AfricaAfrica

Physical Geography and Early Civilizations

Five Regions of AfricaFive Regions of Africa

1. North

2. South

3. East

4. West

5. Central

Landscape FeaturesLandscape Features• Escarpment: steep cliff

•cataract: large waterfall

Four Climate ZonesFour Climate Zones

• Above all else, climate has affected population density in Africa.

1. Tropical2. Tropical Wet/Dry

(savannah)

3. Mediterranean4. Desert

Early CivilizationsEarly Civilizations• Civilization: organized group of people

with their own languages and way of life

• Archaeologists: study remains left by early people

• What have archaeologists discovered in Africa?

• The earliest civilizations were tribes– Nomads: travel in search of food and shelter

Early CivilizationsEarly Civilizations• They also found remains of early

kingdoms

1. Egypt: polytheistic, were ruled by pharaohs

- Achievements of Egypt:» The pyramids» Heiroglyphics

Egypt Video

Early CivilizationsEarly Civilizations

2. Kush: polytheistic, same gods as Egyptians

- Achievements of Kush:» Use and spread of iron

A stele from the Kingdom of Kush, inscribed with Merotic cursive.

Early CivilizationsEarly Civilizations

3. Axum: monotheistic, Christianity

- Achievements of Axum:» Large trading kingdom

A stone obelisk from Axum

Early CivilizationsEarly CivilizationsRed= Kingdom of Egypt

Blue= Kingdom of Kush

Black= Kingdom of Axum

• Why have these great kingdoms grown and thrived in the same general region?

Early CivilizationsEarly Civilizations

• Many of the traditions of early tribes and societies have been passed down through the generations.

“African Folklore and Oral Traditions”

African DevelopmentAfrican Development

Growth, Imperialism

Early Patterns of LifeEarly Patterns of Life

• Began with traditional societies– Traditional societies usually have:

• Hunting/gathering• Subsistence farmers: produce enough for own

needs• Extended families living in clans• Variety of governments

– Consensus: common agreement; the way many small communities made decisions

• Traditional societies usually have:

• Traditional religions– Many were monotheistic

with a belief in lesser gods/spirits

– Ancestors can help or harm your society

– Diviners provide a special link to the spiritual world

Early Patterns of LifeEarly Patterns of Life

ImperialismImperialism

• Major kingdoms developed over time

• Beginning in the early AD years, Africa had a steady stream of outside traders and explorers

• Brought new ideas and tools– Religions: Christianity, Islam, Judaism

European ImperialismEuropean Imperialism• Circa 1450, Prince Henry “The Navigator”

of Portugal sent ships to explore the West Africa

• They brought gold and Africans back with them• It began the trade between Europe and Africa

• With new colonies in the Americas, Europeans needed workers

• European Motives1. Raw materials/ natural resources

• Diamonds of South Africa• Rubber from rainforests in Central Africa

2. Political rivalries• To be the best and have the biggest empire• Great Britain vs. Spain vs. Portugal vs. France

3. Spread Christianity and western civilization• Ethnocentrism: Ethnocentrism:

"The White Man's Burden" by Rudyard Kipling

European ImperialismEuropean Imperialism

• The Atlantic Slave Trade• The Middle Passage: the second leg of the

Atlantic slave trade in which horrible injustices were committed against Africans who were to be sold as slaves

European ImperialismEuropean Imperialism

PBS: The Atlantic Slave Trade

• Effects of the slave trade1. Increased tensions among tribes and

societies

2. Small African communities disappeared

3. African diaspora: scattering of people and culture

• Resulted in the spread of African culture to new regions of the world, especially Europe and the Americas

European ImperialismEuropean Imperialism

The Scramble for AfricaThe Scramble for Africa• European colonial

rivalries spurred the meeting of the Berlin Conference (1884)

• Split Africa into regions owned by European countries (page 99)

A New Conference?A New Conference?

Does Africa need a new Berlin Conference?

Resistance to ImperialismResistance to Imperialism

• Africans continually fought of European imperialism

• South African resistance• Zulus: trained warriors who fought off British

soldiers• Boer Wars: Fights between Dutch settlers (Boers),

British, and Zulus for diamonds and gold– Both Dutch and Zulus eventually absorbed into British

empire

IndependenceIndependence

• Nationalism grew out of European imperialism– European boundaries put African tribal rivals

under the same governments

• Nationalists called for a movement– Pan-Africanism: movement to unite all

Africans based on common heritage

• WWII weakened European countries (1945)

• African independence movements were able to gain strength

• During the 1950s and 1960s many new independent African nations were created

IndependenceIndependence

ImplicationsImplications

• African nations have struggled to maintain stable governments and stable economies

• Europeans gave no government training to Africans

• Extracting and selling natural resources