How did Africa get its name?
Afri was the name of several peoples who dwelt in North Africa near the provincial capital, Carthage. The Roman suffix “-ca” denotes “country or land”. Other etymologies that have been postulated for the ancient name ‘Africa’ with less support include: * the Latin word aprica, meaning “sunny”; * the Greek word aphrike, meaning “without cold.” This was proposed by historian Leo Africanus (1488-1554), who suggested the Greek word phrike (φρίκη, meaning “cold and horror”), combined with the negating prefix “a-“, thus indicating a land free of cold and horror. However, as the change of sound from ph to f in Greek is datable to about the 10th century, it is unlikely this is the origin.
Africa is the second largest of the continents and is the home of many different types of people. It has been a continent of extreme contrasts since before the dawn of history. Egypt thrived by the Nile and Mediterranean traders established cities along its northern shores in ancient times. The city of Carthage began as a Roman outpost and for some reason the Romans gave the name Africa to the countryside around it. Through the years the Romans probed deeper into the continent and established more towns and outposts along its shores. They realized that all this newly found territory was part of one big land mass and they extended the name Africa to cover it all.
Scholars believe that the seafaring Phoenicians, who lived in an area of present-day Lebanon about 3,000 years ago, called one of their trading partners either Afri or Afridi. They lived along the Mediterranean coast of what is now Tunisia, in North Africa. In 814 B.C., the Phoenicians set up a colony there called Carthage, which is Phoenician for “New City.” Years later, when the Romans conquered the area, they referred to it as “Africa.” In fact, they made it a province of Rome. Over time, the name Africa was used for the entire continent. [MAP OMITTED] If we publish your question, you will win a Mapman T-shirt!
