Top 100 Universities in Africa

Top 100 Universities and Colleges in Africa

1  University of Cape Town	South Africa
2  University of Pretoria	South Africa
3  Universiteit Stellenbosch	South Africa
4  Cairo University	Egypt
5  The American University in Cairo	Egypt
6  University of the Witwatersrand	South Africa
7  University of South Africa	South Africa
8  Mansoura University	Egypt
9  Alexandria University	Egypt
10  Rhodes University	South Africa
11  University of the Western Cape	South Africa
12  University of Dar es Salaam	Tanzania
13  Assiut University	Egypt
14  Ain Shams University	Egypt
15  University of KwaZulu-Natal	South Africa
16  Université Mohammed V - Agdal	Morocco
17  University of Nairobi	Kenya
18  Université de Ouagadougou	Burkina Faso
19  University of Johannesburg	South Africa
20  University of Ilorin	Nigeria
21  University of Lagos	Nigeria
22  Makerere University	Uganda
23  University of Botswana	Botswana
24  University of Ghana	Ghana
25  Benha University	Egypt
26  Obafemi Awolowo University	Nigeria
27  Universidade Eduardo Mondlane	Mozambique
28  Zagazig University	Egypt
29  University of Khartoum	Sudan
30  Sudan University of Science and Technology	Sudan
31  Université de la Reunion	Reunion
32  Addis Ababa University	Ethiopia
33  Université Abou Bekr Belkaid Tlemcen	Algeria
34  University of Namibia	Namibia
35  The German University in Cairo	Egypt
36  Université Cheikh Anta Diop	Senegal
37  Helwan University	Egypt
38  University of Ibadan	Nigeria
39  North-West University	South Africa
40  Al Akhawayn University	Morocco
41  Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University	South Africa
42  Université Mentouri de Constantine	Algeria
43  Université Mohammed V - Souissi	Morocco
44  University of Zimbabwe	Zimbabwe
45  Université Mouloud Maameri de Tizi Ouzou	Algeria
46  Université de Batna	Algeria
47  South Valley University	Egypt
48  Cape Peninsula University of Technology	South Africa
49  Université Cadi Ayyad	Morocco
50  Université Abdelmalek Essadi	Morocco
51  Moi University	Kenya
52  Minia University	Egypt
53  Université Djillali Liabes	Algeria
54  Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology	Ghana
55  Minoufiya University	Egypt
56  Tanta University	Egypt
57  University of Zambia	Zambia
58  Université d'Oran	Algeria
59  Landmark University	Nigeria
60  Université Abdelhamid Ibn Badis Mostaganem	Algeria
61  Université d'Alger	Algeria
62  Al-Azhar University	Egypt
63  Covenant University	Nigeria
64  Suez Canal University	Egypt
65  Université Hassan II - Casablanca	Morocco
66  Université des Sciences et de la Technologie Houari Boumediène	Algeria
67  University of Swaziland	Swaziland
68  Université Hassan II Mohammedia - Casablanca	Morocco
69  University of Malawi	Malawi
70  Université d'Antananarivo	Madagascar
71  Federal University of Technology, Minna	Nigeria
72  Université M'hamed Bouguerra de Boumerdes	Algeria
73  Universiteit van die Vrystaat	South Africa
74  Université Ibn Tofail	Morocco
75  Kafr el-Sheikh University	Egypt
76  Libyan International Medical University	Libya
77  Kenyatta University	Kenya
78  Université Kasdi Merbah de Ouargla	Algeria
79  Universidade de Cabo Verde	Cape Verde
80  Strathmore University	Kenya
81  Mbarara University of Science & Technology	Uganda
82  University of Benin	Nigeria
83  University of Fort Hare	South Africa
84  Durban University of Technology	South Africa
85  Polytechnic of Namibia	Namibia
86  Egerton University	Kenya
87  University of Agriculture, Abeokuta	Nigeria
88  University of Mauritius	Mauritius
89  University of Nigeria	Nigeria
90  Université de Tunis El Manar	Tunisia
91  Université de Sousse	Tunisia
92  United States International University	Kenya
93  Université de la Manouba	Tunisia
94  Tshwane University of Technology	South Africa
95  Université Mohamed Khider de Biskra	Algeria
96  Université de Béjaïa	Algeria
97  MISR University for Science and Technology	Egypt
98  October 6 University	Egypt
99  Madonna University	Nigeria
100  Fayoum University	Egypt

Christopher Columbus Biography

Quick Facts

Name

Christopher Columbus

Occupation 

Explorer

Birth Date 

October 31, 1451

Death Date 

May 20, 1506

Place of Birth 

Genoa, Italy

Place of Death 

Valladolid, Spain

AKA

Cristoforo Colombo

Cristóbal Colón

Famed Italian explorer Christopher Columbus discovered the "New World" of the Americas on an expedition sponsored by King Ferdinand of Spain in 1492.

Synopsis

Explorer and navigator Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 in the Republic of Genoa, Italy. His first voyage into the Atlantic Ocean in 1476 nearly cost him his life. Columbus participated in several other expeditions to Africa. 1492, Columbus left Spain in the Santa Maria, with the Pinta and the Niña along side. He has been credited for opening up the Americas to European colonization.

Early Voyages

Explorer and navigator Columbus was born in 1451, in the Republic of Genoa (Italy) to the son of a weaver. Columbus first went to sea as a teenager, participating in several trading voyages in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas. One such voyage, to the island of Khios, in modern day Greece, brought him the closest he would come to Asia.
His first voyage into the Atlantic Ocean in 1476 nearly cost him his life as the commercial fleet he was sailing with was attacked by French privateers off the coast of Portugal. His ship was burned and Columbus had to swim to the Portuguese shore and make his way to Lisbon, Portugal, where he eventually settled and married Felipa Perestrello. The couple had one son, Diego in about 1480. His wife died soon after and Columbus moved to Spain. He had a second son Fernando who was born out of wedlock in 1488 with Beatriz Enriquez de Arana.

Columbus participated in several other expeditions to Africa gaining knowledge of the Atlantic currents flowing east and west from the Canary Islands. Muslim domination of the trade routes through the Middle East makes travel to India and China difficult. Believing a route sailing west across the Atlantic would be quicker and safer, Columbus devised a plan to sail west to get reach the East. He estimated the earth to be a sphere approximately 63% its actual size and the distance between the Canary Islands and Japan to be about 2,300 miles. Many contemporary nautical experts disagreed, adhering to the second century BC estimate of the earth's circumference at 25,000 miles. This made the distance between the Canary Islands and Japan about 12,200 statute miles. While experts disagreed with Columbus on matters of distance, they concurred that a westward voyage from Europe would be an uninterrupted water route.

First Voyage to the New World

Rejected by the Portuguese king for a three-ship voyage of discovery, Columbus took his plan first to Genoa and then to Venice but was rejected there too. He then went to the Spanish monarchy of Isabella of Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon, in 1486. Their nautical experts too were skeptical and initially, Columbus was rejected. The idea however, must have intrigued the monarchs, for they kept Columbus on a retainer. But their focus was on a war with the Muslims and Columbus would have to wait.

Columbus continued to lobby the royal court and soon after the Spanish army captured the last Muslim stronghold in Granada in January of 1492, the monarchs agreed to finance his expedition. In August of 1492, Columbus left Spain in the Santa Maria, with the Pinta and the Niña along side. After 36 days of sailing, Columbus and several crewmen set foot on an island in the present day Bahamas, claiming it for Spain. There he encountered a timid but friendly group of natives who were open to trade with the sailors exchanging glass beads, cotton balls, parrots and spears. The Europeans also noticed bits of gold the natives wore for adornment.

Columbus and his men continued their journey, visiting the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic) and meeting with the leaders of the native population. During this time, the Santa Maria was wrecked on a reef off the coast of Hispaniola. With the help of some islanders, Columbus' men salvaged what they could and built the settlement Villa de la Navidad ("Christmas Town") with lumber from the ship. Thirty-nine men stayed behind to occupy the settlement. Convinced his exploration had reached Asia, he set sail for home with the two remaining ships.

Subsequent Voyages

Returning to Spain in 1493, Columbus gave a glowing, somewhat exaggerated report and was warmly received by the royal court. That same year he took to the seas on his second expedition and explored more islands in the Caribbean Ocean. Upon arrival at Hispaniola, Columbus and his crew discovered the Navidad settlement had been destroyed with all the sailors massacred. Spurning the wishes of the queen, who found slavery offensive, Columbus established a forced labor policy over the native population to rebuild the settlement and explore for gold, believing it would prove to be profitable. His efforts produced small amounts of gold and great hatred among the native population. Before returning to Spain, Columbus left his brothers Bartholomew and Diego to govern the settlement on Hispaniola and sailed briefly around the larger Caribbean islands further convincing himself he had discovered the outer islands of China.

It wasn't until his third voyage that Columbus actually reached the mainland exploring the Orinoco River in present-day Venezuela. Unfortunately, conditions at the Hispaniola settlement had deteriorated to the point of near-mutiny with settlers claiming they had been misled by Columbus' claims of riches and complaining about the poor management of his brothers. The Spanish Crown sent a royal official who arrested Columbus and stripped him of his authority. He returned to Spain in chains to face the royal court. The charges were later dropped but Columbus lost his titles as governor of the Indies and for a time, much of the riches made during his voyages.

Convincing King Ferdinand that one more voyage would bring the abundant riches promised, Columbus went on what would be his last voyage in 1502, traveling along the eastern coast of Central America in an unsuccessful search for a route to the Indian Ocean. A storm wrecked one of his ships stranding the captain and his sailors on the island of Cuba. During this time, local islanders, tired of the Spaniards poor treatment and obsession with gold, refused to give them food. In a spark of inspiration, Columbus consulted an almanac and devised a plan to "punish" the islanders by taking away the moon. On February 29, 1504, a lunar eclipse alarmed the natives enough to re-established trade with the Spaniards. A rescue party finally arrived, sent by the royal governor of Hispaniola in July and Columbus and his men were taken back to Spain in November of 1504.

Mixed Legacy

In the two remaining years of his life, Columbus struggled to recover his lost titles and in May of 1505 did regain some of his riches, but his titles were never returned. He died May 20, 1506 still believing he had discovered a shorter route to Asia.
Columbus' legacy is a mixed one. He has been credited for opening up the Americas to European colonization as well as blamed for the destruction of the native peoples of the islands he explored. On the one hand, he failed to find that what he set out for - a new route to Asia and the riches it promised. However, in what is known as the Columbian Exchange, his expeditions set in motion the wide-spread transfer of people, plants, animals, diseases, and cultures that greatly affected nearly every society on the planet.

The horse from Europe allowed Native American tribes in the Great Plains of North America to shift from a nomadic to a hunting lifestyle. Foods from the Americas such as potatoes, tomatoes and corn became staples of Europeans and helped increase their populations. Wheat from Europe and the Old World fast became a main food source for people in the Americas. Coffee from Africa and sugar cane from Asia became major cash crops for Latin American countries.

The Exchange also brought new diseases to both hemispheres, though the effects were greatest in the Americas. Small pox from the Old World decimated millions of the Native American population to mere fractions of their original numbers. This more than any other factor made for European domination of the Americas. The overwhelming benefits of the Exchange went to the Europeans initially and eventually to the rest of the world. The Americas were forever altered and the once vibrant and rich cultures of the Native American civilizations were not only changed, but lost, denying the world any complete understanding of their existence.

Recent Discoveries

In May 2014, Christopher Columbus made headlines as news broke that a team of archaeologists may have found the Santa Maria off the north coast of Haiti. Barry Clifford, the leader of this expedition, told the Independent newspaper that "all geographical, underwater topography and archaeological evidence strongly suggests this wreck is Columbus' famous flagship the Santa Maria." Clifford intends to conduct a thorough excavation of the wreck to confirm his initial find