Download Sub Saharan Africa

SUB SAHARAN AFRICA
EAST, WEST, CENTRAL, AND SOUTH
EAST AFRICA
SUDAN, SOUTH SUDAN, ERITREA, ETHIOPIA, SOMALIA, KENYA, UGANDA RWANDA, BURUNDI,
TANZANIA, AND DJIBOUTI
Great Rift
System
The Great Rift Valley is a series of large
valleys and depressions on Earth’s surface.
Eventually it will be filled in by the Red Sea
and Eastern Africa will no longer be
attached to the rest of Africa.
Kilimanjaro
Mountain
Kilamanjaro, between Kenya and Tanzania
is the tallest mountain in Africa. It’s
summit is covered with glacial snow year
round, even though it is near the equator.
White Nile
Blue Nile
Nile
The largest river in the world is the Nile. It is
4,132 miles or 4 times the length of Texas.
The Nile begins with two separate
headwaters: The Blue Nile and the White
Nile.
East Africa has few rivers due to its
intermittent rainfall and high temperatures in
the region.
Lake Alberta
Lake Malawi
Lake Victoria
Lake
Tanganyika
Major Lakes of Africa and Their Bordering Countries
Lake
Bordered By
Victoria
Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
Tanganyika Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Malawi
Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique
CLIMATE
• The area has diverse climates ranging from cool
weather in the mountains and along the coast
to high desert temperatures.
• The area also has seasonal, sparse, rainfall that
comes in seasons. During April and May is the
long season. October and November is the
short season. The months in between thee
periods are dry with little to no rainfall.
• The area is undergoing desertification. This is
the process by which agricultural land turns into
desert through long drought and bad farming
practices.
RESOURCES
• The area has many natural resources such as gold,
sapphires, diamonds, tin, lumber, and salt.
• The area has petroleum and the opportunity to
develop both hydroelectric and geothermal energy.
The problem is uneven distribution and a lack of
infrastructure to use these energy resources widely
outside of urban areas.
• The region is home to the greatest assemblage of
wildlife in the world. There are many wildlife
reserves that draw tourists from all over the world.
Tourists come to witness the Great Migration:
more than 1 million animals travel hundreds of
miles in search of fresh grazing land.
Nubia stretched from the Nile River
Valley in Southern Egypt to almost what
is now Kharourn in Sudan. It extended
east to the Red Sea and west to the
Libyan Desert.
1050 BC, the Kush civilization arose in Nubia.
The Kushites traded with the Egyptians and
adopted many of their customs. For
example, they built pyramids to mark the
tombs of their rulers.
The Nile river was the link between
Nubia and the empire of Egypt.
350 AD, The Kush empire was conquered by
the Aksum, a powerful state in what is now
northern Ethiopia.
Askum was founded in 1000 BC. It controlled
the port of Adulis on the Red Sea. This port
was a very important trading center in the
region. The Askum kings adopted Christianity
when it spread out of Jerusalem.
900 AD, the Askum empire declined allowing
Arabs to settle on the East African Coast of
the Indian Ocean. Islam grew steadily in the
region.
The Arabic and Bantu languages mingled to
create a new language, Swahili.
Kilwa was founded at this time.
It was located on an island just
off the southern coast of
present day Tanzania. It
became one of the wealthiest
trading centers in the region
trading Chinese porcelain and
Indian cotton.
THE COLONIAL ERA
• Just before 1500, the Age of Discovery
began to affect East Africa.
• The Portuguese established a sea route to
India. They sailed around Africa, up the
coast of Arabia, and on to India. This was
less expensive than the overland route
which allowed them to bring back valuable
spices from India.
• The Portuguese began to demand tribute,
or a regular tax payment, from the East
African trading kingdoms.
• The Portuguese were completely Christian and wanted to replace Islam in the
region.
• Their monopoly did not last long.
Late 1800s, European nations adopted a
policy of imperialism. Under imperialism,
a stronger nation controls other, weaker
nations. The Europeans carved Africa
into colonies.
This idea of imperialism caused many
of the African countries to rebel.
Many of the European countries, such
as the British, were able to control
their rebellions, but many others were
unsuccessful.
Ethiopia was able to prevail in their bid
for independence.
ETHIOPIA
• Italy had colonized neighboring Eritrea.
• 1889 the Italians signed a treaty with the
Ethiopian emperor.
• Italy claimed the treaty allowed it to create
a “protrectorate” in Ethiopia.
• In 1893, the emperor rejected the treaty.
• In 1896, the Italian governor of Eritrea
finally launched a major military attack in
response.
• Ethiopia defeated the Italians at the battle
of Adwa that year.
• The European powers had to recognize
Ethiopia as an independent state.
INDEPENDENCE
• After World War II, there was a movement to end
colonialism.
• In the 1960s, East African colonies were granted
independence.
• Kenya, a British colony for 75 years.
• British plantation owners dominated the economy. Cash
crops like coffee and tea on a large scale.
• Native people were driven off their land.
• Jomo Kenyatta led a protest movement and negotiated the
terms of independence.
• 1963, Kenya became an independent state.
CONFLICT IN NEW INDEPENDENT STATES
• Ethnic groups became conflicted.
• Rwanda and Burundi are home to
two rival ethnic groups.
• 1990s, genocide – the mass murder
of a group of people because of
their ethnicity, occurred in Rwanda
between the Hutu and the Tutsi
causing millions of Tutsi deaths.
• Somalia has been scarred by civil
war since the 1970s.
• Border disputes with Ethiopia
• Drought, famine, instability, misery,
and violence affect neighboring
countries.
• Causing thousands of refugees, a
person who flees a country because
of violence, war, persecution, or
disaster, have fled to Kenya
LIFE IN EAST AFRICA
• East African population is located
mostly along the coast in urban
areas.
• Major cities include: Mogadishu in
Somalia, Mombasa in Kenya, Dar es
Salaam in Tanzania, Nairobi in
Kenya, and Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.
• The largest population in the region
is Ethiopia with 80 million people
• Rwanda has the highest population
density while Somalia has the
lowest
• Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia have
the greatest ethnic diversity
LANGUAGES AND RELIGIONS
• Many local languages are spoken in
East Africa.
• Ethiopians speak over 100
languages
• Swahili is a very commonly used
language in East Africa
• Most East Africans are either
Christian or Islam
• About 60% of Ethiopians are
Christians with the Ethiopian
Orthodox church is one of the
world’s oldest Christian churches in
the world
• 2/3 of Kenya are Christian
• Tanzania is evenly Christian and
Islamic
NAIROBI, KENYA
• Has more than 3 million people
• The most populous city in East
Africa
• High rise business and apartment
buildings sit near slums built of
scrap metal.
• People move to urban areas due to
the economic opportunities they
provide.
LIFE AND CULTURE
In rural areas families might live in a
thatched-roof dwelling with no
plumbing and no electricity.
Oral Tradition – stories are passed by word of mouth
from one generation to the next. Like Folktales and
fables are good examples of oral traditions.
In Kenya, hymns of praise were passed on to support
independence.
Subsistence Agriculture,
growing crops to feed
themselves and their families.
Tarab is a form of music that combines
African, Arab, and Indian elements and
instruments.
CHALLENGES IN THE AREA
• Agriculture is the main economic
activity in the area
• One of the poorest regions in the
world
• Soil in the region is not very fertile
• Population growth his higher than
can be sustained in the region.
• Rain is intermittent
• Government policies favor the
production of cash crops for export
• Industrialization is slow in the area
CHALLENGES CONTINUED
• Lack of education, transportation,
and communication hampers the
improvements in the area.
• Wild animals such as elephants and
lions face the threat of poaching or
illegal hunting.
• Literacy rates range from a low of
38% in Somalia to 87% in Kenya
• Rapid spread of mal nutrition and
HIV/AIDS is a serious problem.
• Lack of electric power causes rapid
deforestation
• Life expectancy in the region is
about 20 years shorter than in the
United States.
• Many countries have turned to
tourism as a way to boost their
economies