Why is the African continent poor?

[dawg]

41. The North-South orientation of the continent, coupled with a desert in the North ...

and a thick rain forest at the equator, conspired to block the spread of agricultural and technological advances.

The Americas had the same problem, and they fared far worse. Not only were they technologically behind the Africans (who had iron weapons and more widespread agriculture), they were effectively wiped out by the Europeans. Africans were not wiped out by the Europeans. They were colonized, and are still in the process of regaining their independence. It is a rocky road, but it beats the alternative.

Around 12,000 BC, there was probably no area of the world any more backwards than Europe. But the East-West axis of the Eurasian continent allowed agriculture, specific crops, livestock, and other technologies to easily spread back and forth. As a result, Europeans now dominate every continent except Africa and the Eastern portion of Eurasia.