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West Africa

West Africa. Subregions. Western Sudan – the drier north. Semi-arid Sahel (Cape Verde, The Gambia, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad) Guinea Coast – the wetter south (Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Cote de Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea)

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West Africa

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  1. West Africa

  2. Subregions • Western Sudan – the drier north. Semi-arid Sahel (Cape Verde, The Gambia, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad) • Guinea Coast – the wetter south (Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Cote de Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea) • Niger River main water source

  3. Early History • Humans arrived in around 12,000 B.C. Farming began in, or around the fifth millennium B.C. By 400 B.C, ironworking technology produced first city-states. • The domestication of the camelallowed the development of a cross-Saharan trade. Exports were gold, cotton cloth, metal ornaments and leather goods. Imports were salt, horses, textiles.

  4. Later History • Trade allowed region to grow. Empires developed: Ghana, Mali, Songhai, etc. • Later states depended on slave trade with Portuguese, French, British • Nationalist movements after WWII • Ghana first to get independence • All West African countries independent by 1974

  5. Problems since Independence • Corruption and instability • Civil wars (Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Cote de Ivoire) • Coups (Ghana, Burkina Faso) • Great resources BUT (example) Sierra Leone lots of diamonds, no infrastructure and ban diamond sales due to corrupt government • AIDS • Famine in Niger, Mali

  6. Religion • Islam in the North • Christianity on the coast • Indigenous everywhere Mosque at Djenne

  7. Ethnic Groups • Nigeria has 250 ethnic groups • Many different tribes • Ashanti largest in Ghana • Chiefs and elders maintain customs and ceremonies • They believe that plants, animals and trees have souls

  8. Ashanti culture

  9. The Ashanti are known for their intricate kente cloth

  10. Some tribes, such as the Igbo in Nigeria, also made masks.

  11. The talking drum Unique to Western Africa culture

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