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Africa

Explore the geography of early Africa, including plateaus, rivers, deserts, savannas, and rainforests. Learn about the ancient civilizations of Egypt and their religion, trade, and rulers. Discover the trade routes and empires of East and West Africa, as well as the impact of European involvement, including the slave trade.

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Africa

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  1. Africa

  2. Early African • General Geography • Plateau: Africa shaped like an upside down bowl • Rivers: Nile, Congo, Niger all blocked by rapids and hard to travel upstream (isolation and lack of trade) • Deserts • Sahara Desert: Covers one-fourth of Africa (North) • Kalahari and Namib Deserts (South) • Savannas: Dry grasslands south of the Sahara desert and north of Kalahari and Namib Deserts • Tropical Rainforest: Center of Africa (equator) • Mountains: Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya

  3. Early Africa • Language • Bantu: Early African Language….appeared to have spread over a lot of Sub Saharan Africa • Trade • Early peoples appear to have had some interactions with Asia • Society • Matrilineal: Ancestors and property traced back through their mothers instead of fathers • Religion • Similar to other areas…gods and spirits based on nature

  4. Ancient Egypt • Egyptian Geography • Nile River: Where the first Civilizations began..predictable flooding was a positive for development of Egypt • Sahara Desert: Made invasion impossible • Egyptian Development • Hieroglyphics: Writing • Papyrus: Plant that was made into early paper

  5. Ancient Egypt • Leaders/Rulers • Pharaoh: Absolute power…both religious and political • Kingdoms • Old (2680 BC-2180 BC): Built Pyramids/Sphinx • Middle (2050-1780 BC): Invaded by foreigners • New (1570 BC-1080 BC): Strongest Empire • Famous Pharaohs • Hatshepsut: 1st Female Pharaoh • Thutmose III: King Tut…one of few tombs found intact • Ramses II: Last great Pharaoh..eventually Egyptians lost their freedoms when invaded by Persians in 300 BC

  6. Ancient Egypt • Religion • Gods based of nature • Mummification: Process to prepare the body for life after death. Tomb of Pharaohs would be filled with valuables to take with them to afterlife • Trade • Caravans: groups of people traveling together and trading together (safety)

  7. East Africa Trade • Trade • There were no real large kingdoms in the lands located along the Indian Ocean. • More small villages that were centered on trade. • Traded gold, ivory, hides and fellow African slaves. • A lot of interactions with Muslims from Arabia and Persia • Swahili • African culture that developed in Eastern Africa • Language that combine Bantu with Persian and Arabic • Became popular up and down the east coast of Africa • Big on trade. Tippu Tip-famous trader and lead Europeans into Africa

  8. West Africa • Trade • Salt for gold trade was important along South Sahara • Empires began to grow around this area • Ghana • Earliest empire of West Africa (300 AD) • Tunka Manin: Ghanaian ruler at the peak of power (1067 AD). • Huge Army: 200,000 warriors, bows/arrows/spears • Destroyed when the Berbers invaded across the area in 1100 AD. • Berbers carried Islam across North Africa

  9. West Africa • Mali • Neighbors of Ghana; gained control of area in 1235 AD • Mansa Musa: Leader of Mali during its peak of power • Timbuktu: Became the leading city of Mali; educational and trade center. • Songhai • Sonni Ali captured Timbuktu after Musa’s death, created a new empire called the Songhai. • Gao and Timbuktu became main trading centers for people from Europe, India, and China. • Eventually defeated by an army from Morocco that had a new weapon…guns.

  10. European Involvement • Slave Trade • Portugal began with a positive relationship with African tribes…then they became greedy and wanted gold and slaves. • Dutch, English and French would all get involved by the 1600s. • Middle Passage: Trip the slaves made from Africa to America’s…awful. Part of Triangular Trade. Slaves would be sold in return for “New World” goods headed to Europe and Africa. • Over 10 million slaves survived the journey to the Americas. • West Africa Slave Trade • Strong states began to emerge in West Africa as partners in the slave trade. • Slavery of other people was a popular practice in Africa (although freedom was often times granted and not considered property) • Problem: Over time, the loss of so many people had awful effects on the development of the area.

  11. 1800s: Europeans in North Africa • France • Became interested in Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco • Great Britain • Wanted to control Egypt • Italy • Wanted to control Libya • Spain • Also interested in parts of Morocco.

  12. 1800s: Sub Saharan West Africa • End of Slave Trade • Area had once been dominated by slave trade. By the 1800s, most European countries had stopped trading slaves. • Other items became popular to trade (oils, feathers, ivory, etc) • European Interests • France: Won Senegal by defeating SamoryToure • Great Britain: Won control of the Gold Coast..main county was Ghana • United States Involvement • Created and defended Liberia; a county for freed American slaves to return to. • Only independent country in the area.

  13. 1800s: Central Africa • Cause of European Interest • Henry Stanley: Journalist, looking for Dr. Livingstone (1871) • Impressed with Central Africa, tried to convince GB and others to invest and develop the region • Belgium Interest • King Leopold II: created a personal colony of around 900,000 square miles (Present day Congo) • Leopold eventually gave the colony to the Belgian government, where the area became known as Belgian Congo (1900s) • Leopold took almost all the natural rubber and sold the native people as slaves….imperialism at its worst

  14. 1800s: East Africa • European Countries: • Divided up the land, very similar to what had happened in Western Africa. • Famine and a disease that killed the native cattle led to many native’s starving to death • They were too weak to defend themselves from the Europeans • Berlin Conference 1884-85: regulated European colonization in Africa. Also seen as the formalization of the Scramble for Africa. Everyone wanted a piece of the land officially. • By 1914 only two nations in Africa were free from colonial control: Liberia, and Ethiopia.

  15. 1800s: South Africa • Great Britain and Dutch Interests • Boers: Decedents of the original Dutch settlers living in South Africa…had created 3 colonies • Boers left the area when the British arrived in the late 1800s. • Zulu’s: Native tribe that was a rival of the Boers. Zulu’s were eventually defeated by British. • European Interest in Gold and Silver • Germany became very interested in Southern Africa once Gold and Silver were found. • Cecil Rhodes: British businessman that gained control of a vast area…monopoly on diamond production. • Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) was created by Cecil Rhodes.

  16. 1800s: Effects of European Imperialism • Bad Effects • Europeans controlled all aspects of government • They did not create borders that aligned with the tribes of the area. Often put rival tribes within the same borders which led to conflict. • Paternalism: Belief that African’s were not able to effectively rule themselves. • Alliances: Some Africans tried to form alliances with European countries…usually this worked out bad for the African countries (Ethiopia and Italy) • Most Africans never accepted European rule and culture. Europeans wanted them to assimilate. Did not happen. • Good Effects • New things: crops, ways of farming, roads, and railroads all helped improve communications.

  17. Independence Time • Post WWI • After WWI a lot of British colonies began demanding self-rule. • Issues • Africans had helped GB/France during WWI…now they wanted freedom. • Soldiers returning from war had new ideas on nationalism, independence, racism, etc

  18. More Calls for Independence • African Organizations • By the 1930’s most Africans were calling for independence rather than reform. • This made European countries and tribal chiefs upset • Leaders • Nnamdi Azikiwe (Nigeria), Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya) and Leopold Senghor (Senegal). • This leaders followed the non-violent teachings of Gandhi to gain support for independence

  19. African during WWII • Italy/Ethiopia • Ethiopia: one of the few independent countries in Africa during the 1930s. • Mussolini: Leader of Italy, invaded a defeated Ethiopia in 1935. • Ethiopia had asked for help, no one helped them. Fought them off and remained independent. • Fighting in Africa • Germany, led by commander Erwin Rommel had taken control of Libya. Tank warfare • Eventually Axis forces were defeated by Americans/British forces in 1942…forced to retreat back to Tunisia. • Eventually Dwight Eisenhower (SA) and Bernard Montgomery (GB) were able to trap Rommel’s troops in Tunisia. • Allies gained complete control of Northern Africa and Suez Canal

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