culture and history of africa part i

U N I T 6

CULTURE AND HISTORY OF AFRICA PART I

WARM UP

•Grab all 4 items from the back desk•Turn in Composition Notebooks on the stool

PRIOR TO THE BERLIN CONFERENCE

• Central Africa• Bantu Migrations- mass

migration from Nigeria into the rest of Africa because of land shortage. (Beginning in 2000 BCE)• Q1: What would this

cause?• Spread of languages and

culture

PRIOR TO THE BERLIN CONFERENCE

• East Africa

• Early civilizations began here

• Established as a trading empire with Arab, Persian, and Indian traders

PRIOR TO THE BERLIN CONFERENCE

• West Africa• Long history of trading

empires (800- 1500)• Mali, Ghana, Songhai-

major products were gold and salt

• Stateless societies: one in which people rely on family lineages to govern themselves, rather than elected government or monarch

DJENNE MOSQUE, MALI

PRIOR TO THE BERLIN CONFERENCE

• North Africa• Early Egyptian

civilizations began around the Nile River

• Q2: Why would the Nile River Valley be an excellent place to begin civilization?• Excellent soil!

THE SLAVE TRADE• Q3: Why did Europeans

need slaves?• Plantations in the

Americas

• European traders went to Africa for slaves

• African merchants brought potential slaves to them

• Q4: Why would African merchants bring slaves to these Europeans?• Guns and other goods

THE SLAVE TRADE• Many Africa rulers

participated (have been doing this for years- sold to Arabs and other Africans)

• By the end of the slave trade (1870s) millions of Africans had been transported to Americas and Europe

COLONIALISM BEGINS

• Europeans involved in Africa since the mid-15th century

• Q5: Why did Europeans mainly stay on the coast of Africa?• Rugged interior of Africa/

elevation/cataracts

• King Leopold II of Belgium• Developed an interest in the Congo• Wanted to open African interior to

European trade• Paved way for European colonialism

BERLIN CONFERENCE (1884-1885)• Q6: What was the goal of the Berlin

Conference?• Prevent European wars over African territory

• No African ruler was invited to this conference

• By 1914, only Liberia and Ethiopia remained independent

• Divided Africa without regard to where African ethnic or linguistic groups lived

• Q7: What kind of problems would this cause?• Combined peoples who were traditional

enemies-

WARM UP #8• 1. Why did King Leopold II of Belgium spark an interest in the

Congo?• No European power had expanded yet into the interior of the continent• Economic gain

• 2. What important event/ meeting changed African history forever in the 1880s?• Berlin Conference

• 3. What did this event establish?• European domination of the continent

• 4. What problems were caused when Europeans divided territory lines in Africa without consideration to ethnic or linguistic divisions?• Led to later tensions/divisions and civil wars

• 5. How does #4 tie into the movie Hotel Rwanda?• The division between the Tutsi and Hutu was created by Europeans• Civil war erupted because of the legacy left over by European colonization

HISTORY AND CULTURE (ECONOMY) PART II

• What has happened after European colonization?

EAST AFRICA• 1970s - Most of East Africa

gained its independence from Europe

• Internal disputes and civil wars became a problem• Q1: WHY?• Ethnic boundaries created by

Europeans• Rwanda- genocide in the

1990s• Economy still centered on

tourism and farming• Q2: Why is the economy still

centered on tourism and farming?• Cash crops- such as coffee, tea,

sugar was a focus for Europeans• Q3: Why would relying on cash

crops be a problem?• Price of crops change depending

on the world market

NORTH AFRICA• Q3: What is Arab Spring• Revolutions/protests in the Arab

world• Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria,

Morocco• Islam• Major religion of the region

• Economy• Began with an economy based on

agriculture• Evolved into mining and the

discovery of oil• Unemployment still remains a

problem• Women• Households centered around men• Roles for women are changing• Increased penalty for spousal abuse• Allowing them to have professional

jobs

WEST AFRICA• Economy• Trade still important today• Wide variety of economies• Ghana- export gold, and

diamonds. More stable• Sierra Leone- worst

economic conditions. 31% literacy rate. Civil wars and political instability.

• Q4: What accounts for these differences?• Who did Europeans leave

in charge?• Is there political

corruption? • Etc.

CENTRAL AFRICA• New African governments

were forced to govern a diverse population.

• Inexperienced leaders often corrupt and abused power

• Economy• Only economic infrastructure

they developed was to remove raw materials during colonialism

• Q5: Why would this cause problems?• No roads for trade, dependency

on raw materials instead of industry, few schools, etc.

SOUTHERN AFRICA

• 1948- white minority instituted policy of apartheid• Complete separation of the races• Banned social contact between

blacks and whites• African National Congress• Founded by blacks of South

Africa• Nelson Mandela emerged as a

leader (later imprisoned)• Elected president in 1994• 1996- passed new democratic

constitution that guaranteed the rights of all citizens

SOUTHERN AFRICAN ECONOMY

• South Africa• Apartheid led to poor

education of blacks• 2 economies exist: • Upper-middle class

economy (like the US)• Low economy –

shantytowns, poverty-stricken

• Botswana• Unequal distribution of

wealth from diamond business