How Africa’s Geography Traps it in Endless Poverty

[@RealLifeLore]

If you'd like to watch my documentary covering the horrors of the Rwandan Genocide, you can do so next on Nebula here: nebula.tv/videos/reallifelore-modern-conflicts-the-rwandan-genocide Thank you

[@lesterwilliamsjr649]

Challenge: What is the most self-sufficient country in the world? Context: If every country in the world closed all there borders which country could survive the longest before there was complete chaos.

[@Scaliad]

People have been leaving Africa for better neighborhoods since the beginnings of man...

[@randomhumanofearth7267]

in your map at 29:06 you showed estonian as slavic language even though its uralic please make correction there

[@thabangmashabela6837]

This doesn't sound like you ,which AI are you using

[@obinator9065]

Atlas Pro

[@bababababababa6124]

As a Nigerian, I think it’s time we stopped looking towards the past and blaming outside powers for what they did to us. The only countries that can kind-of still use that excuse are the ex-French/Belgian colonies, as they’re still notoriously bad here. Our geography might be terrible, but we are blessed with resources and a young diverse population. We really should be wealthier, but it’s our governments holding us back.

[@anonisnoone6125]

France still controls all of its former colonies by forcing them to use the same currency that they also control. So France is still a colonizer, just economically. What a pathetic and shitty country. And the African leaders of those countries r just as shit for letting France bribe the. All they care about is money, not helping their people.

[@snowdog03]

Lots of dictators and warlords.

[@samo6083]

You say that but the countries made are just lines on maps with loads of diverse groups together under the flag of one nation. Its like getting Chinese, Taiwanese and Japanese people then putting them into one country and expecting them to flourish. Different groups of people habe different interests so that alone would be caos. Caused by colonial times. Im not saying complain and do nothing about it but not understanding the reasons for your current position is also asinine...

[@yasinibrahim]

100%

[@kairos_fluent]

Out of interest, what are the chances that Nigeria will partition in the future ?

[@AsongJackson]

As a Software Engineer from Cameroon, I have observed that individual creativity and private initiatives are often discouraged by government policies. In my country, even efforts to repair deteriorating roads or construct new ones are strictly prohibited without official authorization. For instance, a company in Buea, where I reside, attempted to pave the road leading to their office. They engaged a private contractor who estimated the project cost at 11 million FCFA. However, when the company sought approval from the local council, their request was denied. Instead, the council insisted on taking over the project and subsequently presented an inflated estimate of 700 million FCFA. Additionally, navigating the bureaucratic system often requires political alignment. Files and requests are frequently delayed or outright ignored unless one is affiliated with the ruling political party. I encountered a similar situation during my time in Tanzania, where the practices mirrored those of Cameroon. It was surprising to see the same systemic challenges replicated in a different context.

[@CiceroSolo]

That's corruption rather than being a regulatory issue

[@mbrenne4]

Thanks for sharing your perspective. I love watching the firsthand analyses of these videos from people actually effected by it. These types of statements you are making are the reason I actually scan the comments section.

[@kyledaugherty1609]

I disagree with your first-hand experience. If you trace it back, it was the inhospitable Buean geography that kept your company's pavement project from moving forward.

[@AsongJackson]

@@mbrenne4 Thank you.

[@wwondertwin]

It all goes back to functional institutions. In the Nordic and Northwestern Europe you also require permits for most things (mainly to guarantee quality standards are adhered to), but still things are maintained well. The starkest difference between maintenance can be seen on the Finnish-Russian border in areas that used to be ethnically and culturally Finnic and populated by Finnic-speaking populations, so they have identical architecture often of the same age etc. On the current Russian side most things are dilapidated while on the Finnish side buildings are maintained well, even when they're just ordinary housing. Russia does maintain certain landmarks but it's the apartment buildings, houses, schools etc that are not maintained. There's also a systemic problem with functionality of institutions due to corruption on the Russian side, while the Finnish side has one of the lowest corruption levels in the world. And you can see the drastic difference with bare eyes in the surroundings that at one point were nearly identical and thus are a perfect comparison. These same issues do manifest in very similar ways, regardless of the geographical location or the people.

[@HarukiYamamoto]

Ugandan here. Trained as a manufacturing engineer. Been screaming this ever since I discovered it. 25-30% of the cost of everything we import goes just to transportation. That means that our factories are 20-35% more expensive to build. We are trying to get our heads above the waves with a weight attached to our feet. We can’t compete in international markets. There’s no country on earth that will impose reverse tariffs on its own manufacturers to allow us catch up. It is not even something that should ever come up in any discussion on African poverty. The best that we can do is produce enough for local consumption, and that to is getting increasingly harder to do with cheap Chinese imports. I wish more people understood this.

[@a-person-with-internet]

What would be a reasonable start for rail transportation? How would that affect wildlife migration? Would rail make manufacturing competitive?

[@priatalat]

@@a-person-with-internet The logistics needed to build such long rail networks through difficult and dangerous geography is something not even a developed nation could easily pull off.

[@a-person-with-internet]

@@priatalat can you elaborate?

[@martinstoyanov5180]

Do you think if something like a canal could be built in inhospitable river terrain aka digging up dangerous rocks, filling up dangerous falls as to make them less dangerous, creating passages where there are none. Do you think something like that could be done and do you think IF possible it would make Africa more competitively viable in the international market ?

[@martinstoyanov5180]

​@@priatalatwhat about altering the waterways ? Sure it's destructive to nature but if done right it *could* be less destructive than cutting down forests and paving them with cement

[@sweettorello]

I live in an African country and I can 100% say the issue is bad governance and corruption. It's not colonialism, it's not geography, it's that no African country has the economic policy to grow and be business forward.

[@MHG796]

People tend to skip corruption part as usual

[@shad118]

Botswana is doing economically good

[@JosiahKabogo]

Stupid its the gepgraphy first and poor governments

[@warmerk]

a lot of corruption and bad governance comes from foreign countries like the usa putting their noses where it doesnt belong and making sure you guys stay corrupt. most countries dont want you african countries to get rich because for that to happen it would mean we stop exploiting your resources. and they dont want to do that. they pay off leaders to keep them doing what they want, and same thing with militia groups. as an american the more i learn about us meddling and destabilizing foreign countries the more i hate my own govt

[@SubvertTheState]

There's no such thing as economic policy. That's forced economic control. Financial colonization is the problem. The west pays off dictators to take sovereign loans from Western nations which host companies which want resources. The African nations in debt their populations and futures on "infrastructure modernization" projects. Which build roads, ports, rail lines and airports. Which the companies use for free while they steal natural resources from those nations. It's that simple. Sovereign debt for the privilege of getting robbed.

[@Uncreativeish]

Not sure if this has been mentioned: Africa as a whole has gotten a lot better since 2000. For example, most of sub-Saharan Africa had life expectancies in the 30s and 40s in 2000, and now in 2024, almost all places in Africa have a life expectancy over 60, demonstrating that most of Africa's life expectancy has improved by 20 years within the last 20 years. There is some hope for them.

[@hunkyhaggis2161]

Asbestos where do the money and medicines come from?

[@Marwan-_-7m]

@@hunkyhaggis2161 not from the eu

[@muddyhotdog4103]

​@@Marwan-_-7m Half of the medicine imported to Africa is from Europe, and a third from India/East Asia (Nearly 95% of it is imported).

[@Marwan-_-7m]

@@muddyhotdog4103 after the invasions and when the school was forbidden? Médecine in North Africa during our gold age was way more advanced than in Europe

[@MrAsynchro]

​@@Marwan-_-7m😂

[@imperialdragon111]

Summary: 1. **Isolation & Access** - Sahara Desert blocks north-south connection - Smooth coasts lack natural harbors - Rivers blocked by rapids/waterfalls near coasts 2. **Triple Transport Trap** - No deep-water ports - No ocean-navigable rivers - Most landlocked countries globally (16) 3. **Disease & Agriculture** - Only continent fully spanning tropics - Tsetse fly prevents livestock use - Limited, fragmented farmland 4. **Resource Paradox** - World's richest mineral deposits - Highest transport costs globally - Geography prevents efficient resource use This creates a devastating cycle: Rich resources can't efficiently reach markets, limiting development, which in turn prevents infrastructure improvements that could overcome geographic barriers.

[@BornBitter]

If I was going to be tested on this video, your notes are the ones I would copy.

[@chipaguasustudios]

*Botswana:* I reject nature!

[@cjwojoe]

I don't see rampant colonization by western powers then abandonment while still leeching their resources.

[@lannapasher2914]

Dead internet theory

[@cjwojoe]

Nvm I just got to the part where he said he specifically is focusing on geography and is aware there are other factors 😅

[@reed_reed]

Can't be that poor with all the rich Nigerian Princes I keep getting emails from.

[@tauceti8060]

Rich keep all the wealth to themselves

[@KamBar2020]

Whos Ya DIDDY ❔️❓️

[@festerofest4374]

@@tauceti8060Not necessarily. In many cases world wide, wealth results in masses being gainfully employed.

[@Hugh.Manatee]

@@tauceti8060 No way, they all say they want to give their wealth to me

[@Adomir]

Hey, then we are family!

[@visuali235]

Africas biggest problem is not geography (not denying that geography plays a factor)but ethnicity division in which the leaders (some appointed by foreign governments) take advantage off and and another problem is foreign interference. Africa sometimes makes me think it was cursed. I’m African myself, I hope Africa will soon have a century of glory it deserves

[@amw11210]

The hope is near. Kwame Nkrumah has come back, but the Ghanaians rejected him. I hope they see the consequences of their actions and give him another chance in 2028😁

[@SuperMyckie]

Geography is not keeping Africa poor it is the Politicians that is keeping them poor… a local politician in Nigeria has more SUVs than Toyotas factory in whole of Europe

[@Jcguy123]

@@SuperMyckie no it’s also geography. Especially historically

[@RXJis300]

oh no

[@Andy-fs5hv]

It is the most resource rich continent on the planet, and humans have lived there the longest😊

[@dakotabell7546]

wrong, there’s still no singular blame. Combination of exploitation by Europeans, corruption by political officials, and civil war.

[@BookWorm09893]

It's the archaic way of living there

[@GaudiaCertaminisGaming]

Geography made Africa poor, corruption keeps it poor.

[@Omer1996E.C]

So true

[@feloniousmonk1973]

What’s wrong with their geography??

[@KamBar2020]

Make AFRICA Great Again 🇰🇵🇷🇺🇨🇳

[@Liminal_Simulacre]

@@feloniousmonk1973 You don't see how big the red arrows are ? RLL should have put even more of them to convince you there is something to watch in his one hour long retranscription of barely sourced Wikipedia articles.

[@foreverjune8]

@@feloniousmonk1973 watch the video

[@redictat3]

“Length isn’t everything. Discharge volume is far more important.”

[@Forex_Uncovered]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@blakegoulds8313]

The little guys tell themselves

[@blakegoulds8313]

The little guys tell themselves

[@tascrphs]

Sure... they have plenty of large discharge rivers ...during the rainy season.

[@rockstarlifestyle9980]

As if the Nile doesn't lose most of it's water through everporation... This Channel is a fraud

[@uberdonkey9721]

Living in Africa, the overwhelming feeling is that poverty is caused by: 1. Greed/envy. Most people not trying to build society, but want to be like a rich king. Like rappers, they're killing each other out of greed and envy. Corruption and theft also results from this. 2. Personal responsibility: most men sleeping around and having babies all over the place, and are proud of that. Mastabation is frowned upon, but people don't mind promiscuity and not using contraception (thus HIV rates v high). Many African countries can't reach the peak they had under colonialism (eg Sudan, Zimbabwe, Malawi etc)

[@Sebisajiminstan]

I’m not living in Africa, but i’m starting to understand you’re completely right. Like, yeah, the rest of the world could get a head start because of geography, but we now have the means to combat that, like trains, for example, which are a cheap way to transport goods over long distances. But building those railways requires a lot of investments, which only a stable and strong government can achieve. And if everyone is just interested in personal wealth, that’s never gonna happen. Which is depressing af. The solution is so simple.

[@gargoyles9999]

We wuz kangs

[@alberttate8198]

Under colonialism African countries could thrive, but after independence this video wants to convince me that poverty is greatly due to geography 👀 Greed by multinational corporations, politicians and wars have contributed greatly. Should be examined instead of this.

[@robertsolomielke5134]

@@Sebisajiminstan I agree. Trains can solve much of the problem , but not the ME first culture. So much disunity causes African nations to go nowhere, and stay there.

[@transgirl420]

@@alberttate8198 "Under colonialism African countries could thrive" 🤣🤣🤣

[@Dziki_z_Lasu]

Original rivers of Europe were also full of rapids, like on the Danube in Iron Gates and other obstacles, practically blocking access to a seaport. They are navigable like today only after masive infrastructural investment. If not all those ship lifts, locks and waterways, you would be able to transport things only on rafts, or viking like boats on the majority of European big rivers.

[@gildedpeahen876]

in america too

[@JJ-si4qh]

Yeah, same in Asia. He completely downplays how much civilizational effort it took to make rivers in other continents navigable

[@sethsevaroth]

He covered that, Europe and North America are much flatter overall.

[@secularmonk5176]

The point was, the rivers in Africa are too wild for a "stepladder" history of local, independent improvement. You don't build infrastructure to improve trade, when you can't even get trade off the ground with rafts ...

[@magnemoe1]

This also back before an unified Germany long distance trade on the large German rivers was not profitable as all the nobles taxed their potion of the river. Local trade worked but not going from the ocean to southern Germany.

[@391Tournado]

As a South African, it isn’t any more surprising as the roads are nefariously bad and corruption is only getting worse as time passes by.

[@ballenboy]

Damn that geography of South Africa, it must be its fault.

[@lagseeing8341]

@@ballenboy Yes

[@jeffreypierce1440]

Time has nothing to do with it. As Blacks take over a White country is where the decline comes from.

[@para-tanker]

Maybe some European influence came in and brought some development although it's against all "odds".

[@KiloTray]

U more mean in poverty because of human robbing it dry for its resources 😂😂😂😂 🤡Nope mankind destroyed africa and its people not geography/nature/god 😂 🤡Chimpanzee did not make aids that virus was carefully created in a lab to kill humans same thing as covid 😅😅😅😅 🤡

[@brainmuffins6052]

17 Spains can easily fit inside of Africa, making it the largest Spain in the entire WORLD. If you compare Spain to Spain, the results are even MORE shocking…

[@potatojake197]

Shockin

[@-Ainz-Ooal-Gown]

good god...

[@Neuvalence]

i also have 17 Spains...but without the S

[@The_Orgazoid]

Spain

[@CrypticCocktails]

But where does the rain fall in the largest Spain?

[@UMUHOZAMariePaule]

As a rwandan I'm proud of my continent Africa,they say the Sahara desert is getting bigger but Africa is planning to stop this by planting more trees and it can also help with the climate change ❤

[@turnleft8645]

as a Zimbabwean, it's up to us who have the ability to do something to take action especially for those who can't

[@brewtalityk]

how insightful

[@gorilladisco9108]

How not to destroy your country's economy: #1 Never use socialism in anything. #2 Read #1

[@ALEX-fq7hh]

@@gorilladisco9108 #3 Never expell the farmers from your country

[@CleberSantos-io9bk]

0:00 Introduction 4:27 🗺️ Geography 6:31 🏜️ Sahara Desert 8:14 🏝️ Coastline 11:00 🏞️ Rivers and Topography 20:22 🤒😨 Diseases 23:05 🦟 Tsetse 25:18 🌾 Arable lands 27:55 💎Natural resources 28:45 🗣️ Cultural diversity 31:00 Effects of the colonialism 31:28 🔗 Landlocked countries 33:24 🛤️ Infrastructure 37:23 🇨🇩 D.R. of Congo 47:30 🇨🇩 ⚔️ Second Congo War 49:18 🇷🇼 Rwanda

[@cheatcoddes]

Rwanda 🇷🇼 not Ruanda

[@ChinonsoNnadozie]

Thanks

[@PrivateSnafu14]

Thx

[@Dany-rx7rs]

😮😮

[@orinnoco2919]

@@cheatcoddes Wakanda!

[@greasher926]

There are many unnavigable rivers that were made navigable with locks and dams. A notable example is the Columbia River. It used to have many rapids, particularly in the gorge. However with a series of dams built ships can now make it all the way to Idaho. Another example is the St.Lawrence River. It used to be only navigable to Montreal, but with a series of locks you can now make all the way to Minnesota via the Great Lakes, even bypassing the Niagara Falls. I think something similar can be done with the Congo River.

[@martinzihlmann822]

I also don't see it as destiny. Rather as a great opportunity to build the local economy with some good old waterworks projects. Weird that colonial powers with their focus on resource extraction didn't do that investment.

[@gmanbo]

To pull something off like this takes significant centralized political, economic and logistical investment. The fly + the lack of good farmland in coordination make this difficult still. Could it be done... Yes there are a ton of things in Africa that could be done. But as the Chinese are proving..... Not all of them will actually make a return. Unless like the Panama canal that used USA capital+ manpower because of a geopolitical goal.... The costs simply outweigh the incentives. Especially when considering the productivity of other investment opportunities...... Fix that fly issue and then the production of the land could actually produce enough that a viable return that would allow the water works up the congo river to be worth it. ........

[@a7awtf]

@@greasher926 with rivers u get hydro electricity. This whole video is just cope

[@imustbecrazy5626]

All built by the white man. So they are racist.

[@sethsevaroth]

Niagara falls is only 167 ft tall. The African steppes are 10 TIMES that height.

[@CritterKeeper01]

I just had a crazy vision of African engineers developing vast networks of airships, to be able to travel across these distances without having to unload with changes in elevation or water depth. I know there are probably huge practical barriers, but the neo-steampunk vibes were too good to not share!

[@lugaritzbrown2250]

DM I thought like this too.

[@Activ3x_1]

I live in Africa and the problem is bad governance!!!

[@dradennewberry3290]

Your governments are captured by my government and it’s allies

[@ChineduOpara]

Basically: bad and corrupt people

[@TheAnnoyingBoss]

Its got a lot of other problems too.

[@ChineduOpara]

@@Activ3x_1 I wonder why my comment was deleted...

[@Activ3x_1]

@@ChineduOpara no idea, what was the comment?

[@NigelAndTommyAreGrifters]

Corruption also plays a large part

[@Omer1996E.C]

This is the 100th comment that says it. But geography plays the greatest role. More than corruption or colonialism

[@lm_b5080]

south africa is a prime example of this. in the 90s it ranked among Japan + Austria on the Corruption Index. today it ranks closer to Brazil + Argentina. This correlates closely to its economic stagnation, deindustrialisation + infrastructure decline

[@TheBfutgreg]

Corruption is an affect, not a cause

[@Eulogy466]

Nothing to do with brain density

[@lm_b5080]

@@TheBfutgreg the cause is selfishness / sociopathy in a community and not caring about helping the poor

[@KevinEnjoyer]

1. Have Nebula and see that RLL released a video about the Rwandan Genocide. 2. Deduce that the KZbin video is going to be released shortly, and is going to be about Africa. 3.

[@ok-fla]

And that this one is going to be demonetized for showing an eskeleton's excavation and women chopping fruits

[@dynamoproductions5]

Yes, it's predictable. That's the point. What is the problem with promoting your own content??

[@watema3381]

@@dynamoproductions5 His point was pointing it out in the first place lol not that deep

[@user-jg6bd7se8u]

3. Cancels subscription based content in favor of watching it later... for free. 😮

[@jacobblack2381]

How 😅​@@user-jg6bd7se8u

[@liselottehildegarde5367]

I've got to say that I've never known anything about this topic before. The writing is concise without leaving important details. Thank you for this beautiful and educational video!😊

[@anotherfreediver3639]

At least some of it is in Jared Diamond's book of 1998.

[@IK_MK]

_"How geography keeps Africa poor"_ My government 🇲🇼 after purchasing the 50th, fully equipped, land cruiser this month to drive on dirt roads: *"Yes, geography is very bad"* 👀😂

[@CheeseLateese]

Aise you're sharing misinformation!!! We now proudly buy 70 per month😤💪🏾. One for each of ministers' children, even the ones that can't drive And don't ask about fuel, it will deal with itself somehow, ayi zikomo😂💔

[@meninomaria7003]

yes greed and corruption are rampant, but the only reason their greed is being fed by our taxes is because their corruptors already paid to rob us of our resources. No mark up in mos products that leave africa and the little there is to pay those bribes

[@apatsa_basiteni]

lol for real.

[@mr.boomguy]

And the huge amount of oil and meterials dug up. Very hard

[@Royce16727]

There's the corruption thing mentioned in the video…

[@19Szabolcs91]

At around 29:15, Estonia is erroneously shown as Slavic. Just a minor nitpick that’s not even related to the main topic

[@nakkikala69]

Sad, since Finnic languages are already speaken by only so small number of people.

[@user-wr3vt8uq4s]

Latvian here. Terviseks, my Eesti brother.

[@interrobangings]

lmao estonia wants to be Scandinavian so bad

[@ernstgeld8554]

@@interrobangings Kind of big oversight when you categorize language in a complete different language family. It would be same as England would randomly be in afro-asiatic language family

[@xerogue]

He literally showed Azad Kashmir as part of India, RRL lost all credibility

[@Maphisto86]

Geography and its impact on history and modern society cannot be underestimated. While we humans are inventive and adaptable, we can only do so much to reshape nature to suit our needs. Geopolitics should be an essential component of the sociopolitical disciplines such as economics, historical analysis and political science. Understanding geopolitics puts so much about human history and development into context.

[@ChickenBiscuits]

It can definitely be underestimated. Europeans, Arabs or even the Chinese can and did make Africa profitable and a success. The people are 90% of the problem.

[@curiositycloset2359]

@@Maphisto86 so does human capital.

[@mikespearwood3914]

Don't know about this. Europeans moved to a desert continent (Australia) and created a great country despite the massive geographical & climactic challenges, something the original humans were never going to do. Zimbabwe was formerly a fantastic country but is now reverting into a terrible one.

[@peterkamau2014]

@@mikespearwood3914 Europeans had already developed human capital when they moved outside europe. Capital that developed from thousands of years of interaction and trade exchange facilitated by easy access to the four cradles of civilization.

[@lchpdmq]

@@Maphisto86 yeah, and África has probably the best geography in the world and more resources than anywhere..

[@MrSaemichlaus]

Every 60 seconds in Africa, one minute passes.

[@wormball]

actually even more due to general relativity!

[@patrickgoncalves3878]

Africa has the potential for the most hydroelectric power in the world. Investors just need to take advantage of the huge drops in elevation for all of Africa's rivers and build hydroelectric dams all along the rivers of Africa.

[@C21H30O2]

Every dime invested in Africa has been wasted by Africans. What moron would invest in such a corrupt continent?

[@awtqrtrkjsrs]

There are actually some being built currently, such as one in Niger on the Niger river and one in Ethiopia on the Nile. The Nile already has two major dams in Jinja, Uganda and Aswan, Egypt which provide a lot of electric power and other benefits to their respective countries (in Uganda most electricity is hydroelectricity, and while only a small portion of Egypt's is, the dam is still of huge importance for irrigation), so new dam projects, including the ones already underway will likely be of huge benefit.

[@commisaryarreck3974]

Few are willing to invest when most of their money goes to line someones pockets instead of towards the project

[@techringo6469]

Hydroelectric power is great, but in itself is nothing. Unless there is a compelling use for that power somewhere that it can be delivered, what is the potential return for investors? It's not like oil that can be loaded up efficiently on huge ships and sent around the world. Taping and leveraging that power would be a multi-generational effort. Hard to find investors for such a long time horizon.

[@loganjones5766]

Investing in unstable dictatorships with long histories of civil wars, coups and tribal conflicts is a good way to lose your money, have your assets seized by corrupt officials, etc. There is a reason why people aren't flocking to throw money at Africa unless they are running charities.

[@bredsheeran2897]

Petition for the game devs to buff Africa

[@fortnitetrashcan8308]

hopefully they add the forced re-migration patch very soon too

[@chrisblack6258]

@EarthOnlineSupport

[@IK_MK]

​​@@fortnitetrashcan8308not gonna happen, the ping is too high down here so EU servers will have to do😂

[@MrLegendra]

They already have the most natural resources out of any other continent by FAR yet are incredibly poor. Really makes you think why...its biological

[@fortnitetrashcan8308]

@@IK_MK 😂

[@samholland209]

I believe that the main reason Africa is so poor is because most countries in Africa have been plagued with terrible leadership.

[@caeruleusvm7621]

As an African, I agree.

[@TK-yh5zz]

Very true. These Nigerian princes keep giving me all their money, it can't be a good financial plan.

[@1wun1]

And the few good leaders keep meeting a terrible end.

[@a7awtf]

Intentionally. When our leader try to do measure such as refine our own crude here rather than send it to Europe and buy it back in ur currency; ur put them on an unmarket pj fly them to a remote island and threaten them then bring them back. Go searching for WMD or decide they need democracy. WE HAVE NOT BEEN ALLOWD GOOD LEADERSHIP. How many neutralisation ops have ur 3 leader agencies have. This video personally annoys me cos its 54:12 mins of COPEiom made to make u feel less complicit in our condition

[@noble61483]

Outside influences are what keeps bad leaders in power then other countries can reep the rewards of cheap natural resources... its no coincidence this keeps happening

[@ugandaforever8942]

RealLifeLore, you're a bless to mankind for letting millions know about all this information that shouldn't be overlooked. Thank you from the heart.

[@DaneilOreo]

Said no one The video should be called "how the Western world keeps Africa poor"

[@levonleban6252]

Sub Saharan Africa wasn’t isolated from wider Eurasia though. There were trans Saharan trade routes for over a milenia. Meanwhile Eastern Africa was connected to the Indian Ocean trade network.

[@CJ_Espinoza]

He never said there was zero trade between the two, just that the Sahara limited trade to the west coast and interior of the continent until pretty recently. They never had access to the Silk Road trade system and were restricted to what Arab traders brought. Not to mention non-Africans could really survive the diseases found in central Africa until the 18th century or so.

[@indiradevi8136]

​@@CJ_Espinozaeast Africa was certainly not cut off from rest of the world which he failed to. Mention and this played a pivotal role in Ethiopia escaping colonialism

[@CJ_Espinoza]

@@indiradevi8136 sure that is true, I’m just saying trade was far more restricted in *most* of Africa until the last few centuries. East Africa was more of an exception than the norm.

[@ynraider]

@@CJ_Espinoza Africa had the wealthiest empires in human history...until Europeans took over...

[@joselopez-kx3sm]

thats very true. the islamic slave trade was the main catalyst on why large parts of africa are islamic.

[@daniell1483]

As a would-be author, I find this very instructive in world-building. What really stood out to me was the smooth coasts that lack natural harbors-without any good trade nodes linking Africa with the rest of the world, trade in the continent is hampered, preventing development. This does a lot to inform how fictional societies would develop in similar conditions. While unfortunate for Africa itself, it offers us a glimpse of how human-like societies are impacted by their geography. Great video!

[@25Soupy]

Except for Switzerland... I'm not sure Australia use rivers to get their products to the world.

[@ninjashot37]

​@@25SoupyAustralia has some of the world's largest natural harbour's where it founded it's cities. Sydney has the largest in the world. It doesn't need to use rivers. Though those natural harbours all connect to large river systems anyway.

[@daniell1483]

@@25Soupy Switzerland largely sidesteps the issue of river/water access by focusing largely on the financial sector. They don't need to physically move products the same way other resources are moved. And it happens to be in the middle of the second most developed continent.

[@davileite780]

​@@25Soupy Yea, but Australia's interior is famously full of nothing but sand and hopelessness. The entire population is in the coast for a reason.

[@Flaschenteufel]

strange that africa had under Mansa Musa the largest fleet in the world. Dang and i wish we had machines to move earth...we could even build large harbours in those areas. :(

[@LASAGNA_LARRY]

Fantastic video! Very imformative, educational, and eye-opening all without being biased. I never knew how much the geography affected Africa so much!

[@icturner23]

What an incredible analysis. I don’t know when I last saw original content of this length on KZbin, let alone also of this quality. I feel so much better informed now.

[@Tomahawk.01]

Is it just me or is his mic getting worse every video?

[@rajkowlessur755]

I haven't watched a video for a few months And when I hear the voice I can hear the difference

[@arcanehornet]

I can’t believe that he spends so much time on each video, the rest of the presentation is high quality, and he can’t invest into a decent mic

[@BushLitter]

He talks through his nose

[@DickTangoTV]

@@arcanehornet He might have an completely fine mic, but there's more to good sound than just the mic. The room, background noise, echoes, etc. and the processing of the audio matter a lot too

[@zebedeesummers4413]

@@arcanehornet I mean he likely needs to improve the entire room he is recording in.

[@TexasDragon]

I gotta be honest. After watching this, I think it’s a miracle that there aren’t more wars being fought on the continent

[@KamBar2020]

Tell that to PMC troops owned by 🇷🇺🇨🇳

[@jeffbigham5852]

You are an idiot.

[@Rusty254]

Most of our governments are too innept and corrupt. No war is needed when you can just bribe a politician.

[@funnyvideosandmemes151]

nah it still have a lot like my country Sudan

[@funnyvideosandmemes151]

@@KamBar2020 ?

[@Aristocles22]

Tl;DW: 1. Sahara Desert isolating most of the continent. 2. Smooth coastline making ocean-going trade hard due to a lack of sheltered harbors; shallow coasts make it harder still. 3. A lack of navigable rivers to the ocean; some rivers have huge waterfalls, others go dry parts of the year. 4. Tropical diseases, especially malaria. HIV/AIDS also hurt more recently.

[@SirBalageG]

mvp

[@loganjones5766]

I love how he acts like HIV/AIDS is like walking outside and getting struck by lightning from a clear sky or something. Maybe you can't do anything about living somewhere Malaria is endemic, but the reason the US, Europe, Asia, etc. Don't have 15%-20% of the population living with AIDS is just based on behavioral factors. No explanation whatsoever for why AIDS should impact Africa any more than every other location on earth once a few people who had it arrived.

[@tradingmachine4832]

continent the size of 3 americas with all the resources in the world. but apparently need to trade with other continents to reach basic civilisation level. hmm

[@Aristocles22]

@tradingmachine4832 Not as many resources as you think. Lots of rare minerals, not a lot of good farmland.

[@natecw4164]

I do think flagging genocide as age restricted is a problem. God forbid a teenager learn something other than dance moves or influencer updates. If you've got someone in highschool that you're responsible for but doesn't know what genocide is, wth are you teaching them?

[@earth9531]

Pretty sure it isn't the geography...

[@Edmures_rampant_manhood]

What do you think it is?

[@cynicalsayonara7169]

@@Edmures_rampant_manhoodAfricans have historically failed to produce a government that wasn’t unsustainably corrupt.

[@jarzez]

@@Edmures_rampant_manhood Maximum corruption.

[@earth9531]

@@Edmures_rampant_manhood a certain lack of human capital

[@bobeskance8965]

@@Edmures_rampant_manhood A paucity of human capital.

[@wafflingmean4477]

I learn more in 20 minutes of one of your videos than an entire year's worth of compulsory geography classes in high school. I wish I was exaggerating.

[@Nanlemanda]

Broo 😭. Can African survive the next 500 years?

[@nahor88]

My high school World History and Geography classes barely spent any time outside of North America and Europe.

[@robertsolomielke5134]

@@nahor88 Sorry, you must be American, or maybe Indian.? Most nations do not have a high level of university degrees , compared to Canada.

[@kemsatofficial]

I played a Huge African map in Civilization 5 or 6 once, and that’s when I realized how much the geography gets in the way of humans doing human things. I know it’s not real, but watching this video reminded me of that very hard & frustrating game, when most of my other games had been much easier.

[@KalanWerling]

I did too, I attempted world conquest from the worst spot on the map and I thought it would be an Island like Hawaii or Antarctica but no... it was Africa

[@TheAnnoyingBoss]

Damn i wish that was a phone game. A multiplayer one you start as africa and some random from usa keeps donating to your civilization but it makes little difference 😂

[@redmed10]

Water is the most valuable commodity on Earth.

[@JanicekTrnecka]

@@redmed10 even ancient Greeks and Romans mastered the magic of aquaducts.. Yet they still keep going daily to get water few miles away from a muddy puddle not to mention shitting nearby.

[@redmed10]

@JanicekTrnecka You missed my point entirely. Well done. BTW did you know there are areas of california which have big water access problems but i dont judgethem. Just something to think about.

[@nikolaivanniekerk1626]

This is a fantastic video!!! Thank you. What are your sources? I am interested in learning more.

[@Sizt]

The example of Rhodesia showed that it's not about geography.

[@Jameswmatte]

Also, Seeth Eefricka

[@lchpdmq]

@@Sizt Africa probably has better geography and more resources than anywhere, this is all just mental gymnastics

[@Wsnewname]

I can't tell if you're saying the reason is exploitative colonial economic relationships or that you think white people are just better than black people.

[@johngonzalez3799]

⁠@@Wsnewnameyou’re the one making that connection! He’s just stating the truth, strictly economically speaking the government that took over from those “white people” ran the economy into the ground, and destroyed the economic future for generations of their own through corruption and incompetence. Quit whining!

[@jeffreyturcotte420]

It's I.Q.

[@troyturner6083]

Australia has no inland rivers and have managed fine

[@tobyobisanya9532]

That’s like saying Britain has managed just fine. Australia is an island man, why do you think like 98% of the population lives on the coast?

[@jthomashair]

Australia was a copy paste of civilization that had already developed in Europe. And even still its landmass is mostly undeveloped today with the only major cities being on the ocean. The video points out often why African and aboriginal Australian groups did not have any incentive to become maritime communities.

[@conorredmond6217]

Your example shows exactly the importance of rivers.. notice how few Aussies live inland

[@troyturner6083]

@conorredmond6217 but it's not a 3rd world

[@jthomashair]

@@troyturner6083 You're missing the point

[@BiNumLi]

I learned new things today! Thank you. Another thing to contend with in Africa is the heat. During the middle of the day in the hot season it is impossible to function. Everyone just lies on their bed and sweats.

[@robrodell]

Sweeping generalisations and some inaccuracies. There are perfectly usable harbours on the African continent: Dar es Salaam, Djibouti, Port Said, Maputo, Durban, Cape Town, Luanda, Lagos, Abidjan, Accra, Dakar, Tunis, Casablanca, Tripoli, Alexandria and others. As some have commented, lack of proper management and good governance holds Africa back.

[@williamlee7672]

Greed. Corruption. Low education.

[@pompompurinkyun]

and the greed isn’t limited to the political class alone, it’s a societal issue.

[@7thZeppelin]

Low average IQ

[@sweetpotato6728]

Education takes generations to establish. It takes time to build institutions of learning that meet global standards. Were the African people supposed to build those while being enslaved by colonisers?

[@ninjasonicteenagewarhead4284]

Symptoms of a disadvantageous geography, hundreds of years of colonialism and slavery, and constant foreign interference (neocolonialism). If other countries cared so much about African people, they would pump money into developing its infrastructure alongside giving aid. If you disagree, then you simply want colonisation in Africa to continue.

[@7thZeppelin]

@ other countries have pumped money into Africa’s infrastructure. It gets abandoned, unmanaged, poorly maintained, and falls apart without constant aid.

[@natejablonski]

"But length isn't everything." Tell that to my ex

[@CantHandleThisCanYa]

Pencil pp

[@judykimnguyen8393]

She’s bluffing 😂

[@RyanQuinn0397]

Try those enlargement pills they work

[@thomasdonovan3580]

She can’t speak right now her mouth’s full.

[@KiloTray]

U more mean in poverty because of human robbing it dry for its resources 😂😂😂😂 🤡Nope mankind destroyed africa and its people not geography/nature/god 😂 🤡Chimpanzee did not make aids that virus was carefully created in a lab to kill humans same thing as covid 😅😅😅😅 🤡

[@snickened]

someday i will open a real life lore video and this guy will have a half decent microphone. that will be a glorious day.

[@Kraterlandschaft]

This is such a great video, I didn't know pretty much anything about Africa (I just realized) and now feel much more respect for its people to deal with these adverse circumstances.

[@kvo3542]

Deutschlander.

[@AndreyEvermore]

@@kvo3542 what about them?

[@kvo3542]

@@AndreyEvermore I assumed that he's one.

[@akilfahd]

Here is the irony of the information provided, if these “impediments” are used to explain “poverty” in Africa, how have these same “impediments” haven’t prevented raw materials and minerals from being extracted and exported from Africa???

[@dappergenesis822]

6:53 that really just opened up my eyes to how big the Sahara is WOW

[@fukkitful]

The Sahara also fertilizes the Amazon. You can see the sand from space being blown across the Atlantic.

[@kvo3542]

Just imagine the US, but just being desert. Yeah, that's the Sahara.

[@KalanWerling]

The biggest giga chads in Africa are those camel riders.

[@juliav.mcclelland2415]

Slave ships didn't seem to have any problems with the smooth coast.

[@curiositycloset2359]

@@juliav.mcclelland2415 nor the Arabs in general. I get the feeling this is basically made up.

[@mapachito37]

slave created big profit, too much to ignore, and people back then didn't care about Africans they only cared about profit

[@jeremyd.4031]

That's because people are pretty easy to transport. Furthermore, the total tonnage of the 12.5 million slaves shipped to the Americas was quite low. Sadly that's a big reason why one of the major trade items between sub-Saharan Africans was other sub-Saharan Africans.

[@AlxndrHQ]

Still don’t to this day

[@sal-the-man]

We’re talking about natural harbors guys. Not old century docks that acted as a harbor.

[@NerdJoshua]

Maybe it's not just geography...

[@zemjata]

def meteorology....climate manipulates societies as well

[@African-History27]

Yes corruption

[@RobVollat]

Yeah the fact the US alone has more available farmland than the entirety of Africa has nothing to do with food insecurity. Rivers that cannot be used for transportation. Diseases and pests that kill livestock. Etc etc etc

[@muddyhotdog4103]

​@@RobVollat Africa has around 1,173 million hectares of agricultural land, nearly 40 percent of the continent's total land area; compared to 389 million in the US🤷

[@muddyhotdog4103]

​@@African-History27 yes, along with underutilization of land, lack of proper infrastructure, and limited access to technology and resources (fueled by corruption to 🥾)

[@NickBurman]

Regarding the Nile, there is a mistake there, the river is fully navigable only from the delta to Aswan. From there south there is only a short stretch across Lake Nasser (with no lock around Aswan Dam to connect it to the Lower Nile) which is navigable. South there are the 3rd, 4th (submerged under the Merowe Dam), 5th and 6th cataracts, all which block navigation to Khartoum. South of Khartoum there are the Sennar and Jebel Aulia dam; only the second has a lock.

[@danielwatcherofthelord1823]

Im so happy you're covering the geopraphical obstacles of the African continent! I first learned about this through Thomas Sowell and have tried to share it with people. Especially, those espousing racial reasons for Africa's struggle to catch up to the rest of the world. It really makes sense when you consider how disadvantaged the place has been with the sharing of ideas whether on politics, inventions, religion and more. There was a period in Europe where no new inventions were made for 100's of years because the people were isolated and just repeated what they knew. The same can be said of Africa while the rest of the world was sharing their ideas with eachother. So Africa has been propelled into the modern world rather quickly before even developing the infrastructure to industrialize! It's not a wonder why the continent is so far behind but more of a wonder why it isn't even further behind than it is! Africa, as a whole, has been making strides recently and is on path to be a majority developed or developing nations at some time in the future.

[@Jcguy123]

It’s racial too. Many don’t like to admit that.

[@danielwatcherofthelord1823]

No, racial makeup doesn't effect intelligence quota as much as people think. Culture I'd much more of an indicator of how intelligent someone will be. If you're in a culture that glorifies education and hard work ethic and scientific curiosity this has profound effects on general intelligence and the opposite is true also. They've done many studies on this that show pretty remarkable results.

[@kvo3542]

​@@danielwatcherofthelord1823Ignore the ra***t chap.

[@bokiNYC]

​@@danielwatcherofthelord1823Very well said and agree 100%! 👍

[@decommonifyable]

As an African I can assure you its not the geography.

[@TheAnnoyingBoss]

Its the aids

[@ES44AC-2]

Blaming the long gone colonial governments is a cop out to holding the people accountable for their own problems. It seems all the small groups just hate each other is the problem here.

[@ballenboy]

I bet in a hundred years (when three or four generations have passed) there will still be people blaming the Europeans for making them live such poor lives.

[@Schlemiel-schlimazel]

Amazing explanation of the tremendous material challenges of Africa. I have many Congolese refugee friends, and your explanation of its geography raises my understanding significantly!

[@ABurntMuffin]

2:45 why would it give them a head start? The people who migrated out of Africa also lived in Africa for those tens of thousands of years. Until the "moment" that they left, they were the same population. They didn't spawn out of thin air, they moved to a place that was far LESS dangerous (still very dangerous in different ways) and easier to manage. Is anyone really surprised that they advanced faster?

[@KalanWerling]

I agree the advancement in agriculture didn't happen till roughly 20,000 years ago give or take and by then the only parts of the world uncolonized were the Polynesian islands and Antarctica

[@mabeSc]

What about South and Central American civilisations? The Incas had the most hostile geography of any civilisation yet they thrived, same for the Maya and Aztecs. They were also very isolated but they still made great progress and discoveries in all fields. In fact, many native American civilisations had even better agricultural practices than Europeans.

[@JAtwater]

Peruivan here, thanks for the Inca shout out. Most of the country origins come from the chancay culture group, much less known than the incans, but thanks still :) The colonialism cope confuses us greatly here in my country. We're thankful to the Spaniards. They gave us tech and innovation.

[@mabeSc]

​@@JAtwater Well, for Incas I mostly meant the territory they controlled and all of the cultures and languages that were part of it Am not trying to say that the Europeans were less advanced but rather, as far as civilisations go, that they were pretty advanced despite their hardcore isolation and geography (worse than Africa, one could argue). I don't know what you mean for "colonialism cope" though.

[@JAtwater]

@@mabeSc by colonialism cope, I was mentioning how some groups of people always complain about the colonizing era, whereas a lot of people I know in central and south america, and se Asia, we're thankful for that period because it brought cool technology like modern medicine and electricity to our places

[@mabeSc]

@@JAtwater Ooh, yeah, am aware of such people as well - they also blame all of their country's problems and issues on colonialism, too. Instead of looking towards the future and to improve their situation, they just keep on living in the past and keep on claiming how great they were before the Europeans arrived. But yes, SEA and SA seem to have long accepted their past and integrated it into their culture - no wonder why these two regions of the world contain some of the fastest growing economies.

[@hihowareyouhihowareyou4500]

@@mabeSc It’s not like Africa didn’t develop any civilizations (like the Mali empire) but they didn’t thrive for long because of the hostile geography and high levels of tribalism in Africa. The Incas, Mayans and Aztecs weren’t that advanced either and didn’t last forever. The geography and climate was still more favorable in Central and South America compared to Africa (due to other factors like a larger coastline). I would compare Africa to the Amazon rainforest, where tribal people are still present in both regions.

[@DanH-u3f]

It's one of the richest continents for resources.

[@tauceti8060]

​@@feloniousmonk1973Botswana average IQ is 105

[@jaysonemile6633]

@@feloniousmonk1973well obviously if they don’t have access to an education then on paper they may have lower IQs.

[@Wailmur]

​@@feloniousmonk1973don't you think there's a reason for their low IQ:s?

[@kvo3542]

​@@feloniousmonk1973Bro doesn't know anything but crap🤡🤡🤡

[@andrewharjula6027]

@@feloniousmonk1973just say you’re insecure little buddy

[@ShaunOverton]

This channel is the most enthusiastic user of adverbs on KZbin.

[@buckysbored]

20:51 That’s a Crane Fly, not a mosquito (although where I’m from they’re nicknamed Mosquito Eaters)

[@crank6096]

i came here to say this lol

[@johnmurdoch8534]

I posted this too. Poor craneflies always getting lumped in with mosquitos.

[@sean1851]

10:32 "... the sultan of Oman lives in Zanzibar now."

[@kyledaugherty1609]

"That's just where he lives."

[@TheAnnoyingBoss]

Zanzibar is an island its basucally such a slim representation of actual africa also. Most africans will never ever go there

[@Zhiivago]

Notorious for enslaving millins of aboriginals and forced them to grow cloves.

[@billards9285]

Pretty sure Antarctica is the poorest continent

[@Kim_Jong-un1356]

If we go by GDP/Capita I'm sure it isn't ;P Those well educated eggheads are bound to have decent wages.

[@IK_MK]

Idk bro, you don't hear about riots, economic crashes and wars in the Antarctic. President penguin is doing pretty well if you ask me😂

[@chrstfer2452]

​@@IK_MKemperor penguin actually, those elections are a sham

[@Omer1996E.C]

Actually, it is, in terms of GDP

[@Kim_Jong-un1356]

@@chrstfer2452 I hear a rather large part of the penguin nation citizens are bribed with fish. This is highly unethical and who knows wether or not the bribery fish is ethically sourced? We need to investigate this!

[@KC-io2rg]

Thanks!

[@sodajones2576]

There is no magic dirt

[@Sound557]

This whole video had me thinking of “The Influence of Sea Power Upon History” by Alfred Thayer Mahan.

[@bruh-bn3ni]

Africa received 2 trillion total aid since 1960 meanwhile places like Japan only needed 2 billion after ww2 lol

[@everypitchcounts4875]

Plus a complete overhaul of Japan's government and adopting a constitution.

[@forsythia-me2lx]

Aid always comes with strings attached. Global north aid isnt altruistic, and you'd be stupid to believe it is.

[@Msambweni]

Now calculate the amount of stolen resources from Africa since 1960. Why does european central banks have tons of African gold while having no mines on their soil? Did they purchase them?

[@jfost281]

There is far, far more to the picture than simply a loan of $2 billion (not even sure if that is the correct figure). EDIT: The African IMF loans had small print; in the case of Rwanda, they had to destroy their entire reserve grain stocks which naturally caused famine and in the long term Rwanda is dependable on food imports. Other African nations were asked to comply with similar non-beneficial requests, again with similar results. Generally African loans and aid come with an adoption of neoliberal policies and other mandates, the rejection of which can cause sanctions. An investigation of the IMF/WB loans and deals shows that they highly benefit the international banks while placing irreversible debt on the Global South (additionally, the forced trade in dollar currency boosts the US banks while depreciating local currencies). Japan may have been an economic wreck post-WWII, however it's aid and investments were _not_ designed to impoverish and destroy it, but rather to develop it into a useful far-East Western ally.

[@Tachyon836]

It's as though you didn't watch the video.

[@librokubic6556]

Amazing video, thank you for the explanation

[@vince1376]

So what you're telling me is that geography is racist

[@DanKaschel]

No, just you and like 15-17 other people in the comment section.

[@thedudefromrobloxx]

​@@DanKaschelthe amount of racism is insane

[@baba678]

So many excuses, so little self-responsibility

[@thedudefromrobloxx]

@@baba678 an ubelievable amount of racists

[@owenpancoast1163]

You should do a follow up video talking about how nonsensical the borders of most African countries are

[@caeruleusvm7621]

And follow that up with a video about how African countries, the OAU and AU have done nothing to change that, although it's totally in their power to do so.

[@falloutfan2502]

@@caeruleusvm7621 Thank you! Moreover, maybe cover how much of a mess it was before, illuminating why they made it like it is.

[@Zhiivago]

They are everything but non sensical. Very thought out to provide every colony with usefull geographical features like rivers, water sources, access to the sea etc.. It would be nonsenical to draw 10 000 countries for them. And that sure wouldnt prevent them from killing each other either.

[@DaxMaboyder]

Attention, Narrator: If you discard theories just because you don't like them, you'll never reach the answer

[@BrendanRiley]

If you overlap a map with % of Black population with the GDP per capita, you would see that there is a problem with black people worldwide, not just a problem with Africa.

[@Bliss467]

Africa is the birthplace of humanity and home to the oldest and most diverse cultures on the planet, sporting the most advanced languages (by how many letters of IPA they utilize) - largely due to the fragmentation of these cultures by means you allude to. I think this diversity is to be celebrated and it’s the responsibility of humanity at large to help alleviate the geographical difficulties of the continent so we as a whole can benefit from all these peoples can offer us. We have the power to solve these problems: * eliminate the tsitsi fly * build extensive train networks to transport goods * funnel wealth back into the continent we funneled it out from

[@ScottaHemi440]

that's really interesting to find out. never noticed the almost complete lack of bays and stuff before now.

[@sammorgan31]

I mean this is nice and all. Except for the wildly successful European colonies that collapsed as soon as they left.

[@tylerdurden3722]

Which ones were wildly successful? (In the tropics.) A number of countries outside the tropics are relatively successful (compared to the others).

[@JacobWillits]

I dont remember any

[@hakuni123]

"Kinshasa eventually evolved into literally the largest city on the entire African continent today" *people in Cairo coughing really loudly*

[@F_C...]

He means Sub-Saharan Africa. This whole video is trying to explain why Sub-Saharan Africans are impoverished. In America we use Africa to apply to Sub-Saharan Africans only because historical African-Americans in the US are western Sub-Saharan African.

[@thedudefromrobloxx]

Cairo is smaller by 7 million people. Dont know what you're coughing about

[@kabzaify]

Kinshasa is a big slum not a city

[@meltedicecreamsandwich]

no Kinshasa is bigger than Cairo by city limits

[@ryansharp4691]

What an absolutely brilliantly put together video. Seriously, bravo, my friend. Brilliant.

[@hillaryjarega9290]

The research that went into this video is so lax. Claims are just being made without proper reasoning. It is as if the creator began with an end goal in mind to prove that Africa's geography is why it is poor. He throws out of the window all plausible causes and just decides that he ought to prove his point. As an African I am provoked. As a real life lore fan, I am left to think of the creative process. By the way this not say some of the points raised aren't valid but we are putting the cart before the horse

[@kabzaify]

Dude geography played biggest part in Africa being so late to develop. Think in most parts of people only were introduced to paper and the alphabet during the colonial period. We did not have a wheal until Europeans arrived in the Cape of Goodhope in 1400s.

[@hillaryjarega9290]

@kabzaify of course it did however my point is the creator ought to make an all inclusive argument. Dude do you know where Australia is. Is it developed or not. Let's not think that Africa is Tristan da Cunha. Africa is connected by land to Eurasia. All in all, geography cannot and should not be discussed in isolation. Let's speak about all aspects the political the social etc. plus what pen and paper, the Ethiopians Orthodox bible is among the oldest, writing was partially invented in Egypt.

[@hermangoosen7756]

Geography is not the problem. Mentality and culture is. I live in Africa and experience the horrific bad management of their leadership

[@kabzaify]

You cannot deny geography, unless you just ignorant. The wheal did not arrive in Southern Africa until the 1400 with the arrival of Europeans. Even the introduction of the alphabet and writing only stated in the 1800s. So we playing catch up, and corruption exists everywhere including in Europe. Italy is more corrupt than Botswana according to Transparency International

[@originellername5026]

But geography shapes the culture of a people…

[@pyeac]

Science is when you say something doesn't need analysis.

[@toughbrain42]

Excellent video, thanks for educating me

[@HGLehnsdal]

If you have the correct mindset, culture and socioeconomic views, you can be rich even in Siberia. We can not think economically as Ricardo or even Adam Smith. If geography determines if you are rich or not, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Singapur would be nothing. For those that think that can only be possible in small countries, look at how Australia and Canada thrived with a country that is 90% unhabitable. If you want more examples, look at South Korean growth since the war, with low resources and with the constant thread of war. Look at how Netherlands became rich living in a swamp where the sea wants to eat them. It is not about geography, it is about culture.

[@tulthor2967]

About race!

[@jthomashair]

@@tulthor2967Why do you think "race" (which is not even a definable concept, scientifically) is more salient in this conversation than cumulative effect of culture developed over millennia? Culture is often associated with our concepts of race, but they are not the same.

[@tulthor2967]

@@jthomashair oh God, it's only cultural differences between bisons and buffalos, separeted for 20.000- 30.000 years or less. Or grizly and Brown bears, not even mentioning polar.

[@jthomashair]

@ Those are all different species. There is only one human species.

[@majungasaurusaaaa]

Singapore is all about geography. That's where the traffic goes.

[@TiredHuman12]

Can you please make a video about Jamaica? I have been watching you for years and I am from Jamaica. Please, make a video about our beautiful nation.

[@toebeans3985]

Africa, only smaller. Done. You’re welcome. 😂

[@jorionedwards]

​@@toebeans3985 Good guess, but actually no.

[@IK_MK]

​@@toebeans3985You're either trolling or really clueless Jamaica has its own unique and beautiful identity very different from ours, loved heavy still ❤️🇯🇲

[@tauceti8060]

Think he hates caribbean people,not one video about the caribbean outside of Guyana

[@jorionedwards]

@tauceti8060 I doubt it. Hatred is not the same as lack of interest. After a quick look at his catalog said interest seems to be primarily Northern Africa, Europe, and the US with other regions being poked every once in a while. Try shooting some more specific ideas for videos.

[@luigilain5692]

The problem with pointing at geography as the cause of everything is that with a bit of creativity you can justify anything. If america was poor, you could blame geography claiming that the abundance of resources caused the rise of a criminal oligarchy, while the wide oceans added costs to trading, and the abundance of farmland made it so that they never needed to improve their techniques. Those videos are interesting, but as far as proving that geography is really the root cause of development, their case is a lot less compelling

[@dion789]

He's not pointing at geography as the cause of everything at all. Did you even watch the video? Sounds like you read the title and commented without using any brainpower. He acknowledges other factors like diversity of cultures and languages, political corruption and colonialism among others, but that's simply not what the video focuses on. He decides to zoom in on one of those factors; geography. At no point does he say it's all about geography, that's just the thing that he focuses on. The video would be 10 hours long if it tried to focus on all of the different factors at the same time.

[@luigilain5692]

@@dion789 i've seen a lot of his other videos, so i know what he talks about, and i remain convinced he gives geography too much credit. that said, i did not watch this video yet. it's in my to wathc list, but i'm currently busy. i wanted to leave a comment while the video was still fresh, though.

[@michaelbaker2686]

Wow this really explains a lot. Thanks for the excellent breakdown. Was worth every minute watching.

[@KNGDDDE]

This is propaganda, and ur a bot account.

[@MaskOfCinder]

So Africa is like a collection of Civ 6 nations that have a bunch or resources nearby but developed their military only and not the tech and city development to make use of them.

[@falloutfan2502]

Well, as he noted, it's more like a game where you found one city, are surrounded by mountains, and so cannot found a second one. Then your science it underdeveloped, and the resources aren't even available to you because you don't know they're there or can't get to them. Not being facetious, it's actually an interesting way to see it.

[@TheRedPharmacist]

And as most civ players know: A good early game is key. The benefits of endgame resources next to your starting city are minimal.

[@loc1181]

If this is true..... why are other countries rich from the minerals from Africa.... im ungollowing you now

[@janhorn3711]

All continents had different historical challenges that they faced. Some adapted to overcome these challenges, one could even say the challenges were the catalyst to progressive evolution forced by virtue of necessity. I don't doubt the challenges Africa faced contributed but there are civilisations that were turned to rubble in wars, started from scratch and in a couple of decades far exceed any African country interms of development and economics. Regardless of what historically held Sub Sahara Africa back, the reason Africa is still in this position is greed, corruption and short sighed, devious leadership with the IQ of a lemon

[@crepesoftime]

Precisely. Germany and Japan were devastated after WWII and within 20 years they became economic powerhouses. It's the people that make or break a nation, nothing to do with the climate or geography, etc. Those are just excuses.

[@kabzaify]

The Europeans and Asian landmas developed quickly because, Ideas could be exchanged via the natural transport networks like rivers.

[@elementalgolem5498]

As someone whos actively working towards making a global logistics company that operates in africa aswell with the ultimate goal of building up the economy in as many African nations as possible to help combat the wealth inequality of the world this is a really interesting video

[@stephenanthony5923]

Wow, sir! You've thoroughly educated me on Africa's challenges with this great presentation. Thank you!

[@cozyapustaja8249]

idk the europeans managed to get a shitload of value out of the land

[@nelson_rebel3907]

Mostly for just minerals. They never wanted to move there to live. Bit different

[@opie_]

geography be racist

[@cozyapustaja8249]

@@nelson_rebel3907 but still that negates the idea that it's geography holding Africa back

[@JAtwater]

​@@opie_ lol nice

[@JAtwater]

​@@nelson_rebel3907 you mean like south Africa and Rhodesia?

[@crimsondualsport2266]

Pretty sure that's not the reason.

[@reece5863]

We gonna keep dancing around this for the next decade or two it seems

[@lilspacecoupe1585]

@@reece5863what do you think the problem is

[@25myma]

Problem with us humans is we LOVE pointing our fingers at ONE THING and say "That's the problem, there"...when in reality, most issues are multiple-variable equations with 100s (or millions) of variables; Yes, geography...but also soft factors like sociatal development, the winds of religions, your neighbors developing a tad faster 2000years ago giving them the edge over you...and so on. Just think that if we were in Egypt, a mere 2500 years ago, we'd say Africa is the most blessed place on Earth.

[@telo712]

Keep the YT people out of African politics and watch it prosper