WEST AFRICA AND CENTRAL AFRICAChapter 26, Page 540

Overview of Chapter 26

Section 1 – The Sahel Answer assessment Q’s 1-3

Section 2 – The Coastal Countries Section 3 – Nigeria Section 4 – Central Africa

It’s Map Time!

1. Using the map on page 540, label the countries of West Africa and Central Africa. You have 5 minutes.

2. Now turn to page 513. What are the three main ecosystems in West and Central Africa?

3. Go to page 517 and list the natural resources of the Atlantic coast nations.

What do you notice?

The Sahel Today

The Sahel separates the Sahara to the north from the wetter regions to the south

Sahel is the Arab word for “shore” or “border”

The Sahel includes: Mauritania, Mali,

Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad

Region is dry, so farmers practice shifting agriculture, meaning they farm an area for a while and then move on

Herding is also common. Overgrazing is a common

concern in the Sahel. Deforestation is also a

concern. Desertification is also a

concern as its turning the savanna into desert.

Aside from Mauritania, all Sahel nations are landlocked… meaning cut off from the sea.

Important Rivers The Senegal and the Niger

run through the region. The Niger begins in the

mountains of Guinea near the Atlantic and fans out into an inland delta, which is an area of lakes, creeks, and swamps.

Region also has some mineral wealth.

Assessment Questions

1. Shifting agriculture, forage, deforestation, desertification, refugee, landlocked, inland delta

2. The Sahel was a crossroads and an important meeting point for various cultures. In particular, Mediterranean and African cultures

3. a) Deforestation and overgrazing have contributed to desertification.

3. b) During times of drought people flock to cities or simply leave their land.

Random Stuff

Mauritania and beauty Force feeding young girls

Music and Mali Festival au Desert in Mali Ali Farka Toure – bluesman of the desert

Connect West African music to American blues Toumani Diabate – Griot (storyteller) and

Kora (instrument)

Let’s begin with the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

West AfricaThe Coastal Countries

Ebola Outbreak

How does ebola spread?Bodily fluids

Outbreak and Spread

Ebola Outside West Africa

The Coastal Countries of West Africa

Made up of 11 countries Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierre Leone,

Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Cape Verde (little island)

Three advantages over Sahel nations1. Wetter climate which means better farming2. Access to the sea which means more economic

opportunity3. More natural resources…like minerals or oil

Europeans have been coming here to trade (or steal) since the 1400s.

Ex. Who came up with the name Gold Coast or Ivory Coast?

Economic ActivitiesA very general overview

Agriculture Tropical stuff like cocoa, coffee, rice, peanuts,

pineapples, palm kernels, cassava (manioc, tapioca), bananas, shea nuts, sugar, cotton, rubber, sweet potatoes; cattle, sheep, goats; timber

Mining Bauxite (used to make aluminum), gold, diamonds,

iron Oil Fishing

Fish (ask Leo)

Struggles for Power

European colonial powers ruled most of Africa until the1960s.

New independent countries often had weak economies and unstable governments.

Coups (sudden political takeovers) and military coups were and are still all too common.

Civil wars too!

Liberia

Founded in 1822 by freed American slaves. According to BBC News,

“Liberia is mostly inhabited by indigenous Africans, with the slaves' descendants comprising 5% of the population.”

Established a republic by 1847...oldest republic in Africa!

Had a horrible civil war in the 1980s and 1990s.

Shall we watch an episode of you know who?

We can also watch the Ghana episode.

Sierra Leone

Name means “Mountains of the Lions” Portuguese sailors first thought

the sound of thunder rolling through the mountains sounded like the roar of lions.

Emerged from a decade of civil war in 2002.

Most famous export, aside from the infamous “blood diamond”, is probably the Sierra Leone Refugee All-Star band Formed in West African refugee

camps. Pretty good documentary made

about them in 2005 I believe