer is no. The world has been through wars involving and orchestrated by the western powers. Mass enslavement of populations, destruction of the environment, degradation of cultures...

In my opinion, western civilisation is actually regressive. The only reason we have not had a third world war and extinction of mankind is because Western Europe has been united by their EU trade pact. With UK (and god knows who else) pulling out, expect fireworks around the corner. We should not blindly worship a civilisation of war, destruction and violence that takes mankind backwards.

Boss the first universities were established in Arabia and North Africa.

@Sparkly. Acha matusi.
I asked for evidence and you've not given any.
If you go to China and Europe, there you will see evidence of what they were doing 500 years ago.

@Sparkly, your ancestors, what were they doing 500 years ago?
Where they studying? How were they dressing? What were they building?
When other civilizations were building ships and exploring, developing education systems, science, arts, architecture, technology etc. What were your 'great African civilisations'doing?

You see, the superior conquers the 'inferior '.
The African civilizations you are alluding to, couldn't stand the test of evolution for they were rudimentary .

One last question, why @Sparkly, are using a language and technology from a civilisation that is regressive and dangerous? Why? Why? Why?

@Mkeiy you have missed the thrust of my narrative. Please read again and digest.

On matters superiority... Which is superior Rock, Scissors or Paper? Tafakari

@Sparkly. There's no thrust in your narrative, nothing.

In Africa (Sub Saharan) where can you see at least 5 items on my red list?

What you guys are giving is a little more of African history. Africa's existence in the centuries gone. That's not what the topic is about.

The topic is about 'Why Africa is poor', period.

Even today, we lack in so many ways, what's on my red list.
Heck the Chinese are building for us virtually everything 'major'.

Even the 'rock, scissors & paper' you are using @Sparkly, is borrowed.

All in all, 'NYANI HAONI KUNDULE'.