Unit 5: Africa

Project Requirements:1. Capital2. Major cities3. Bodies of water4. Population (after 2000)5. Major religions6. Ethnic backgrounds7. Major exports8. Type of government9. Currency10. Languages

Part 2:Brief History (ONE PAGE)

Chapter 19: Africa: Physical GeographySection 1: Physical FeaturesAfrica covers about one fifth of all the land in the world. It can be divided into four regions:

1. North Africa contains the world’s largest desert, the Sahara.2. West Africa is the most populated region.3. East Africa contains many mountains and plateaus.4. Central and Southern Africa contains much grassland, rain forests, mountains, and swamps.

In many places, Africa’s elevation is high. The tallest mountains, including Mount Kilimanjaro, are in East Africa. A strip of coastal plain runs along much of Africa’s coast. In Accra, Ghana, the coastal strip ends at a long escarpment, or steep cliff.

East Africa contains a rift, deep trench, called the Great Rift Valley. This rift was formed millions of years ago, when the continents pulled apart.

Africa’s four longest rivers are the Nile, the Congo, the Niger, and the Zambezi. They are broken in places by rock-filled barriers called cataracts. These cataracts act as transportation barriers, physical features that make it difficult to travel or transport goods from one region to another.

Class Discussion Questions: (DO NOT COPY)1. Describe the four regions of Africa.2. What river is the longest both in Africa and in the world?

Section 2: Humans and the Physical EnvironmentAfrica has several different climate regions with different weather patterns and physical features. People in each region adapt the ways that they live and work to make the best use of their physical environment.

The climate of a place is influenced by how close it is to the Equator and to large bodies of water. Other influences on climate include major landforms and elevation.

Somalia is about the same distance from the Equator as Ethiopia. Yet the two countries have different climates. Somalia is at a much lower elevation and is hot and dry. Farming is possible only in or near an oasis, a place where springs and fresh underground water make it possible to support life in a region of little rain.

Ethiopia is located on a very high plateau and usually gets plenty of rain—enough so that many farmers do not irrigate, or artificially water their crops.

The land is varied in Africa’s tropical rain forests, tropical savannas, and deserts. People in these different regions have adapted to the seasons and to the land in order to make a living. Nomads move to various places to make their living in the desert.

Class Discussion Questions: (DO NOT COPY)1. Name four factors that influence climate in Africa. 2. Identify one environmental problem created by people’s adaptation to the tropical rain forest.

Section 3: Geographic Features and Natural ResourcesAn economy is a system for producing, distributing, consuming, and owning goods, services, and wealth. Farming is the major part of Africa’s economy. Most of the land is used by subsistence farmers, who raise crops to support their families and sell or trade a few crops for other items they need. Their land is often very difficult to farm because of poor soil or too little rain.

More and more farmers in Africa are raising cash crops, or crops to sell. Cash crops include tea, coffee, and cacao. As more land is used for cash crops, less land is used for crops to feed families. Food shortages can occur when cash crops fail.

In Africa, specializing in just farming makes it possible for the economy to be badly hurt when little rain falls or the price for crops is low. So African countries are trying to diversify, or add variety to, their economies by producing raw materials and manufactured goods.

Mining is also important to Africa’s economy. Parts of Africa are rich in mineral resources such as petroleum, which is used to make oil and other products.

Class Discussion Questions: (DO NOT COPY)1. Why are African countries working to diversify their economies?2. What two types of farming are important in Africa’s economy?

Chapter 20: Africa: Shaped by HistorySection 1: Africa’s First PeopleThe continent’s first people lived in East Africa. These early people were hunter-gatherers who gathered wild fruits, nuts, and roots and hunted animals for food and clothing. Later, people became farmers. They domesticated plants and animals, or adapted them for their own use. People settled where the land was fertile, or productive. Some communities grew a food surplus, more than they needed.

About 5,000 years ago the Egyptian civilization arose on the Nile River. A civilization is a society with cities, a government, social classes, architecture, writing, and art. The ancient Egyptians built pyramids and developed picture writings called hieroglyphics.

By about 500 B.C., West Africans had learned to heat and shape iron. They used iron to make ax heads and other parts of farming and hunting tools.

About 2,000 years ago, a group who spoke the Bantu languages began to migrate, or move from place to place. Over hundreds of years, Bantu-speakers settled in Central and Southern Africa. They introduced their knowledge of farming, herding, and iron tools to these regions.

Class Discussion Questions: (DO NOT COPY)1. Name one achievement made in ancient Egypt and one achievement made in West Africa.2. How did producing a food surplus make it possible for civilizations to arise?

Section 2: Kingdoms and EmpiresTrade was highly important to East African kingdoms such as Aksum (in present-day Ethiopia) and Eritrea. Ideas, as well as goods, traveled along trade routes that stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to India.

Great kingdoms also arose in West Africa. Their power was based on the trade of salt and gold. Control of this trade enriched the West African kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai.

Mali’s most famous king was Mansa Musa. He made a pilgrimage—or religious journey—to the Arabian city of Mecca, where Muhammad was born. Mansa Musa brought peace and order to the kingdom of Mali. He based his laws on the Quran, the holy book of Islam.

Trade also helped cities to develop along East Africa’s coast. Some grew into power city-states, which had their own government and controlled much of the surrounding land. Some Muslim traders settled in East Africa and introduced Islam. Swahili, a Bantu language with some Arab words mixed in, developed in the region.

Class Discussion Questions: (DO NOT COPY)1. Why was trade so important in African kingdoms?2. How did trade influence language?

Section 3: European Influence and African IndependenceFor some 300 years, Europeans transported enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to work on plantations and mines in North and South America. The effects of slavery were disastrous, especially for West Africans. When the slave trade ended in the 1800s, European nations colonized Africa, which means they settled it and took over its government.

Nationalism, a feeling of pride in one’s homeland, developed under colonial rule. African leaders saw that, to end colonial rule, they must foster unity among many ethnic groups. A movement called Pan-Africanism, which stressed unity and cooperation among all Africans, was formed in the 1920s.

The movement for independence grew stronger after World War II. In the Gold Coast, Kwame Nkrumah organized strikes and boycotts against British rule in the early 1950s. In a boycott, people refuse to buy or use certain products or services.

Many African countries won independence. Some have a long history of democracy, where citizens help make governmental decisions. Many Africans feel that building stable democracies will take time.

Class Discussion Questions: (DO NOT COPY)1. Name two ways in which Africans suffered a loss of freedom.2. How did Africans respond after the early 1900s, when European countries controlled nearly all the continent?

Chapter 21: Africa: Rich in CultureSection 1: The Cultures of North AfricaWhen a group of people share similar beliefs and customs, they are said to have a culture. Culture has many elements, including food, clothing, homes, jobs, and language. It can also be shared ideas, such as how people practice a religion.

Religion is an important part of North African culture. More than 95 percent of North Africans practice Islam and are Muslims. The religion of Islam and the Arabic language unify people of many different ethnic backgrounds in North Africa.

Cultures are constantly changing as people and ideas move from one place to another. This movement of customs and ideas is called cultural diffusion. North Africa has been part of the diffusion process because of its Mediterranean location. Throughout history, it has been a hub of trade with Europe, Asia, and other parts of Africa.

Some North Africans are concerned that their countries are too influenced by Western culture. All over Africa, people face the challenge of how to preserve the traditions they value as their countries modernize.

Class Discussion Questions: (DO NOT COPY)1. How has North Africa’s location affected its culture?2. What do the peoples of North Africa have in common?

Section 2: The Cultures of West AfricaWest Africa is famous for its cultural diversity—it has a wide variety of cultures. There are hundreds of ethnic groups in West Africa, all having different languages. Most West Africans learn to speak more than one language, which lends unity to the culturally diverse region.

West Africans are strongly bound by kinship, or family relationship. The first level of kinship is the nuclear family, made up of parents and their children. The next level is the extended family, which includes all other relatives.

In many rural areas, a group of families known as the lineage have a common ancestor. Several lineages form a clan, which has roots back to an even earlier ancestor.

West Africans pass on their history, values, and traditions to their children through storytelling. A storyteller called a griot passes this information from one generation to the next. West African cultures were brought to the United States by enslaved West Africans.

Class Discussion Questions: (DO NOT COPY)1. What term describes the culture of West Africa?2. Write one sentence comparing the working life of West Africans and West African culture.

Section 3: The Cultures of East AfricaEast Africa’s location has given it great cultural diversity. People have been migrating to East Africa for a very long time. Bantu-speakers from West Africa arrived at least 2,000 years ago. People from across the Indian Ocean, Arab countries, India, and China have settled along East Africa’s long coastline.

The Swahili, Africans who have mixed African and Arab ancestry, live along the east coast of Africa from Somalia to Mozambique. The Swahili language is widely used for business and communication. Kenya and Tanzania have made Swahili the official language to help preserve their African heritage.

Religious beliefs in East Africa reflect the region’s cultural diversity. Arab traders introduced Islam. Christianity spread from North Africa and Europe. These two religions, as well as traditional religions and practices, remain important in East Africa today.

Class Discussion Questions: (DO NOT COPY)1. What geographic factor explains East Africa’s cultural diversity?2. What kinds of bonds are reflected in East Africans’ understanding of home? Explain.

Section 4: The Cultures of South AfricaSouth Africa is just one country in Southern Africa, but it has had, by far, the greatest impact on the region. It is the richest and most industrialized country on the continent.

White settlers, not blacks, established the Republic of South Africa and ruled it until the 1990s. Only people considered to be white had basic rights of citizenship, such as the right to vote.

As blacks struggled to gain political rights, they began to see themselves as full members of the nation. They developed a sense of nationalism that led to their winning the rights of equal citizenship and, as the majority, the right to rule the nation. The African National Congress (ANC), organized by South African blacks in 1912, played a key role in the struggle for majority rule.

The demand for labor has been great in southern Africa. Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers, people who move from place to place to find work, have worked in the region. In the 1980s, mine workers in South Africa formed the National Union of Mineworkers. The union was illegal at the time, and it played a leading role in the drive for equal rights.

Class Discussion Questions: (DO NOT COPY)1. Name two issues that have strongly influenced the culture of South Africa.2. How did building an identity, based on how they related to each other as workers, help miners in South Africa?

Chapter 22: North and West Africa: Exploring the Region TodaySection 1: A Nation Shaped by IslamIslam is the official religion of Egypt. Muslims, followers of Islam, believe that the Quran contains the words of God, which were revealed to Muhammad during the month of Ramadan. Muslims pray five times a day, facing in the direction of Mecca where Islam’s holiest shrine is located.

Most Muslims believe that the laws of Egypt should be based on Islamic law. There is some disagreement, however; for example, over the public behavior of women. Some argue that women should be required to cover their faces with a veil.

While Egyptians are unified by their religious practice, their lives differ greatly depending on where they live. About half of all Egyptians live in cities. In Cairo, the capital and Africa’s largest city, people shop in open-air markets called bazaars.

Most people of rural Egypt live in villages along the Nile or the Suez Canal. Most villagers are farmers called fellaheen who have small, rented plots of land or work in the fields of large landowners.

Class Discussion Questions: (DO NOT COPY)1. What are some important beliefs and practices of Islam?2. What shortages affect Egyptians in urban and rural areas?

Section 2: Algeria: Urban and Rural Ways of LifeAbout half of Algeria’s people live in cities where mosques and open-air marketplaces called souqs are common. Older parts of the cities are called casbahs.

Because of their resourcefulness, Berber and Arab nomads have survived in the Sahara for hundreds of years. Most Berbers live in villages and rural areas and continue to follow traditional ways of life. Family is so important to the Berbers that their village government is based on it.

Most Berbers make a living by farming and herding. In the mountains, they build terraces, or platforms cut into the mountainside, for their crops.

The Berber way of life changed in the A.D. 600s, when Arabs spread across North Africa, conquering the region over hundreds of years. Peace came when most Berbers accepted Islam.

Arab traditions are similar to Berber traditions, and the two groups have mixed over the centuries. Most Berbers speak Berber and Arabic. Many Berbers and Arabs also speak French because France ruled Algeria for part of its history.

Class Discussion Questions: (DO NOT COPY)1. What do Berbers and Arabs have in common?2. Where do most Algerians choose to live? Why do you suppose that is?

Section 3: Nigeria: One Country, Many Ethnic GroupsNigeria is multiethnic, which means that many ethnic groups live within its borders. The number of ethnic groups is shown by more than 250 languages that are spoken in Nigeria. The nation’s three largest ethnic groups are the Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Ibo.

It is hard to tell how many people are in each ethnic group. Whenever a census—a count of all the people—is taken, it causes debate, because the largest group will have the most power in government.

The Hausa-Fulani make up about one third of Nigeria’s people. Most Hausa-Fulani are Muslims. They built cities, such as Kano, at the crossroads of trade routes.

The Yoruba make up about one fifth of Nigeria’s people. Most Yoruba are farmers, but many live in Lagos, a former Yoruba city-state and center for the European slave trade but now peaceful center or trade.

The Ibo live in farming villages. Unlike the Hausa-Fulani or Yoruba, the Ibo rule themselves with a democratic council of elders who work together to solve problems.

Class Discussion Questions: (DO NOT COPY)1. What are the three largest ethnic groups in Nigeria?2. Who controlled the territories of the Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Ibo before, during, and after the colonial era?

Section 4: Ghana: Origins of a Democratic GovernmentGhana was once known as the Gold Coast, which was named for an important natural resource—gold. Beginning in 1874, the Gold Coast was a colony of Great Britain.

Kwame Nkrumah led the Gold Coast’s struggle for independence. Nkrumah believed that the people should benefit from the wealth of their own country. In 1957, he announced that Great Britain had agreed to grant people sovereignty, or political independence. Nkrumah became the leader of the new country, which changed its name to Ghana, after an African kingdom that had previously ruled the region.

After nine years, Nkrumah was thrown out of office by a military coup, or takeover. Why? Nkrumah borrowed huge amounts of money to fulfill his plans for Ghana. Then the price for cocoa, Ghana’s chief export, fell. Ghana could not repay its loans. The people blamed Nkrumah for the country’s economic problems.

Ghana is still dependent on the sale of cocoa, but its economy has grown. In addition, special centers have been set up to keep traditional Ghanaian culture alive.

Class Discussion Questions: (DO NOT COPY)1. What caused Ghana’s economy to weaken and Kwame Nkrumah to be ousted in a coup?2. What happened in the area of education when Great Britain ruled the Gold Coast?

Chapter 23: East, Central, and South Africa: Exploring the Region TodaySection 1: Rwanda and Burundi: Torn by Ethnic Conflict

The first inhabitants of Rwanda and Burundi were the Twa, a Pygmy people. The Hutu, Bantu-speakers from West Africa, arrived next. Last came the Tutsi, most likely from either the Nile River Valley or Ethiopia.

Today the Hutu make up 85-90% of the population in both Rwanda and Burundi. The Tutsi form the other significant portion. Despite their smaller numbers, the Tutsi have always held a dominant place. Soon after they arrived in the region, the Tutsi became aristocrats, who are in the minority but are considered a privileged upper class.

The Tutsi government was headed by a mwami, or king, who divided the land among the ganwa, his princes or lords. The Hutus were considered vassals, or servants, of the Tutsi landowners.Since winning independence from Belgium in the 1960s, Rwanda and Burundi have experienced continual upheaval as a result of military coups, assassinations, and outbreaks of violence between the Hutu and the Tutsi. Millions of Hutu fled the region in the 1990s and became refugees, people who seek safety in another country.

Class Discussion Questions: (DO NOT COPY)1. What two ethnic groups have long been in conflict in Rwanda and Burundi?2. What are three effects of prolonged war in Rwanda and Burundi?

Section 2: Kenya: Diverse Cultures, Shared GoalsNearly all of Kenya’s people are indigenous Africans who belong to more than 40 different ethnic groups, each with its own culture and language.

Despite their differences, Kenyans have many things in common. Even Kenyans who live in the city think of the piece of land where they were born as home and return to it throughout their lives. Kenyans also value their families, which often have six or more children. People consider their cousins to be almost like brothers and sisters.

After Kenya gained independence in 1963, the new president, Jomo Kenyatta, began a campaign called harambee. The word is Swahili for “let’s pull together.”

Kenyans in rural areas are farmers. Most women and children are in rural areas, but, as the population increases, many men are moving to cities like Nairobi to find work. Men in Nairobi who are from the same ethnic group often help each other. The women who are left behind must do twice as much work. Many people have responded to this situation in the spirit of harambee—working together.

Class Discussion Questions: (DO NOT COPY)1. What two things do Kenyans from different ethnic groups value?2. Even though Mount Kenya lies near the Equator, its twin peaks are covered with snow all year long. Why do you suppose that is?

Section 3: The Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Government in Turmoil

The Democratic Republic of Congo is a major source of copper. The Congo has many other natural resources, but only a small part of them have been developed.

After the Congo gained independence from Belgium, various groups fought each other for power. Worried that unrest would hurt their businesses, foreign companies helped a military leader, Mobutu Sese Seko, seize control.

Mobutu tried to restore order through an authoritarian government, one in which a single leader or small group of leaders has all the power. He renamed the country Zaire. Next he nationalized, or put under government control, the foreign owned industries. This policy did not work. In the 1970s, when the world price of copper fell, Zaire’s economy collapsed.

Criticism of Mobutu mounted in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1997 a small group, with support from neighboring countries, grew into a rebel army and took over the country. They renamed it the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rebel groups with different ideas fought until 1999. Outbreaks of violence still continue.

Class Discussion Questions: (DO NOT COPY)1. Do you think that Mobutu proved a good leader for foreign companies to support?2. Name three mineral resources and two energy resources of the Congo.

Section 4: South Africa: The End of ApartheidUntil recently, white people controlled almost all the riches of the Republic of South Africa. South Africans lived under a system called apartheid, which means “separateness.”

Apartheid laws placed every South African into one of four categories based on race and made it legal to discriminate, or treat people differently and often unfairly, based on race. Blacks were denied citizenship rights, including the right to vote. Blacks were forced to move to 10 poor rural areas called homelands, which had the driest and least fertile land.

Many South Africans, black and white fought apartheid through peaceful and organized protests. The government responded with deadly force, but the movement against apartheid kept growing and gained support from countries around the world.

The apartheid system broke down in the early 1990s. Black South Africans gained full citizenship. In 1994, a black leader Nelson Mandela was elected president for the first time. To help heal South Africa, Mandela’s government set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to examine the crimes of the apartheid era.

Class Discussion Questions: (DO NOT COPY)1. Describe the system of apartheid.2. From what two groups did white South Africans descend?