South Africa is known for its diversity of cultures, languages and religious beliefs, which is why it is known as the rainbow nation. Eleven languages are recognized as official by the Constitution of South Africa. Two of the eleven languages are of European origin: Afrikaans, a language that comes directly from Dutch and is spoken by the majority of the white and mestizo population, and English. Although English plays an important role in public and commercial life, it is, however, the fifth language by native speakers. South Africa is an ethnically diverse country. 79.5% of the South African population is black, which is divided into different ethnic groups that speak different Bantu languages, nine of which are official. It also has the largest communities of inhabitants of European and Indian origin, as well as multiracial communities on the continent.
West Africa is one of the first regions of the planet where the native cultivation of certain plants began, so the beginning of Neolithic cultures in the region is around 5000 BC. C. (almost two millennia after the estimated date for the Nile Valley). Nok culture is one of the main prehistoric cultures of West Africa. What happened later during the protohistoric period in West Africa would have a decisive influence on the demographic, historical and cultural configuration of sub-Saharan Africa, since the Bantu expansion that occurred in most of Africa originated from the historical developments of Africa Western. During the European Middle Ages in West Africa there were several centralized states and empires, some of which maintained active commercial relations especially with the Muslim world. Among the most notable states of this period in West Africa are the Empire of Ghana (s. VIII-XI), the Empire of Mali (s. XIII-XVII), the Jolof Empire (s. XIV-XVI) and the Songhay Empire (s. XIV-XVI).
