North Africa is a region generally considered to include:
The Canary Islands, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Madeira are sometimes considered to be a part of North Africa.
The term "North Africa" is also often used to refer to the Maghreb alone (thus
excluding the Nile Valley).
Some North African countries, particularly Egypt and Libya, often get included in
common definitions of the Middle East due to continuous contacts with the
Middle East. In addition, the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt is often
considered part of the Middle East.
People
North Africa is vastly more uniform ethnically than anywhere in Africa south of the Sahara. It is principally inhabited
by Berbers and Arabs, who are scarcely
distinguishable physically. The Berbers are the indigenous people in the Maghreb, but
their origins are not entirely clear. The majority of people in North-Africa are of Berber decent.
Culture
Though North African culture as well as its people have both African and Middle Eastern roots, most North Africans are either
Arabic or Berber-speaking Muslims (or, in the Copts' case, Christians).
History
Originally, much of North Africa was inhabited by black Africans, including Upper Egypt, as demonstrated by Saharan rock art throughout the region;
however, this does not appear to have been the case in the Maghreb and Lower
Egypt, which were inhabited by white Africans speaking Afro-Asiatic languages. Following the desiccation of the Sahara, most black Africans migrated South
into East and West
Africa.
After the Middle Ages, the area was loosely under the control of the
Ottoman Empire, except Morocco. After the 19th century, it was colonized by France, the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy. During the 1950's and
60's, and into the 1970's, all of the North African states gained independence, except for a few small Spanish colonies on the
far northern tip of Morocco, and the Western Sahara, which went from
Spanish to Moroccan rule.
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