7. A European missionary's map of Africa, circa 1908

Click to enlarge (David Rumsey's historic map collection)

按图标从上到下顺序，依次为：英国，法国，意大利，德国，西班牙，葡萄牙，自由区，比利时，独立。

I have this one hanging over my desk in part because of its appeal as a historic document (the borders are tellingly rough) but also as a reminder of the colonial legacy in Africa, which European powers divided up a century ago with little respect for how actual Africans wanted to be grouped. Those arbitrary borders are still with us today, in part because African leaders agreed not to dispute them when they won independence. The borderscontribute significantly to conflict and unrest on the continentbecause there are so many diverse communities forced together.

我在桌子上方挂了这样一张地图，某种程度上是因为它看上去像一个历史文件（边界很明显地很粗略），但也提醒了我们在非洲殖民遗产。欧洲各强权在一个世纪前分割了非洲，对非洲人希望如何分组几乎没有任何尊重。那些武断的边界今天仍在，某种程度上是因为在它们赢得独立的时候，非洲领导人同意不对此争论。这些边界极大程度上导致了这个大陆上的冲突及动荡，因为很多不同的群体被迫共处。