SECTION 1 – EARLY HISTORY A. Geography 1. The Plateau ~Most of sub-Saharan Africa is on an interior plateau ~ Rivers only navigable short distances inland.

SECTION 1 – EARLY HISTORYSECTION 1 – EARLY HISTORY

A. GeographyA. Geography

1. The Plateau

~Most of sub-Saharan Africa is on an interior plateau

~Rivers only navigable short distances inland from coast due to rapids or ‘cataracts’

*Kept interior unexplored by outsiders and, therefore, mysterious, giving Africa the nickname “the Dark Continent”

** Few good harbors contributed to the same inaccessibility and mysteriousness

2. Climate TypesA. Mediterranean (2%) –

C. Sahel –

North and South Coasts

Sahara, Kalahari, Namib *Camel caravans crossed even the vast Sahara *Bushmen – tribal groups who learned to live in the Kalahari

Southern edge of the Sahara *Droughts very common…

B. Desert (40%)–

D. Savanna (50%) – D. Savanna (50%) –

grasslands dotted with trees and brushgrasslands dotted with trees and brush

100 plus inches of rain per year! 100 plus inches of rain per year! E. Rain Forest (8%) –E. Rain Forest (8%) –

*Problem with soil – slash and burn agriculture *Problem with soil – slash and burn agriculture leads to “leaching” nutrients from the soil leads to “leaching” nutrients from the soil

**Tropical diseases – malaria, sleeping sickness, Ebola, etc…**Tropical diseases – malaria, sleeping sickness, Ebola, etc…

* Safari country!

3. Other Geographical FeaturesA. Great Rift Valley –

North to South running crack in the earth

*Much anthropological evidence has been found there…

B. Mountains or Highlands –

*Mount Kilimanjaro the most famous…

Atlas Mts(N), Drakensburg Mts(S), Ethiopian Highlands(E)

**Distance running success by Kenyans & Ethiopians…

B. Early Culture1. Village life

~Government by

a council of elders and or a chief

~ Agriculture usually used as basis for economy

~ Animist (polytheistic, with belief in both ancestor & natural spirits) religions predominate

~ Age and kinship ties historically important

*Some societies were matrilineal

or part matrilineal in nature…

2. Oral Traditions

~ Few written languages develop

*Griots – oral historians for a village

**”Roots” - Alex Haley’s novel tracing his African-American family roots all the way back to a village in Africa where the Griot remembered his ancestor’s capture into slavery

***This story might not have been entirely true…

Section 2 Kingdoms and City-States

*Nubia – Area South of Egypt along upper Nile River

A.Kush (1800’s B.C. – A.D. 300’s)

~ Black African Nubian kingdom abutting upper Egypt

~ Trading and iron-working center

~ Built pyramids and temples

*Kush traded with and sometimes fought Egypt

B. Aksum (A.D. 300’s – 700’s)

~ In Ethiopian Highlands and along the Red Sea~ Early Christian (Coptic) area in Africa

~ Aksum rises to power while Kush will declines

C. East African City-States (A.D. 700’s – 1300’s)

*Swahili Culture – mix of African (Bantu), Arabic and Persian ethnic groups, languages, and culture

~ Trade – from interior to coast, from Africa to Arabia, India and Asia

Exs. Slaves, ivory, gold, tortoise shells, etc.

sailing ships of East Africa and the Indian Ocean

~ Islam – came south from Arabia and N.E. Africa

~ Cities included: Mogadishu, Malindi, Kilwa and are later conquered by the Portugese

*Dhows –

*Pirates there today!!

~ Inland fortress city

~ controlled gold mining region and traded with the coastal cities

~ Mysteriously declines in A.D. 1400’s

*Drought (?), Famine (?)

D. Great Zimbabwe

E. West African Kingdoms

*Controlled trans-Saharan trade

Ex. gold from the Sahel for salt in the Sahara

~Europe’s primary source for gold until the1500’s and the influx of gold from the New World (Americas)

1. Ghana (The Land of Gold)~At its peak in AD 1000’s

~Loses power when attacked by Muslim Berber tribes from the North

2. Mali~At its peak in AD 1300’s

~Noted for justice and order by Muslim traveler Ibn Buttuta

Mansa Musa

~Timbuktu its capital city and center of Muslim learning and trade

~Mansa Musa its most famous king

>Supported arts and education

>Makes noted hajj to Mecca in 1324AD *Which makes Europe aware of W. African wealth and will eventually lead to the slave trade…

Timbuktu

3. Songhay

*Largest of historic West African Kingdoms

*Gun wielding Moroccans invade in the late1500’s causing its decline

Drought & famine frequent in many areas

Ex. Sahel area: Ethiopia, Somalia, etc.

Debt & Economic Development are issues for many countries (challenging due to the history of gov’t corruption & civil strife)

Health care HIV/AIDS~ mostly in sub-Saharan Africa where infection rates are high and gov’t’s are struggling to deal with the crisis

*Also: Malaria, Ebola, etc…

F. Modern Issues for Africa

Ethnic ViolenceEx. 1994 Rwanda – Hutus vs Tutsis 2000’s Sudan (Darfur) Arab vs Black 2000’s Zimbabwe Black vs White

Civil wars – Liberia, Sudan (Darfur), Dem Rep of Congo, etc.

Race relationsEx. South Africa, Zimbabwe

Apartheid – brutal system of racial segregation practiced in South Africa from 1930’s to early 1990’s

*Nelson Mandela’s role – black anti-apartheid leader who helps end Apartheid and becomes the first black President of South Africa **Also: Religious Violence – Muslims vs Christians in Nigeria

*Boko Haram group…

Environment & Ecology issues

Ex. Poaching, rain forest loss, etc.

Trafficking in humans (modern slavery) still occurs in certain areas

Children soldiers are used in many of the Civil Wars of Africa

Militant Islamic fundamentalism a big concern today Ex. Sudan, Egypt, Algeria, Somalia

Cultural Pride becoming more and more celebrated

Tourism often a part of many countries’ economies*And what sights, sounds, tastes, and smells there must be to behold…!

*On a positive note:

**Other issues: culture of gov’t corruption, the African diaspora, international aid/intervention, piracy, trade barriers, etc.