Africa

1. Africa A brief history

2. Bantu Migrations • 1/3 of Africans speak a Bantu language • Because of their knowledge of agriculture, they migrated out of western Africa to use the better land in the east and south • They were farmers and herders • Adapted to climates and ecosystems

3. African Culture • Farmers – yams, bananas, slash and burn • Villages of related people with a common ancestor • Matrilineal and Patrilineal tribes • Government – shared power, elders reach decisions by consensus, collected taxes, chief, soldiers • Polytheistic, believed forces of nature had divine spirits (animism), performed rituals and ceremonies, believed ancestor spirits could help them

5. Kingdoms of the North • Egyptian – Nile • Nubian or Kush – Sudan and upper Nile, traders, imitated Egyptian architecture • Phoenicians – traders, Carthage • Romans – 146BC – 430AD Defeated Carthage, roads, dams, aqueducts, cities, Christianity, Latin • Arabs – 600s, Islam, Arabic, mosques, libraries, trade

6. West African Kingdoms • Ghana – Niger and Senegal, gold-salt trade, “land of gold,” Muslim • Mali –Timbuktu, Mansa Musa, Islam, leading center of learning, • Songhai – 1450-1586, Niger River, eclipsed Mali

7. Kano people lived in Hausa, pop. 30,000, Arabic writing system, Muslim, leatherworkers, artisans, many rulers were women • Benin – forest people on the Guinea coast, traded pepper, ivory, and slaves to their neighbors, elaborate avenues, tidy homes, great palace, known for bronze statues

8. East African Kingdoms • Ethiopia – Christian and Jewish religions unified the tribes, Kings were descended from Solomon and the Queen of Sheba • Axum – 900BC – 600AD Red Sea and Nile, traded with Arabia, India, and the Mediterranean, exports: ivory, hides, and rhino horn, imports: linen, brass, copper, iron tools, wine, olive oil, Christianity, spices, iron, stones, cotton

9. South African Kingdoms • Zimbabwe – Limpopo River, walls, palace, cone shaped towers, prosperous, Bantu people, 900-1500, farmers, traded with India and China, manufactured jewelry and iron tools, weavers of cotton cloth. Over farming, civil war, and Declining trade weakened Zimbabwe.

10. Zulu (1800s), Shaka Zulu – their great warrior who united tribes into one kingdom

11. Dutch built Cape Town in 1652, Farmers were called Boers. British took control of Cape Town in the 1800s and the fleeing Boers moved into Zulu territory and war broke out. Zulu’s defeated by superior technology.

12. Europeans arrive 1400s • Portuguese ships explore coast of West Africa, • Dutch, English, and French followed • Muskets, tools, and cloth were brought to Africa • Gold, ivory, hides, and slaves were taken out

13. 1500s Slave Trade across the Atlantic began to provide labor to tobacco and sugar plantations in the west • Most slaves went to Caribbean and South America • Africans captured the slaves, brought them to the coast of Africa to trade to Europeans

14. Slave Trade • 11 million Africans send to the Americas • 2 million died • Ships were called ‘floating coffins’

15. Triangular Trade Textiles Metalwork Rum Tobacco Weapons Gun powder Europe Tobacco Molasses Sugar Americas Africa Slaves – Middle Passage

16. The Middle Passage The Middle Passage was the second leg of the trade triangle that brought slaves to America.The captives were about to embark on the infamous Middle Passage, so called because it was the middle leg of a three-part voyage -- a voyage that began and ended in Europe. The first leg of the voyage carried a cargo that often included iron, cloth, brandy, firearms, and gunpowder. Upon landing on Africa's "slave coast," the cargo was exchanged for Africans. Fully loaded with its human cargo, the ship set sail for the Americas, where the slaves were exchanged for sugar, tobacco, or some other product. The final leg brought the ship back to Europe.

17. 1800s- Imperialism • Slavery outlawed in the Americas • European countries moved into the interior of Africa and established colonies • Wanted raw materials and markets • Ruled Africans without their consent • Build up infrastructure • Exploited Africans and their continent until the 1960s, when countries were given their independence.

18. Berlin Conference 1884 • European countries were grabbing African lands so fast, they were in conflict over several areas. • Instead of fighting a war over lands, representatives from European countries met in Berlin and drew the political map of Africa. • Some tribes were divided and others who were long-time enemies were pit in the same country.

20. Europeans ruled African countries as colonies until the 1950s and 60s. • When Africa countries got their independence, many had problems that began as a result of the colonial era.

21. Problems in Africa Today? • Poverty • Highest birth rate AND death rate in the world • Population growth is the highest in the world • Highest infant mortality rate in the world • Lowest life expectancy in the world

22. AIDS • 70% of the world’s AIDS cases are in Africa • A child born in Zimbabwe is more likely to die of AIDS than any other cause • Average life expectancy in Zimbabwe has fallen from 65 to 39 years old – due to AIDS • Treatment for AIDS is too expensive for most Africans • AIDS has effected Africa’s economy • AIDS has caused a shortage of workers in Africa. • It is hard to improve economically when the population is so greatly reduced by health problems like AIDS and Malaria.

23. Problems in Africa Today? • No preventative medical care • Access to doctors is low • Inadequate healthcare education • Inadequate delivery of medicine / vaccines • Malaria • 90% of the world’s Malaria cases are in Africa • Malaria has developed a resistance to anti-malarial drugs. • Malnutrition

24. Illiteracy • Civil Wars • Sanitation • Only 1/3 of rural Africans have access to clean water • Only ¼ of Africans live where there is adequate sanitation • Corruption