Post on 19-May-2015
description
Unit #5Africa
Huge continent 1/5 of the total landmass of the Earth Dominated by extremes – huge deserts and
dense jungles Longest River – the Nile Great Rift Valley – center of original human
activity
• Arab Africa • area north of the Sahara• Mostly Muslim today – strong ties to the Middle East• Small strip of land for development along the Med Sea
• Sahara Desert • largest desert in the world• Separates black Africa from Arab Africa• Largely impenetrable, except for area around the Nile River
West Africa• largely grasslands – best farming on the continent• Some jungle areas – especially south of the Equator• Heavily populated region• Long legacy of slavery and the slave trade
• Great Rift Valley • 4000 mile long rip in the land where the continents pulled
apart millions of years ago• Includes the Red Sea and most of Africa’s major lakes• Area where first pre-humans appeared (Olduvai Gorge) –
oldest fossils may be 3.5 million years old• East Africa • Stretches from Ethiopia to South Africa• Strong ties to the east (India and Indonesia) through trade• Dominated by the Great Rift Valley
• Central and South Africa• Flat grasslands and deserts on a plateau• Heavy diamond mines in the region• Vast mineral resources (gold, silver, copper and uranium)• Legacy of legalized segregation (Apartheid) in South Africa and
brutal colonization by European powers in other parts of the region
Nile river◦ longest in the world (over 4000 miles)◦ Runs from the mountains of Ethiopia north to the
Mediterranean Sea◦ Very fertile delta – some settlements along the Nile
may be as old as 6000 years◦ River cuts through the boundary between Black
Africa and Arab Africa Congo River
◦ Over 2750 miles long◦ Drains the Congo Basin: an area of dense jungles and
rainforest◦ Not fully navigable due to large waterfalls and intense current◦ No delta: current actually flows out to sea – very little
agricultural development
Most of Africa supports only subsistence farming (farming that only supports the nutritional needs of the farmer and his family with nothing left to sell)
Geographic factors such as climate and soil limit the ability of some regions in Africa to support wide scale agriculture
Egypt and Nubia ◦ settlements along the Nile may be 5000+ years old◦ Carved out an empire by about 2500 BC (multiple
nations – river cuts across the line between Black Africa and Arab Africa)
◦ Legacy of this volatile relationship can be seen in the Sudan today
Bantu Migrations◦ About 4000 BC: black Africans from what is today
Nigeria begin to filter down throughout the continent◦ Today most of Black Africa is populated by people
who are ethnically and linguistically related, yet are members of hundreds of different African tribes
◦Attraction as a religion of salvation after 650 AD
◦Berber traders crossed the Sahara Desert and into West Africa
◦Estimates of 25% conversion by 1500
◦Timbuktu in Mali becomes a center of Islamic learning with a great library
Mosque in Timbuktu
Powerful west African kingdom in the bight of Africa – unknown to Europeans until the arrival of the Portuguese in the 1450s
Specialized in three major trading items ◦ Salt: used to preserve meat and milk◦ Gold: Ghana still produces vast amounts of gold◦ Slaves: simply another commodity in all ancient
societies – slave trade was in effect across the Sahara and into the Islamic world for hundreds of years before the Portuguese arrive
Portugal took the lead in the slave trade Most slaves went to work in the New
World on Sugar plantations Europeans tried to enslave the American
Indians first, but 90% died within the first 100 years of colonization – mostly from smallpox
Africans had been exposed to the same diseases as Europeans and thus were largely immune to smallpox
Pre-19c European Trade with Africa
IndustrialRevolutionIndustrialRevolution
Source forRawMaterials
Source forRawMaterials
Markets forFinishedGoods
Markets forFinishedGoods
EuropeanNationalismEuropeanNationalism
MissionaryActivityMissionaryActivity
Military& NavalBases
Military& NavalBases
EuropeanMotivesFor Colonization
EuropeanMotivesFor Colonization
Places toDumpUnwanted/Excess Popul.
Places toDumpUnwanted/Excess Popul.
Soc. & Eco.OpportunitiesSoc. & Eco.Opportunities
HumanitarianReasonsHumanitarianReasons
EuropeanRacismEuropeanRacism
“WhiteMan’sBurden”
“WhiteMan’sBurden”
SocialDarwinismSocialDarwinism
Africa
in 1880
Called by chancellor Bismarck of Germany to settle European issues regarding Africa
Major European powers divided Africa among themselves – most of the modern boundaries were actually drawn by the Europeans without regard to tribal loyalties and hatreds
Africans were seen as savages – not worthy of French and British got the most square miles, but
much of this area was either already under French or British control, or was in the Sahara desert
Only Liberia left alone (it was seen as a US protectorate – established in 1817 by American abolitionists)
Ethiopia will remain independent – they defeat the Italian army in 1896 – Italians will eventually take Ethiopia in 1935
Social Darwinism “scientific” notion
that all modern species evolved from lower life forms
Darwin himself never discussed humans, but others took his work on evolution and tried to link humans to apes
Black Africans were lower than white Europeans
The “White Man’s Burden”
Rudyard Kipling
Poem written by British writer Kipling in 1899 that called on America to bring civilization to the “savages” of the third world
Very paternalistic Kipling saw non-whites as
lacking in sophistication Call for the expansion of
Christianity to save souls as well – call will be heeded by missionaries around the world
The “White Man’s Burden”?
Punishing “Lazy” Workers
Economic◦ Cash Crop
economies◦ Money Economies
Infrastructure◦ Roads, railroads and
ports were built◦ Communication
improved◦ Sewers
Education◦ European style
schools taught Africans Western ideals
◦ European languages taught Africans a common language
◦ Africans w/ European Ed. Became the leaders of independence movements
African people began to reject European culture
Africans tried to move toward the unity of African people and
The celebration of African culture
European countries used African troops to help them fight the war
Africans believed if they were good enough to fight—they should also have a say in their own government
Africans provided resources for the war effort as well, showing that they could be useful to themselves
Africans saw British and French lose battles
Europeans were no longer seen as invincible
Some military losses came at the hands of the Japanese—a non-European power
WWII devastated the economies of imperialist powers
They were no longer strong enough to maintain their empires
End of WWII saw the beginning of the UN
The UN called for self-rule by all nations
This increased the desire of Africans for freedom and independence
Peaceful◦ Economic sanctions –
boycott and strike◦ Negotiated transition of
power—from Europeans to Africans
Violent◦ War for independence◦ Guerrilla warfare
Tribalism Vs. Nationalism
Tribes within African countries fight each other for control
Single Party Rule A strong leader
would emerge and ban other parties
Often the military would seize power in a coup d’etat
This led to tyranny
White colonizers still held a majority of the businesses and land
Land redistribution called for taking the land from the land owners
Africans will distribute the land equally
Socialism – Gov’t controls some of the economic resources
Ideally the gov’t distributes those resources equally
Gov’t takes away power of big business
America and Russia tried to influence the independence movements in Africa
Russians preferred socialist governments
America preferred anything BUT socialist gov’ts
Over 60 countries – mostly in black Africa Tremendous growth and potential – especially in
Black Africa Rapid industrialization – serious growing pains –
terrible poverty Ethnic, religious and tribal issues have led to
terrible bloodshed over the years AIDS – ravaging the continent – some countries
have up to 1/3 of the population infected with the HIV virus