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