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West Africa Landforms and Bodies of Water * The region has no major mountain ranges * Air Massif – group of mountains in central Niger where the Tuareg people graze their livestock * Tibesti Mountains – highest elevations in West Africa * Ennedi – desert plateau region * Jos Plateau – mostly open grassland and farmland * Fouta Djallon – highland region of savanna and deciduous forest * Guinea Highlands – densely forested region * Sengal River marks the border between the countries of Mauritania and Senegal * Black Volta River and the White Volta River originate in Burkina Fasso. * Akosomo Dam located where the two rivers meet. Create Lake Volta * Provides irrigation and electrical needs * Lake Chad is also used for irrigation and electrical needs. * The Niger river – longest and most important river * During the rainy season it floods leaving fertile farmland * Benue River – joins the Niger and doubles its water volume * These two rivers provide water for irrigation and hydroelectric power * Main source of Mali’s fishing industry * Important transportation route Climate * The climate of the region is diverse * Ranges from harsh, arid Sahara in the north to lush costal rain forests in the south * Between are vast stretches of grasslands * Key feature of the region is its distinct wet and dry seasons * From late November until mid-March, the Harmattan blows through the Sahara. * Rainfall in the region can range from 200 inches in some areas to as little as 20 inches a year. This make life in the region difficult. Resources * Nigeria – regions biggest producer of petroleum and natural gas * Chad – oil fields * Benin and Ghana have offshore oil fields * Ghana’s main source of electricity are two dams on the Volta River * Senegal River provides half the energy used in Mauritania * Toto and Nigeria also depend on hydroelectric power. History of the Region * 10,000 years ago the Sahara looked more like a savannah than a desert. * Lakes, forests, large animals such as ostriches, giraffes, elephants, antelope, and rhinoceroses roamed the area. * As the area grew drier, people moved south. * Camels became important to the survival of the people. They can carry heavy loads for long distances and can go for long periods without water. * They became the perfect domesticated animals for desert dwellers. * The Bantu people inhabited West Africa in Ancient times * 2,000 BC developed farming * 1000 BC a vast migration of Bantu people began * Wherever they moved to, they brought their culture. * For 1,000s of years, the Sahara was a barrier between West and North Africa. * 700 AD, Arabs controlled trade in the North. They soon realized that West Africa offered opportunities for conversion to Islam. * The Berber People of North Africa, Almoravids – Fierce fighters that wanted to spread their faith. * Ghana was a powerful west African kingdom * Controlled gold-for-salt trade in the region * 1,000 AD the Almoravids conquered Ghana * Their rule brought about a decline in this kingdom * Desertification, lack of trade, and famine ruined the once thriving area. * Mali grew rich from the gold-for-salt trade after the decline of Ghana * It reached its height under the emperor Mansa Musa * * * * * * Became a center for Islamic culture. During the emperor’s pilgrimage to mecca the world learned of the powerful Mali empire. Songhai replace Mali A strong army and navy controlled the Niger River and trade in the region. It also became a center for Islamic learning It fell to the Moroccans by the end of the 1500s Slavery in the Region * Slavery had been practiced in Africa for centuries. * Muslims from North Africa and Asia had bought enslaved people from south of the Sahara. * European colonists began to buy slaves to do the work in their colonies in the Western Hemisphere. * Small African kingdoms along the Atlantic coast became highly profitable in these kingdoms. * When Europeans outlawed the slave trade, the kingdom’s economies began to fail. European Domination What were some of the factors that aroused European interest in exploring and colonizing Africa? * 1807 – the British outlawed the slave trade * 1787 – Sierra Leone – a safe haven for runaway or freed enslaved persons. * 1822 – Liberia – founded by Americans as a home for freed American slaves. * To make up for the loss of revenue from the slave trade, Britain started to develop and then profit from the palm oil trade. * 1869 – Suez Canal opened and Diamonds found in South Africa * These two events increased European interest in the area. Imperialism * Imperialism – the practice of seizing control of other places to create an empire. * 1884-1885 Berlin Conference to divide up Africa * * * Some colonies were ruled more harshly than others. Settlers could force Africans off the best lands Africans resisted violently, but to no avail. Independence 1957 * Ghana became and independent states. Was the Gold Boast under British Rule * For many years it was troubled by conflict. * 1992 – adopted a new constitution. * Has become a model of political reform in West Africa 1960 * Mauritania * Niger * Cote D’lvoire * Gamiba * Burkina Faso * Declared independence from France * 1914 – British combined the Igbo – Christian tribes in the south, and the Hausa – Muslim tribe in the North, into one country under the Nigerian Protectorate. * When Nigeria gained independence in 1960, tensions flared. * Thousands of Igbo in northern Nigeria were massacred. * 1967 – The eastern region became the republic of Baifra (they seceded, or withdrew formally) * Military forces invaded and reclaimed the region. * Millions of people were killed and the area was left in ruins. * Since then, Nigeria has been mostly under military rule. * 1978-consitution was written * 1999 – the first democratically elected president ruled the region. * Liberia and Sierra Leone have also been plagued by civil war and military coups. * Ethnic conflict in the region has been rampart. * 50,000 people lost their lives and 2 million people lost their homes in civil war and destruction. Life in West Africa * Independence from colonial rule did not lead to peace. * Most countries maintained their colonial borders after independence. * This lead to ethnic strife in the region. * People in this region tend to identify more with their ethnic background than their national background. * Members of the same ethnic group may live in multiple countries. Languages * Most independent countries continue to use the languages brought in by the colonist to this day for business and government. * Arabic is often a national language. * Most ethnic groups use their traditional African languages in the region. * This has created a pidgin language. A simplified language used by people who cannot speak each other’s languages but need to communicate. * When two or more languages combine to create a new language it is called a creole language. Religion * Islam was established in many parts of western Africa * In some parts, Christianity is also a prevalent religion. * Many other people continue to practice traditional African religions. * Animasts – people who believe a supreme creator or god created all things. They believe in spirits – the spirits of their ancestors, the air, the earth, and rivers. Settlement * The air is traditionally made up of scattered villages. * They are homesteads of extended families – families made up of parents, children, and other close relatives. * Population density is dependent on land sustainability. * In the north, density is low due to water shortages. * Most large cities are capital cities. * The largest city in West Africa is Lago, Nigeria with 10.5million people. Culture and Arts * The area is cultural diverse. * Mali, Mauritania, and Niger are influenced by North Africa * People in cities are influenced by western culture * Village life is traditional to African culture. * Cities are ethnically diverse * Ethnic pride still causes conflict in rural areas. * Dance is used for healing * Music blends many sounds and combines traditional and modern instruments. Challenges Facing the Region * Infrastructure – underlying framework of an area * Europeans did not invest in infrastructure in the area. * They also concentrated their development of the colonial economies around minimal resources. * Therefore, the area needs to develop additional resources and develop infrastructure in order for their economies to be successful. * Foreign investments in the area did not help. * They lead to corruption and mismanagement of funds and increased debt in the area. * Debt relief provided by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank have been very important to the stabilization of the region. HIV/AIDS and Education * Sub-Saharan Africa holds 22.9 million of the 34 million people in the world living with HIV or Aids. * People dealing with the disease have several challenges. * West Africa’s population is growing quickly. * The educational system must also grow to meet the needs of new generations. * A lack of funding for education means that some countries cannot afford to make update or improvements to their schools.