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The Story of AfricaGeography & African Civilizations
Satellite View
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
1. Geography of Africaa. 2nd largest continent in the worldb. 4,600 miles from east to west; 5,000 miles from north to southc. Narrow coastlines lie on either side of a central plateaud. Waterfalls or rapids form as rivers drop to the coast from the plateau
making navigation impossible to or from the coaste. Coastline has few harbors, ports, or inletsf. Large deserts: the Sahara in the north and the Kalahari in the southg. Large rainforests with mahogany and teak trees that reach 150 feet
tallh. Most people live on the savannas or grassy plains which include
mountainous highlands and swampy tropical stretchesi. The Nile River flows north in northeast Africa
Geography & African Civilizations
The Mighty Nile River:“Longest River in the World”
The Niger River Basin
# Covers 7.5% of the continent.
# Extends over 10 countries.
# 2,600 miles long.
Mt. Kilimanjaro:Snow on the Equator?
The African Plateau
The African Savannah:13 million sq. mi.
The Sahara Desert
Desertification
Great Rift Valley
3,000 miles long
West Africa: Home of our Hurricanes
Vegetation Zones
African Rain Forest
# Annual rainfall of up to 17 ft.
# Rapid decomposition (very humid).
# Covers 37 countries.
# 15% of the land surface of Africa.
The
Complete
Topography
Of
AFRICA
Nile River
Congo River
Zambezi River
Niger River
Orange River
Limpopo River
Mediterranean Sea
Atlantic Ocean
Pacific Ocean
Indian Ocean
Red Sea
L. Victoria
L. Albert-->
L. Chad-->
L. Tanganyika->
<--G
ulf o
f Aden
Drajensburg
Mts.
Ruw
enzo
ri Mts.
Δ Mt. Kenya
Δ Mt. Kilimanjaro
Sahara Desert
Sahel
Kalahari
Desert
Nam
ib D
ese
rt
Libyan Desert
Gre
at
Rif
t V
alley
Atlas M
ts.
Tropic of Cancer 20° N
Tropic of Capricorn20° S
Equator 0°
2. Customs of Early Peoplesa. Early peoples were nomadicb. Experts believe agriculture started in Africa roughly by 6,000 B.C.c. The family was important and African people organized into family
groupsd. Many early cultures’ religions included elements of animisme. Animism: a religion in which spirits play an important role in daily lifef. History was kept orally, not written downg. Bantu-speaking people migrated south and east leading to:
i. Spread of farming techniquesii. Territorial warsiii. Intermarriagesiv. Spread of technology such as copper, bronze, and iron work
Geography & African Civilizations
Natural Resources
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 itemsiii. By 800, Ghana was an empireiv. Only the king could own gold; acted as religious leader, chief
judge and military commanderv. 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
tradevii. Ghana never regained its power
Geography & African Civilizations
Berbers
GOLDGOLD
SALTSALT
Gold-Salt Trade
Salt
Salt Fields of Taghaza
b. Empire of Malii. Emerged by 1235 south of Ghana; Mali’s wealth was also built on
goldii. Sundiata militarily took over Ghana; peace and prosperity followediii. Some of Mali’s next rulers became Muslims and built mosquesiv. 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
Geography & African Civilizations
Timbuktu-”Heavenly Clay”
Timbuktu Rooftop, Mosque
Great Mosque at Djenne, Mali
Distant Mosque at Djenne, Mali
Sundiata [1210-1260]
“Lion Prince”
European Map
Mansa Musa [r. 1312-1337]
c. Empire of Songhai 1400si. Capital was Gao; extended their territory to the large bend in the Niger
River
ii. Two great Muslim leaders: Sunni Ali & Askia Muhammadiii. Created an empire through military conquest and efficient tax
collecting
iv. Unfortunately, Songhai lacked modern weaponsv. Defeated by Moroccan invaders and ended 1,000 years of W. African
power
Geography & African Civilizations
Crossing the Ocean of Sand
Desert Caravan
Sunni Ali [r.1464-1492]
Askia Mohammed [r.1493-1529]
Askia Mohammed’s Tomb [1443-1538]
Gao, Mali
Kingdom of Axum [300-700]
4. Early Civilizations of East Africaa. Aksum Empire
i. Located on the horn of Africa on a plateau on the Red Seaii. 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, & goldv. Height of empire was 325-360 under strong military leader Ezanavi. Monotheistic: worshiped Mahrem and believed king was his
descendent
vii. Aksum later becomes Christianviii.Depletion of soil and forests as well as Islamic invaders caused
decline
Geography & African Civilizations
Stele, Ezana’s Royal Tomb,Aksum (4c)
AXUM’SACHIEVEMENTS
Controlled NE African
Trade
WrittenLanguage
Spread Christianityin No. & E.
Africa
TerraceFarming
BuiltStelae
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 throughiii. Great Zimbabwe was abandoned by 1450; no clear reason whyiv. Much of what is known about Great Zimbabwe comes from impressive
ruins
Geography & African Civilizations
African Trade Routes
Arab Dow off the coast of Zanzibar
Great Zimbabwe ruins
Great Zimbabwe [1200-1450]
“Zimbabwe” = “stone enclosure”
Great Zimbabwe Street
Mutapa
b. Mutapai. According to Shona legend, a man left Great Zimbabwe and settled
a new site with fertile soilii. A leader named Mutota dominated northern Shona people and
were dubbed mwene mutapa meaning conqueror; thus the name Mutapa
iii. Conquered all of modern day Zimbabweiv. Gold was a cornerstone of their economyv. By the 1500s the Portuguese unsuccessfully attempted to conquer
Mutapavi. This signaled increasing European interference in Africa for many
centuries
Geography & African Civilizations
African Trade [15c-17c]
