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Africa’s Size
# Second largest continent 11,700,000 sq. mi.
# 10% of the world’s population.
# 2 ½ times the size of the U. S.
5000
MILES
4 6 0 0 M I L E S
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1. Geography of Africaa. 2nd largest continent in the world
b. 4,600 miles from east to west; 5,000 miles from north to south
c. Narrow coastlines lie on either side of a central plateau
d. Waterfalls or rapids form as rivers drop to the coast from the plateau making navigation impossible to or from the coast
e. Coastline has few harbors, ports, or inlets
f. Large deserts: the Sahara in the north and the Kalahari in the south
g. Large rainforests with mahogany and teak trees that reach 150feet tall
h. Most people live on the savannas or grassy plains which include mountainous highlands and swampy tropical stretches
i. The Nile River flows north in northeast Africa
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Bodies
Of
Water
Nile River
Zambezi River
Orange River
Limpopo River
Mediterranean Sea
Atlantic Ocean
Pacific Ocean
Indian Ocean
L. Victoria
L. Albert-->
L. Chad-->
L. Tanganyika->
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The Niger River Basin
# Covers 7.5% of the continent.
# Extends over 10 countries.
# 2,600 miles long.
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African Rain Forest
# Annual rainfall of up to 17 ft.
# Rapid decomposition (very humid).
# Covers 37 countries.
# 15% of the land surface of Africa.
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2. Customs of Early Peoplesa. Early peoples were nomadic
b. Experts believe agriculture started in Africa roughly by 6,000 B.C.
c. The family was important and African people organized into family groups
d. Many early cultures’ religions included elements of animism
e. Animism: a religion in which spirits play an important role in dailylife
f. History was kept orally, not written down
g. Bantu-speaking people migrated south and east leading to:
i. Spread of farming techniques
ii. Territorial wars
iii. Intermarriages
iv. Spread of technology such as copper, bronze, and iron work
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3. Early Civilizations of West Africaa. Empire of Ghana 800 A.D.
i. Became a rich kingdom by taxing traders who traveled through their lands
ii. Gold and salt were important & desirable trade items
iii. By 800, Ghana was an empire
iv. Only the king could own gold; acted as religious leader, chief judge and military commander
v. Eventually Ghana’s rulers converted to Islam and had to learn Arabic; much of the population never converted
vi. 1076 Muslim Almoravids conquered Ghana and disrupted the gold-salt trade
vii. Ghana never regained its power
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b. Empire of Mali
i. Emerged by 1235 south of Ghana; Mali’s wealth was also build on gold
ii. Sundiata militarily took over Ghana; peace and prosperity followed
iii.Some of Mali’s next rulers became Muslims and built mosques
iv. Mansa Musa (Muslim) divided Mali into provinces and appointed governors
v. Within 50 years of Mansa Musa, Mali’s gold trade shifted east and his successors were unable to govern the empire effectively
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c. Empire of Songhai 1400s
i. Capital was Gao; extended their territory to the large bend in the Niger River
ii. Two great Muslim leaders: Sunni Ali & AskiaMuhammad
iii.Created an empire through military conquest and efficient tax collecting
iv. Unfortunately, Songhai lacked modern weapons
v. Defeated by Moroccan invaders and ended 1,000 years of W. African power
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4. Early Civilizations of East Africaa. Aksum Empire
i. Located on the horn of Africa on a plateau on the Red Sea
ii. Conquered the Kush people who had been pushed south by the Assyrians
iii. Traders from Egypt, Arabia, Persia, India, and the Roman Empire travelled though Adulis, Aksum’s chief seaport
iv. They traded salt, rhinoceros horns, ivory, & gold
v. Height of empire was 325-360 under strong military leader Ezana
vi. Monotheistic: worshiped Mahrem and believed king was his descendent
vii. Aksum later becomes Christian
viii.Depletion of soil and forests as well as Islamic invaders caused decline
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AXUM’S
ACHIEVEMENTSControlled NE African
Trade
WrittenLanguage
Spread Christianityin No. & E.
Africa
TerraceFarming
BuiltStelae
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5. Early Civilizations of Southern Africaa. Great Zimbabwe 1000 A.D.
i. City built by Shona people that turned into an empire built on gold trade
ii. Leaders taxed traders and travelers who ventured through
iii.Great Zimbabwe was abandoned by 1450; no clear reason why
iv. Much of what is known about Great Zimbabwe comes from impressive ruins
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b. Mutapa
i. According to Shona legend, a man left Great Zimbabwe and settled a new site with fertile soil
ii. A leader named Mutota dominated northern Shonapeople and were dubbed mwene mutapa meaning conqueror; thus the name Mutapa
iii.Conquered all of modern day Zimbabwe
iv. Gold was a cornerstone of their economy
v. By the 1500s the Portuguese unsuccessfully attempted to conquer Mutapa
vi. This signaled increasing European interference in Africa for many centuries