Culture and History of Africa Part I

1. Culture and History of Africa Part I Unit 6

2. Warm Up • Grab all 4 items from the back desk • Turn in Composition Notebooks on the stool

3. 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

4. Prior to the Berlin Conference • East Africa • Early civilizations began here • Established as a trading empire with Arab, Persian, and Indian traders

5. 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

6. Djenne mosque, Mali

7. 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!

8. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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-

14. 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

15. History and Culture (economy) Part II • What has happened after European colonization?

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. 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

21. 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