African History非洲历史

王勣/译

Africa is home to the first humans and this gives a new meaning to its nickname the motherland. The continent has the longest history. A huge part of Africas earliest history has been lost， which is typical for early humans due to the relatively short time for which writing has existed.

非洲是首批人类的家园，这赋予它的别称——“母亲之地”新的内涵。这块大陆拥有最悠久的历史。非洲早期历史的很大部分已经无考，对于早期人类而言这是常有的情况，因为文字记录出现时间相对较短。

Africans are the most diverse people in the world. Perhaps this has a connection with the fact that they are the earliest humans （founder effect1）， and it has been proven that humans adapt to the different environments they find themselves in over time as they migrate. This accounts for the many different skin tones of Africans， and the thousands of different cultures and languages spread all across the continent.

非洲人包含世界上最多样化的民族。这或许与非洲出现最早的人类这个事实有关（始祖效应）。有证据表明，人类在迁徙过程中，随着时间的推移，适应了身处的不同环境。这就解释了为什么非洲人肤色深浅不一，以及为什么会有成千上万种不同的文化和语言遍布整个非洲大陆。

Before the arrival of the Europeans， Africans had already travelled to other parts of the world in various “human migration” waves， as archaic humans spreading Acheulean technology2， as behaviorally modern humans （BMH） in the stone age spreading tool use， and around 1000 BCE to 1500 AD not as slaves as many wrongly believe but as respected members of society. Discov-eries such as Memnon3 in the Trojan war， the Ivory Bangle Lady4， the Beachy Head Lady5， and many other findings prove this fact while giving us an insight into the way of life of much earlier societies.

在欧洲人到来之前，非洲人已经在各种“人类迁徙”浪潮中前往世界其他地方，他们或是传播阿舍利技术的远古人，或是石器时代传播工具使用的、行为上的现代人，或是公元前1000年到公元1500年左右受人尊重的社会成员——而非为许多人所误以为的奴隶。特洛伊战争中的门农、象牙手镯女尸、比奇角女尸等发现，还有其他不少考古发现证实了这一点，也让我们了解到各种更早期社会形态下的生活方式。

Ancient Africans were pioneers of early civilisation. There is evidence that early African societies excelled in fields such as engineering， mathematics， writing even navigation.

古非洲人是早期文明的先驅者。据考证，早期非洲社会在工程、数学、写作，甚至航海等领域成就卓越。

Some notable great African civilisations such as the Great Benin Empire， Ancient Egypt， Empire of Mali， Empire of Songhai， the Nri Kingdom， the Garamantes， Kanem-Bornu Empire， Kingdom of Luba， Kingdom of Makuria， the Land of Punt and so many other great African civilisations had a highly organised society that was developed， excelled in commerce and flourished in culture.

一些赫赫有名的伟大非洲文明，例如贝宁大帝国、古埃及、马里帝国、桑海帝国、恩里王国、加拉曼特人、卡嫩-博尔努帝国、卢巴王国、马库里亚王国、蓬特国，还有许多其他伟大的非洲文明，都拥有高度组织的发达社会，商业繁荣，文化兴盛。

Precolonial African civilisations had highly evolved political and leadership systems that supported their various complex and developed societies， such as the Ibinda system of the Kalenji people of Kenya， the confederacy system of the Kwararafa people， the bureaucratic federal republic system of the Ashanti Empire， the hegemony system of the Songhai Empire， the Gada system of the Oromo， the hereditary theocracy of the Fatimid Caliphate， Monarchical system of the Mossi kingdoms， the theocratic system of the Nri kingdom. The monarchical system， however， seems to be the more prominent leadership style for most African societies.

殖民前的非洲文明演绎出高度发达的政治和领导体系，这些体系支撑着各种复杂而发达的社会运转。例如，肯尼亚卡伦金人的伊宾达制度、夸拉拉法人的联邦制度、阿散蒂帝国的官僚联邦共和制度、桑海帝国的霸权制度、奥罗莫人的加达制度、法蒂玛哈里发国的世袭神权制度、莫西王国的君主制度和恩里王国的神权制度。然而，君主制度似乎是大多数非洲社会形态中更为突出的领导方式。

These ancient African civilisations invented and originated their ways of doing things， many of which parallel independent developments around the world. Sadly， Africa is denied credit for most of her contributions. There is clear evidence of sophisticated African cultures from as far back as many thousands of years ago. For instance， there are about 15 ancient African writing styles that predate even Latin. As far back as 82，000 years ago， Africans had already invented abstract arts and painting. Algorithms which have become an inevitable part of computing today had its roots in Africa. Africans domesticated over 2，000 different types of food， some of which today is consumed globally. Africans built the earliest seafaring vessels and so many other achievements. There were powerful kingdoms and many centres of learning in Africa， such as the University of Sankore.

這些古老的非洲文明发明创造了他们的做事方式，其中许多方式是与世界各地的独立发展并行的。遗憾的是，非洲的多数贡献未能得到应有的承认。有清晰的证据表明，早在几千年前，就存在着发达的非洲文化。例如，有大约15种古老的非洲书写方式，甚至早于拉丁文的出现。早在82，000年前，非洲人就已经创造了抽象的艺术和绘画。如今已经成为计算领域不可或缺的算法，起源于非洲。非洲人驯化了2000多种不同类型的食物，其中一些至今仍在全球范围内被食用。非洲人建造了最早的航海船只，实现许多其他成就。非洲拥有强大的王国和众多学术中心，例如桑科雷大学。

The only part of African history known to most people has to do with the arrival of the Europeans in Africa. To many， it is almost as if Africa had no history up until that time. The European age of discovery in the 15th century heralded their exploration of Africa. This marked a turning point in African history. The transatlantic slave trade is notoriously the highlight of this encounter.

对大多数人来说，他们所了解的非洲历史，仅仅涉及欧洲人抵达非洲的部分。在许多人看来，非洲在那之前好像几乎没有历史。15世纪欧洲大发现时代宣告了欧洲人对非洲的探索。这是非洲历史的一个转折点。跨大西洋的奴隶贸易成为非洲人与欧洲人相遇中臭名昭著的高点。

Before the slave trade became full-blown， Europeans traded goods with Africans， commodities like textiles， gold， farm produce， ivory， salt， palm oil， were exchanged.

在奴隶贸易兴盛之前，欧洲人与非洲人进行商品交易，交换纺织品、黄金、农产品、象牙、盐、棕榈油等商品。

The Portuguese were the first to officially ship African slaves overseas when they exported about 235 Africans from present-day Senegal around 1444. The Portuguese were also the first to venture deep into sub-Saharan Africa and later joined by Britain， France， and of lesser influence other European countries like Spain， Germany， Netherlands， Belgium and Italy.

葡萄牙人是第一个正式将非洲奴隶运往海外的国家，他们大约在1444年，从现今非洲的塞内加尔运出了大约235名非洲人。葡萄牙人还最早深入非洲撒哈拉以南地区探险，后来英国、法国以及影响力较小的其他欧洲国家（例如西班牙、德国、荷兰、比利时和意大利）也参与其中。

The abundance of the rich natural resources of Africa soon led to avarice6 on the part of the Europeans， and this resulted in a mad scramble for7 Africas resources， including her people. The late 15th century all through to the 19th century saw the exploitation of Africa by European powers. During this period， between 11 and 15 million Africans were shipped overseas and sold into slavery.

非洲富饶的自然资源很快引起欧洲人的觊觎，他们疯狂地掠夺非洲的资源，包括非洲的人口。15世纪末直到19世纪见证了欧洲列强对非洲的掠夺。这一时期，有1100万至1500万非洲人被运往海外贩卖为奴。

Africans and their way of life suffered significant damage. The Europeans imposed their lifestyle and religious beliefs on the African people， traditional African institutions were dismantled or severely weakened， and European proxies8 set up in its place.

非洲人及其生活方式遭受严重破坏。欧洲人把他们的生活方式和宗教信仰强加给非洲人民。非洲传统制度或分崩离析，或被极大削弱，取而代之的是代表欧洲的各种制度。

Between 1500 and 1900 an estimated 5.6 million people， mostly Africans， died in wars relating purely to conflicts between European states and African states. The violent attempts to either feed the lucrative triangular Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Sahara slave trades with captives or to seize Africas trade markets for Europe led to instability for refugees and displaced persons.

从1500年到1900年之间，估计有560万人在战争中丧生，其中大部分是非洲人，这些战争纯粹是欧非国家之间的冲突导致的。这些暴力行为，要么是为了维持利润丰厚的跨大西洋和跨撒哈拉的三角奴隶贸易而捕捉人口，要么是为欧洲抢夺非洲的贸易市场，结果造成难民漂泊不定和人民流离失所。

The Berlin conference of 1884/85 strongly reaffirmed European colonisation of Africa and gave it some form of legal backing. This encouraged the European powers to strengthen their already established ties and effectively kill off any remaining existing form of African autonomy and self-governance. It wasnt until the mid-20th century that Africa began to regain back her autonomy.

1884—1885年的柏林会议强力重申了欧洲对非洲的殖民，并为其提供了某种形式的法律背书。这鼓动欧洲列强加强他们在非洲已经建立的联系，并且实际上抹殺掉非洲任何残存的自治、自管方式。直到20世纪中叶，非洲才开始重新获得自治权。

The effect of centuries of European dominance over Africa has resulted in the birth of new cultures which is a mix of both European and African culture. There have been pockets of wars9 all over the continent since the Europeans left; this is as a result of the actions they took during colonisation. For instance， existing land boundaries were scrapped and new ones created， people of different ethnicity and culture were forcefully merged to become one people， strange and foreign cultures were introduced， century-old traditional institutions that kept the people in check10 was scrapped for new foreign ones， etc. All these and many similar such effects led to disagreements and ultimately wars after the Europeans relinquished power. Over the years these wars have metamorph-osed into a much more complex and complicated problem.

欧洲统治非洲长达几个世纪，其影响是产生了混合欧洲与非洲风格的新文化。自从欧洲人撤离以后，整个非洲大陆上的局部冲突就绵延不断，这是欧洲人殖民统治期间的所作所为带来的恶果。例如，废除现有的土地边界，划分新的边界；强行将不同种族、文化的民族合为一个；引入陌生的域外文化；废除沿用数百年的维持非洲人民秩序的传统制度，取而代之的是新的外来制度；等等。所有这些以及许多类似的做法，在欧洲人放弃统治权力后，使得非洲内部产生分歧，最终引发了战争。多年来，这些战争已经演变成更加复杂棘手的问题。

Not many people know that colonial governments were heavily funded by taxation of African locals. 35% to 45% of government revenue was used to pay for military units by the UK， and the French to suppress independence and democratic movements. The excess focus of spending government revenue on the military during the colonial occupation became a problem for many African countries after independence.

知道殖民政府的大量资金来自对非洲当地人的征税的人不多。政府收入的35%到45%用于供养英法军队以镇压独立和民主运动。在殖民占领期间，政府过度的军费开支成为许多非洲国家独立后面临的难题。

Today most of the conflicts have ceased， some African nations are beginning to put their houses in order， and the continent is gradually taking its place in the committee of nations. However， Africa is yet to shake off11 the effect of colonialism fully.

如今大多数冲突偃旗息鼓了，一些非洲国家开始重建家园，非洲大陆逐渐在国际社会中占据一席之地。然而，非洲尚需完全摆脱殖民主义的影响。

（译者单位：西湖大学）

1始祖效应，是指在生物演化的过程中，由少数个体建立的族群后来虽然壮大，但其个体之间的基因差异甚小。  2 阿舍利技术，起源于东非，在法国圣阿舍利遗址发现了原始人使用的手斧，这一技术因此得名。

3希腊神话中的埃塞俄比亚国王，曾参与特洛伊战争。  4英国约克郡出土的女尸，她的陪葬品有象牙手镯等贵重物品，头骨特征表明她具有北非血统。  5英国东苏塞克斯郡比奇角出土的女尸，据称，她的头骨形状显示她擁有撒哈拉以南非洲血统。

6 avarice（对钱财等的）贪得无厌。  7 scramble for多方争夺。

8 proxy代理（人）。  9 pockets of wars局部战争，零星战争。

10 keep... in check控制，抑制。  11 shake off 摆脱（束缚、不良影响等）。