HISTORY NOTES FOR FORM THREE - ALL TOPICS

Pemba is the capital city of the city of Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique that is home to pristine white beaches that are a haven for avid snorkelers and water sports lovers. Popular sites include the slave trade fort at the Ponta Romero Lighthouse, which is a historical monument where slaves were traded and the Quirimbas Archipelago, which has over 30 coral islands stretching from Pemba to the Rovuma River. The area has never been developed and remains an unexplored tourist paradise, and it also houses the Quirimbas National Park, which is a conservation effort to preserve and protect the area. A rich cultural history can be seen on the Quirimbas, where Arabic, Portuguese and African influences can be seen. Visitors can get to Pemba via daily flights from Maputo at a cost starting from $356.

8. Great Zimbabwe Ruins, Zimbabwe

Great Zimbabwe is one of the continent’s hidden gems. These extensive granite remains of an ancient, Iron Age city, are found in the south-eastern hills of Zimbabwe.

Built between the 11th and 14th centuries, the sprawling ruins at Great Zimbabwe are the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa. The ruined city’s gigantic walls, towers, and edifices display some incredible architecture, and during its heyday, it is believed to have been the economic, political, and religious heart of a great kingdom, although which kingdom is not certain.

Great Zimbabwe is a place of mystery. So much about the largest ancient structure south of the Sahara is still unknown. What is certain, though, is that the level of skill and ingenuity required to construct this mortarless stonework is awe-inspiring. Some of the walls are 20 feet thick and 36 feet high, and the place reverberates with the memories of a lost empire. It’s believed that as many as 20,000 people lived there at one time.

9. Robben Island, South Africa

Robben Island is a small island located in South Africa’s Table Bay in Cape Town. The island was used as a place of imprisonment, banishment, and isolation for about four centuries, and is significantly known for housing South Africa’s anti-apartheid stalwarts such as former President Nelson Mandela. Before then, the island was home to a variety of wild life, including birds, penguins, seals and tortoises. Portuguese explorer Bartholomew Diaz explored the island in 1488 when he anchored his ship in Table Bay, and was also used by visiting ships as a place of replenishing water and food supplies. The island’s name ‘Robben’ is derived from Dutch and it means ‘seal’ as the island had an abundance of seals. From 1671, the Dutch began using the island as a prison, an asylum for the mentally ill and military hub, housing criminals, metally ill patients including social outcasts and individuals who disagreed with Dutch rule. UNESCO declared the island as a World Heritage Site because it is a remainder of the country’s history and the triumph of the human spirit against injustice and apartheid.

PRESERVATION AND ROLE OF MUSEUMS

The primary mission of most history museums is to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret objects of historical significance. Over time, all objects will begin to deteriorate for a variety of reasons, such as environmental conditions, use and natural decay. In order to maintain the objects in such condition that they will survive for the enjoyment and education of future generations, it is vital that museums practice proper preservation measures. Knowing how to handle, display and store the artifacts in your museum’s collection can add a significant number of years to the life of the objects.

Most history museum collections consist of two basic categories of materials — organic and inorganic. Organic artifacts include those made from animal products such as fur, leather, wool, silk, bone, ivory, or feathers and also those made from plant products such as wood, paper, cotton and other natural fibers. Inorganic artifacts are those made from non-living materials such as metal, stone, ceramics and glass. While in general inorganic materials are more stable and less susceptible to environmental damage than organic materials, it is best to consider all objects fragile and to treat them with great care.

Preventive conservation

Preventive conservation includes all measures that are intended to delay the deterioration and the need for restoration of documents as far as possible - also for cost reasons. These include proper storage and use, control of the room climate, protection against pests, fire and theft.

Preventive deacidification of lignin-containing papers is of particular importance. Because the problem affects so many documents, various techniques have been developed for individual as well as mass deacidification:

Documentation

Documentation is a significant function of any museum, whether it holds only a few hundred objects or many millions of items. Quite apart from the need for records to maintain adequate control of its collections, a museum’s documentation system provides an indispensable record of the information associated with the objects for research. The documentation system also may include records to facilitate the museum’s interpretative and other work.

Research

Because they hold the primary material evidence for a number of subjects concerned with an understanding of humankind and the environment, museums clearly have an important role in research. A museum’s research program is related to its objectives as an institution. A program may be concerned directly with the public services provided, in preparing exhibitions, catalogs, and other publications, or with promoting a better understanding of the discipline or region that it serves.