Download Continued . . . West African Countries

Landforms
Africa’s Plateau
- most of Africa is at least 1,000 ft above sea level
- known as the “plateau continent”
Basins and Rivers
• Basins—huge depressions on plateau
• Nile River—world’s longest: 4,000 miles
- waters used for irrigation; 95% of
Egyptians get water from Nile
• Aswan High Dam – has decreased silt deposits due
to the Nile not flooding anymore
• Congo River - 2,900-mile more spread out
- 32 cataracts (waterfalls) can not sail down
• Suez Canal – Speeds transportation
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Rift Valleys and Lakes
- land sank, formed long, thin rift valleys
- stretch 4,000 miles and is pulling away from Africa
• Long, deep lakes form at bottoms of rift valleys
• Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest
Mountains
• Mount Kenya, Mount Kilimanjaro
- Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa’s
highest mountain
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A Wealth of Minerals
• Africa’s minerals make it one of world’s richest
continents
- copper, phosphates, diamonds, chromium, platinum
• Mineral wealth has not created general African
prosperity
- colonial rulers sent natural resources to Europe
- nations are slow to develop industries
Oil Resources
• Libya, Nigeria, Algeria among world’s leading
petroleum producers
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Major Commodities
• Coffee is Africa’s second most profitable commodity
• Other commodities include sugar, palm oil, cocoa,
lumber
• Agriculture is Africa’s single most important economic
activity
- 66% of Africans earn a living farming; accounts for
1/3 of exports
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Climate
Desert
• Sahara is largest desert in world
- 3,000 mi from Atlantic to Red Sea; 1,200 mi north to south
- temperatures as high as 136 in summer, freezing at night
• Only 20% is sand; rest is mountains, rocks, gravelly plains
• Saharan travel on camels that can go 17 days without water
• 6,000 ft under Sahara are aquifers— underground water
- when this water comes to the surface it creates an oasis
• Other African deserts include Kalahari, Namib
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Tropical Grassland
• Tropical grassland covers most of Africa
• Serengeti Plain—northern Tanzania
grassland
- dry climate, hard soil prevent growth of
trees, crops
- ideal for grazing animals like wildebeasts,
gazelles, zebras
-site of largest numbers of migrating land
mammals
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Rain Forest
• Major tropical rain forests are on equator in Congo
Basin
• Most animals live in canopy—uppermost branches,
150 feet off ground
- birds, monkeys, flying foxes, snakes
• Farmers’ slash-and-burn methods endanger rain forest
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The Spreading Sahara
• Sahel means “shore of the desert”
- narrow band of grassland runs east-west along
southern Sahara edge
- used for farming, herding
• Since 1960s, desert has spread into Sahel
- desertification—expansion of dry conditions into
nearby moist areas
Causes of Desertification
• Overgrazing, Clearing land for farming, Water drilling,
increased population
Results of Desertification
Lake Chad is vanishing
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East Africa
• Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia,
Tanzania, Uganda
• Prehistoric human remains found in Olduvai Gorge,
Tanzania
• Area becomes cultural crossroads of goods, ideas,
people
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Colonization
• 19th-century Europeans seek African resources
- 1884–85 Berlin Conference divides Africa among
European countries; African input denied
Conflict in East Africa
• Independent by 1970s, many
countries suffer civil wars, disputes
- colonial boundaries mix ethnic
groups, lead to internal conflicts
Rwanda – Tutsi and Hutu genocide
Darfur genocide
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Farming
• Countries grow cash crops for direct sale (coffee, tea,
sugar)
- such crops take up farmland needed for sustainable farming
Tourism
• Wildlife parks in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania attract
tourists, income
- because of a need for food, farmland is threatening
wildlife reserves and therefore tourism
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Cultures of East Africa
• 160 different ethnic groups in region
• Kikuya are largest Kenyan ethnic group, centered
around Mount Kenya
Health Care in Africa
• Africa devastated by AIDS pandemic
- pandemic—disease outbreak in large population
over a wide area
• AIDS caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
• Experts fear worst-affected countries could lose 1020% of populations
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North African Countries
• Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia
Egypt Blossoms Along the Nile
• Nile’s flooding provides water, rich soil, to help civilization grow
• Nile villages united into first Egyptian dynasty around 3100 B.C.
- Pharaohs rule Egypt for 2,600 years
• Egyptian geometry and medicine are spread by trade
Carthage
• 814 B.C.- location on Gulf of Tunis make it a trade center
Islam in North Africa
• Over time, invaded by Greeks,
Romans, Phoenicians,
Ottoman Turks
• Islam is main cultural,
religious influence
- monotheistic religion
based on Muhammad’s
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teachings
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Economy
• Oil has replaced cash crops as economic base
Women
• Homes are centered around males, few women work after
marriage
• Women’s roles are changing
- multiple wives are prohibited; both spouses can seek divorces
- high spouse-abuse penalties, & no more arranged marriages
• More women have professional jobs, equal pay for equal jobs
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West African Countries
• West Africa includes Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia,
Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal,
Sierra Leone, Togo
The Slave Trade
• Gorée Island departure point for slaves during slave trade, mid1500s to mid-1800s
- Europeans moved 20 million Africans through the island
- 20% of Africans died in transit to the Americas (Middle
passage)
Three Trading Empires
• Ghana, Mali, Songhai empires grow on Sahara trade routes
-Gold & Salt two major resources
• Dominate the trade industry
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Stateless Societies
• Stateless society—people rely on family lineages to govern
themselves
- no elected government or monarch; members share power
• 1700–1800s, stateless societies are challenged by colonizers
West Africa Struggles Economically
• Post-colonial switch to democracy brought military rule, civil war
• Political instability has hurt their economies
• Poor transportation systems, unskilled workers
Ashanti Crafts
• Ghana’s Ashanti known for
weaving asasia (kente) cloth
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Colonialism
• Belgium’s King Leopold II controls interior by 1884
- holds Berlin Conference, forms Congo Free State
- uses forced labor to get rubber, palm oil, ivory
Effects of Colonialism
- European borders disrupt traditional governments, ethnic
regions
- new governments face diverse
populations, corrupt leaders
Economic Effects
• Lost resources; cultural, ethnic
oppression of people
• Little infrastructure or money for
transportation, education systems
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Education Faces Barriers
• In 2001, less than half the sub-Saharan young adults
attend school
- shortage of teachers and secondary schools, high
dropout rate
• Language problems: different languages spoken in
homes, schools
• “Brain Drain” – Best and brightest leaving Africa for
educational and economic opportunity. Few return,
despite intentions to return.
Learning in Central Africa
• In Cameroon, most children leave school at age 12
• In Central African Republic, kids 6 to 14 are required to attend school
• Most countries in Africa you have to pay for education
• Health care education increasing: AIDS, Ebola virus, cholera, others
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Southern African Countries
• Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius
Mozambique, Nambia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Gold Trade
• Great Zimbabwe— gold-trading city abandoned around 1450
Mutapa Empire
- Mutapa Empire soon covered almost all of Zimbabwe
• Thriving gold empire declines in 1500s amid Portuguese
interference
Ethnic Clash for Southern Africa
• In 1700s, 1800s, ethnic groups fight
each other & Europeans for land
• In late 1800s, British defeat Zulu,
then Boers (Dutch farmers)
- form Union of South Africa in 1902
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The Policy of Apartheid in South Africa
• In 1948, white minority government institutes apartheid
- complete separation of races in schools, hospitals, neighborhoods
- blacks make up 75% of population, but own little land
• Blacks form African National Congress (ANC) in 1912 to seek rights
• Nelson Mandela becomes an ANC leader in 1949, is later imprisoned
The Policy of Apartheid in South Africa
- peaceful revolution leads to end of apartheid in early 1990s
- Mandela is freed, elected president in 1994
- new, democratic constitution passes in 1996
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Africa’s Economy
A History of Problems
• Most countries do little manufacturing
- sell raw materials to industrialized countries
• European colonizers exploited Africa’s resources, people
- millions sold into slavery or died from harsh working conditions
• Land was mined, drilled; environment was ignored
Africa’s Economic Status
• Most African countries are worse off today than in 1960
- average incomes have decreased
• Lack crucial infrastructure (roads, airports, railroads, ports)
• Little access to computers or high technology
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Economy
• Apartheid hurts economy, other nations impose economic
sanctions
- majority of young blacks uneducated
• Two economies in South Africa:
- upper-middle income in industrial cities like Johannesburg
- poor rural areas, black townships, shantytowns
Success at a Cost
• Botswana became world’s third-largest diamond producer
accounts for 64% of profits
AIDS Affects Southern Africa
• Southern Africa has the countries
most severely affected by AIDS
- 25% of adults infected in
Zimbabwe, Botswana
- Botswana’s life expectancy is
39 years
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Reducing Debt and Increasing Cooperation
• Newly independent countries borrowed money to build
economies
• Trying to improve economies through regional cooperation
- Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
- Southern African Development Community (SADC)
Building Industries
• “One-commodity” countries rely on export of one or two
commodities
- commodity—agricultural or mining product that can be sold
- value varies daily based on worldwide supply and demand
• Economists want Africans to diversify—create variety in
economies
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Improving Education
• Uneducated population is a barrier to economic development
• Average schooling for women only 1.2 years
• In Angola and Somalia, civil wars have destroyed school
systems
Reversing the Brain Drain
• Many educated people migrate to Western nations
- Go to Western countries for higher education and end up
staying.
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