Unit 4 Sub-Saharan Africa

1. Unit 4 Sub-Saharan Africa -West and Central Africa -East Africa -Southern Africa

2. Early History West & Central Africa • earliest documented kingdoms: • began around 800 A.D. • gained economic strength by est. systems of trade between the peoples of the arid north and those in the tropical rainforests of the Congo basin. • These Kingdoms included: • Ghana Empire about 1050 A.D. • Mali Empire about 1337 A.D. • Songhai Empire about 1500 A.D. • The City of Tombouctou: a major intersection for trade from.

3. Early History West & Central Africa • The early kingdoms of West Africa traded • gold, cloth, and slaves, • cultural elements • exotic foods • the Islamic faith • The peoples of the tropical rainforests • less interaction with these trade networks

4. Early History East Africa • East African cultures depended • oral histories: passed from one generation to another, little evidence remains of their existence. • The earliest documented civilizations • The Kush Kingdom, which ruled the middle Nile River Valley (modern-day Sudan)

5. Early History East Africa • By 350 A.D., the Kush had been conquered by the Aksum Empire • trade center (now Ethiopia) • The kings of Aksum • adopted Christianity

6. Around 500 A.D. • Arab traders began sailing along Africa’s east coast • Est. ports for the trade • gold • ivory • The language • Swahili • derived from the original languages of the African coast combined with Arabic. • Trade routes have taken the language as far west as the Congo

7. Early History Southern Africa • Bantu peoples • Hunter-gatherers • animal herders • migrated to Southern Africa around A.D. 100. • raised crops • beans and sorghum, and herded cattle, goats and sheep. • knew how to make iron tools Great Zimbabwe. • Great Zimbabwe empire

8. European Contact & Colonization West & Central Africa • Europeans arrived on the west coast of Africa around the late 1400s. • explorers were in search of a water route to Asia • Stayed for gold trade • rarely ventured beyond the coastal areas because of • thick jungles, • tropical diseases, • few navigable rivers • natural harbors.

9. European Contact & Colonization West & Central Africa • 1500s, demand for slaves increased • focus of trade from gold to slaves. • Europeans supplied guns to the coastal tribes of West Africa • Between 1500 and 1800, approximately 10 million Africans were taken to the Americas as slaves. (now Senegal and Angola.)

10. European Contact & Colonization West & Central Africa • 1800s European industrialization demanded • minerals • tropical farm products • climates and rich soils of West Africa were perfect for growing products such as: • Cocoa • Peanuts • Rubber • European countries: • sought political control • led to a period of colonization: lasted for almost 100 years.

11. Post-Colonization West & Central Africa • 1976 all of Africa’s countries in this region were independent. • Colonization affected the region • Commercial economies est. by Europeans , left many Africans dependent on • low wages, • unemployed, • high illiteracy rate. • rival ethnic groups are left to fight for power in newly independent countries, causing serious political rivalries in the region.

12. European Contact & Colonization East Africa • 1500s the Portuguese built the first European forts along the coast of East Africa. • mid-1800s European and American explorers, missionaries and traders began to venture into the harsh inland. • in search of precious minerals and ivory • During the colonization period Europeans drew colonial boundaries without giving thought to human or physical geography. • boundaries divided ethnic groups and grouped traditional enemies. • brought about conflicts that still haunt the region today.

13. European Contact & Colonization East Africa • Europeans colonized much of East Africa • the exception of Ethiopia • built cities, hospitals, ports, roads, and schools in the areas • exports included cash crops such as coffee, cotton, tea, and sisal. • Europeans educated Africans: • led independence movements • gained their independence during the 1950s and 60s.

14. East Africa East African cultures have given the world a rich heritage of architecture, art, folk tales, and music. rich religious history based on traditional animist, Islamic, and Christian beliefs. organized into three linguistic groups: The Nilotic Peoples are primarily herders from the Nile River area on the plains of Sudan. The Cushiatic speakers live primarily between the Ethiopian highlands and the coast of Somalia. The Bantu Speakers live farther south and include the Kikuyu of Kenya and the Hutu of Rwanda. Post-Colonization

15. European Contact & Colonization Southern Africa • In their search for a water route to Asia, Portuguese sailors began exploring the southern African coast in the late 1400s. They began setting up small supply bases along the coast for Asian bound ships. • In 1652, the Dutch set up a small farming settlement at the Cape of Good Hope. They were joined by French and Germans and became known as the Boers. These Europeans began to consider Africa their home and called themselves Afrikaners. In time they developed their own language called Afrikaans.

16. European Contact & Colonization Southern Africa • In the 1800s Great Britain took over the Cape and forced the Afrikaners inland to escape British rule. • The discovery of diamonds and gold • led to a mass immigration of Europeans into the area • massive conflicts between the British and Afrikaners for control of the region.

17. European Contact & Colonization Southern Africa • African independence movements • led to independence for most of Southern Africa by 1980 • conflicts continued in areas such as Mozambique and Angola. • Worst of these conflicts took place in South Africa • b/w the Afrikaners and Native Africans • Apartheid: a system of segregation laws. • These laws were initiated by a white minority government to rule over the native peoples of the region.

18. South Africa Today • Apartheid • countries began placing economic sanctions • Leading this movement to end apartheid was the African National Congress (ANC) which was established in 1912. • In 1990, South African government • began disassembling the apartheid system. • freed the ANC’s imprisoned leader Nelson Mandela. • 1994 South Africa held its first elections open to all citizens. • Nelson Mandela was elected the first black president of South Africa.