The federal government won helped by the British arms. But the resulting scandal clearly showed the limits of openly using arms sales as a tool of foreign policy. As coups and civil wars spread throughout the Third World, Stirling was determined to find a subtler way to maintain Britain’s influence in the world. He set up a secret organisation called WatchGuard: its job was to provide Africa and Middle-Eastern leaders with a private army of British mercenaries. They would prevent the rulers that Stirling approved of from being overthrown. WatchGuard was a great success. Stirling organised protection for leaders in Africa and the Middle East. Adam Curtis, The Mayfair Set I: Who Pays Wins ***** BBC 1999
Tiny Rowland was doing the same in Africa: he was taking over the old British-owned companies that had once dominated the empire. Rowland used ruthless methods to build a vast industrial empire; this included bribing the new rulers of independent Africa. They were methods that shocked the merchant banks in London. Adam Curtis, The Mayfair Set IV: Twilight of the Dogs
Africa’s European dream: for people-smugglers it’s a billion pound business. Now, Europe’s under pressure to crack down but at what cost? And will the migrant crisis ever end? Panorama: Africa’s Billion Pound Migrant Trail, BBC 2017
The EU is spending tens of millions supporting the Libyan coastguard to stop more boats, board them and take them back to Libya. ibid.
Migrants pay about $1,500 for a place amongst its boats. ibid.
One river stretches further than any other on the planet – the Nile, travelling all the way from the equator across north Africa to the Mediterranean … A river that gave rise to great civilisations. Earth’s Great Rivers II: Nile, BBC 2018
A world of equatorial lakes in the heart of Africa. The greatest of all is called Victoria, a lake almost the size of Ireland, so vast that water is trapped here for an average of 23 years before continuing its journey. ibid.
One of the most powerful waterfalls in the world. ibid.
The Nile enters the land of the giants. ibid.
In South Sudan the land flattens and the River transforms into a swamp the size of England. ibid.
No other animal seems to celebrate the Nile’s waters as much as the elephant. ibid.
As the Blue Nile leaves its sacred beginnings, it transports its rich waters across Ethiopia. Its banks are some of the most fertile land in Africa. ibid.
They [Egyptians] called the Nile the Mother of all Men. ibid.
The most exciting continent on the planet: Africa. With more than fifty countries and hundreds of cultures. It’s the the fastest-growing, most dynamic and most epic place on Earth. Africa with Ade Adepitan I, BBC 2019
I’ll be in west Africa travelling from the islands of Cape Verde to Senegal and Ivory Coast before I end up in Nigeria. Life here can be extreme and everyone has their way of getting by. But cultures are beginning to clash. This is a region on the brink of massive change. They just don’t give up: they are my heroes. ibid.
Cape Verde is one of the small countries in Africa, ten tiny islands in the Atlantic ocean 350 miles off the African mainland. When the Portuguese got here in the 1400s this place was uninhabited … Like a meeting of two worlds. ibid.
Monte Trigo is the most westerly settlement in the whole African continent. It’s remote, isolated and poor. ibid.
Nigeria has the biggest economy in Africa with massive oil reserves. People here should be rich but they’re not … There’s terrible corruption, bad management widespread crime. ibid.
Nigeria’s massive Christian churches have stepped in to provide order and safety in people’s lives where the government has failed. ibid.
I’m in Central Africa: I’ll be travelling from the coast of Gabon through the giant Democratic Republic of Congo and on to Uganda. It’s a region of chaos and colour where Africans are fighting to protect their environment, and people are struggling to overcome corruption and conflict and decades of dictatorship. Africa with Ade Adepitan II
Palm oil is big business. Thousands of people work on Gabon’s oil palm plantations. ibid.
He may be green but Ali Bongo is a controversial character. His father, Omar Bongo, was a dictator here for over forty years after the country became independent from France. The family has been accused of massive corruption and stealing Gabon’s vast oil wealth. ibid.
One of the worst employment rates on the whole continent. ibid.
For such a poor country there’s a surprising number of people who call themselves sapeurs: dressing up in outrageous catwalk clothes. ibid.
I’m in the east of the continent in Tanzania, Ethiopia and Somalia. I’ll meet the people making a living in the hottest place on Earth. Africa with Ade Adepitan III
Tanzania: one of Africa’s great wildernesses … Home to some of Africa’s most breathtaking wildlife. ibid.
Ethiopia: It’s just so hot; it’s unrelenting. ibid.
Ethiopia is currently working to double its road network. ibid.
Until recently Somalia was ruled by an Islamic terror group called al-Shabaab. But since 2007 an African military force called Amison [African Union Mission to Somalia] has been fighting to get the country back under control. ibid.
I’ll be in Southern Africa: I’ll be travelling from the beaches of Mozambique to South African before I finish my journey in Zimbabwe. It’s a region that’s still deeply divided. Africa with Ade Adepitan IV
Mozambique’s awesome Indian Ocean coast: 1,500 miles of unspoiled golden beaches … One of the best places to see … a dugong … extremely rare. ibid.
Victoria Falls: a white man arrived accompanied by over 200 Africans: his name was David Livingstone. Neil Oliver, The Last Explorers s1e1: David Livingstone, BBC 2019
He was here to save souls. David Livingstone was one of a small group of explorers who took the stage as the great age of exploration was drawing to a close. ibid.
Livingstone was thee first European to cross the entire African continent from west to east. ibid.
The team that Livingstone had gathered together was mission impossible. ibid.
Livingstone saw Arab slave ship plying back and forth forcing African people for hundreds of miles around to flee the slavers. ibid.
Africa stubbornly refused to be tamed … A man in the grip of an obsession. ibid.
The glory days of ancient Egypt lasted for over 3,000 years. During that time a love of gold consumed its Pharaohs. While its military might dominated neighbouring kingdoms, but a proud people from the south rose up to conquer their overlords and became the black pharaohs of Egypt. Little is known of their 75 year reign. But now fresh clues are being explored about the Nubians who used gold, gods and grit to conquer all of Egypt. Black Pharaohs: Empire of Gold, National Geographic 2019
Africa: one of the fastest growing regions in the world. The youngest continent where six in ten people are under twenty-five. With hundreds of different ethnicities and some 2,000 languages, Africa is the most culturally diverse place on Earth. African Renaissance: When Art Meets Power I: Ethiopia, BBC 2020
An empire with a distinctive story of faith, devotion, and resistance of European colonisers. A midwife of African liberation. Ethiopia: a country which has a proud 3,000 year history. ibid.
Axum: 120 obelisks … an elaborate feat of engineering. ibid.
Haile Selassie: arguably the most complex and the most flawed figure in modern African History … His reign would span the most dramatic decades of the twentieth century: two world wars, invasion, revolution, all of which embroiled his fiercely independent nation … Was he almost doomed to fail? ibid.
In 1935 Italy invaded: as a spoil of victory, the Italians seized one of the famous Axiom obelisks. ibid.
Here [UK] he built a remarkable relationship with the British left which rallied against the brutal fascist occupation of his country. ibid.
Ethiopia’s famine of 1983-1985 is estimated to have killed over one million people. ibid.
In the 1990s Ethiopia held multi-party elections again. The economy modernised, food security improved and Ethiopia started to regain its place in the world. ibid.
A thriving fashion and contemporary arts scene. ibid.
Senegal: It has a cultural influence far beyond its size with a dynamic film, fashion and hip-hop scene. Here the struggles for liberation from the slave trade and from French rule in the 20th century created heroes and leaders who redefined what Africa is. African Renaissance: When Art Meets Power II: Senegal
[Sufi] brotherhoods sprang up across the country radicalising followers against French rule. ibid.
The very walls of Dakar are evidence of people challenging prevailing ideas and expressing their cultural feeling. ibid.
Kenya: a country created barely a century ago where the Britain spun a stereotype while carving out a brutal empire. When independence created new heroes and icons. And an exciting collision of cultures. African Renaissance: When Art Meets Power III: Kenya
An almost symbiotic relationship with their cattle and their land. ibid.