chapter 19. “cradle of humanity” olduvai gorge – northern tanzania most continuous known...
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter 19
Human Geography of Africa
East Africa“Cradle of Humanity”
Olduvai Gorge – northern TanzaniaMost continuous known record of
humanityGorge has yielded fossils from 65
individual hominids, or humansLouis and Mary LeakeyDiscovery of “Lucy”
“Cradle of Humanity”
Ethiopia Avoids Colonization
Ethiopia: A Successful ResistanceSuccessfully resisted EuropeansMenelik II – played Italians, French, and British against each other1896 – Battle of Adowa – Ethiopian forces successfully defeated the Italians and kept their nation independent
1970s – most of East Africa had regained its independence from Europe
Internal disputes and civil warsEx: colonialism inflamed the peoples of Rwanda and helped
to cause a bloody conflict in the 1990s.Causes: European colonial powers had not prepared East
African nations for independenceEthnic boundaries created by the Europeans forced cultural
divisions that had not existed before colonialism.Cultural divisions = internal conflicts among native groups.
Conflict in East Africa
Agriculture – economic foundation of East AfricaRaw Materials – economic base of most African nationsWorld-famous wildlife parks generate millions of
dollars of revenue70% ruralRelied on cash crops – coffee, tea, and sugar, which are
grown for direct saleWildlife parks – Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania
Farming and Tourism Economies
AIDS – has become a pandemicPandemic – an uncontrollable outbreak of a
disease affecting a large population over a wide geographic area
AIDS – caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
Decline in population by 10 to 20%
Health Care in Modern Africa
Goree Island – busy point for exporting slaves during the slave trade
Mid 1500s to the mid 1800s – 20 millions Africans were transported through Goree Island
West Africa
Stateless Society – people rely on family lineages to govern themselves, rather than an elected government or monarch
Members of a stateless society work through their differences to cooperate and share power
Example: Igbo of SE Nigeria
Stateless Societies
Trade is importantEconomic well-being is based on the sale of its products
to industrialized countries in Europe, North America and Asia
Ghana’s Stabile EconomyExport of gold, diamonds, magnesium, and bauxite
Problems in Sierra LeoneWorst economic conditionsOnce produced some of the world’s highest-quality
diamondsYears of political instability and civil wars have left the
economy in shamblesUneducated populationPoor infrastructure (800 miles of roads)
West Africa Struggles Economically
Central Africa
Bantu Migrations2000 B.C. Bantu people moved southward
throughout Africa. On the way they spread their languages and cultures.
Key event in Africa’s historyGreat diversity of cultures120 million Africans speak one of the hundreds
of Bantu languages
Bantu Migrations and Colonial Exploitation
15th century, Portuguese established the island of Sao Tome off the coast of what is now Gabon as the initial base for trade in African captives
Slave trade ended in 1870s
Slave Trade
1800s – Central Africa consisted of hundreds of different ethnic groups
King Leopold II of Belgium – controlled area by 1884
Wanted to open the African interior to European trade along the Congo River
This paved the way for the Berlin Conference
Berlin Conference – 14 European nations divided Africa between 1884-1885 No African ruler invited to attend Only Liberia and Ethiopia remained
free
State of Colonialism
Belgians and French colonized Central AfricaMost gained independence in the 1960s, but
borders imposed during colonialism posed problems
Ethnic regions and traditional enemies were not considered
Effects of Colonialism
Countries suffer from a lack of infrastructure
Rely on export of raw materialsCongo:
Huge amounts of natural resources (gold, copper, diamonds)
Mobutu Sese Seko – leader of Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1967 to 1997
Brought country’s business under national control
Began taking kickbacks in order to profit from reorganization
Economic Legacy of Colonialism
Southern Africa
Zulus Fight the BritishShaka – Zulu chief – creates centralized state around 1816British defeat Zulus and gain control of Zulu nation in 1887Boers and British Settle in the CapeBoers, or Dutch farmers, Afrikaners, take Africans’ land, establish large farmsBoers clash with British over land, slavesGreat Trek (1835-37) moved north to escape British
Three Groups Clash over South Africa
The Boer WarBoer War between British, Boers begins in 1899British win; Boer republics united in Union of South Africa (1910)
1948 – policy of apartheid – complete separation of the racesBanned social contact between blacks and whites and
established segregated schools, hospitals, and neighborhoodsBlacks 75%Whites 15%Whites received the best land1912 – African National Congress (ANC) Nelson Mandela
emerged as one of the leader of the ANC
The Policy of Apartheid in South Africa
http://www.biography.com/people/nelson-mandela-9397017?page=2
Nelson Mandela
Chapter 20
Today’s Issues - Africa
Building IndustriesEconomy of many African nations is based on
the export of raw materials“One-commodity” countries
Commodity – an agricultural or mining product that can be sold
Example: Diamonds “One-Commodity” nations are unstable
On the Road to Development
Serious DiseasesCholera – inadequate sanitation and lack of a
clean water supplyMalaria – infectious disease carried by
mosquitosAIDS – often accompanied by tuberculosis
(respiratory infection spread between humans70% of the world’s adult AIDS cases80% of the world’s children AIDS cases
Health Care
Uganda and Senegal have had success in reducing the spread of HIV
Success Stories