African Chapter 1 - 3

Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)

-An airflow along the equator, it creates the tropical rain fall and extreme dry seasons near the equator. -The seasonal shift creates extreme dry seasons and extreme wet seasons above and below the equator. (See image in notes) -African farmers plant their crops based on the shift in the ITCZ. If in a year it does not shift like normal it can cause major issues for farmers.

Egyptian and Kush Social Structure

-Outside of the Pharaoh and the ruling class, the priests were the most important social class. They made the laws and communicated with the gods. Just below the priests were the artisans and scribes. Artisans worked the iron and gold that was such an important part of the economy. Farmers were also respected as they provided the food for the country. At the bottom were servants, laborers, and slaves. -Women could be leaders and many were queens

Gondwana

-Supercontinent more than 500 million years ago. -With plate tectonics, Goodwana broke apart into 7 continents (Asia, North America, South America, Europe, Australia, Antartica with Africa being the remaining piece of Goodwana)

Pharaoh

A king of ancient Egypt, considered a god as well as a political and military leader.They were also the leaders of their religion and believed in an afterlife. They were buried with their treasures in pyramids for their afterlife.

Colonialism

A term where a country conquers and rules over other regions. It means exploiting the resources of the conquered country for the benefit of the conqueror (ruling country).

African Slave Trade

African peoples captured and taken as slaves to South America (sugar cane plantations) and North America (cotton plantations) Note: Slavery is as old as civilization: o People would sell people for food during times of famine o After war, the conquered people would be turned into virtual slaves with no rights and status

stateless societies

African societies organized around kinship or other forms of obligation and lacking the concentration of political power and authority associated with states. Note: •"People in these societies controlled conflict and resolved disputes through a balance of cooperation and opposition" •Even just prior to colonial rule, 1/3 of the people in Africa were stateless or decentralized societies. •Villages were autonomous (self-governing). Most decisions were made by a council of elders •There were also religious leaders •But no group (kinship, councils of elders, religious) held too much power; there were checks and balances. •Alliances between families were made through marriage. •Kinship was important in maintaining peace and harmony in African society

Great Zimbabwe

Came into power around 1200 CE and ruled for over 200 years • It was a large city and the center of power and trade in Central and Southern Africa for many years. -Ruins of large stone walls and towers of Great Zimbabwe remain. "The sophisticated stone architecture and the organization of the necessary labor to build these structures suggest the existence of a complex social, economic, and political system." • Strong central state(government)

State Societies

Centralized government and class divisions.• Over long periods of time rulers gradually established special privileges for their own lineages (families) similar to kings.

Indirect Rule

Colonial government in which local rulers are allowed to maintain their positions of authority and status. British Model: -Ruled through the tribes maintaining tribal rulers or monarchies -Extorted incomes from the tribes

Direct Rule (colony)

European countries sent their own citizens to govern colonies French Model: French administrators ruled Africans were to be fully assimilated into French culture and become French citizens

African Population Today

Greater than 1 billion

Carrying Capacity - Tropical Zones

Have lots of water. Tend to have poor quality soil limiting farming. There is also too much deforestation (cutting down forests) for fuel and for agricultural expansion. This is having a negative effect on the environment.

Carrying Capacity Definition

How much life an environmental region support life based on ability to supply food. Note: The more unpredictable the shift in the ITCZ becomes the human carrying capacity of these regions can be severely reduced. People will die.

Imperialism

Imperialism means creating an empire, expanding into the neighboring regions and expanding its dominance far.

Kingdom of Aksum (Axum)

Located South of Egypt near the Red sea, it was a hub for caravan routes to Egypt and Meroe. -It sold ivory, gold and incense from the interior of Africa to traders coming across the Mediterranean. Between 325 and 360 AD Ezana, a ruler, conquered the Arabian peninsula, Kush, and Meroe. Aksum became Christian in Ezana's rule.

Egypt (ancient civilization)

Made numerous significant contributions, including construction the great pyramids; development of hieroglyphic writing; preservation of bodies after death; making paper from papyrus; contributing to developments in arithmetic and geometry; constructed irrigation systems (water for crops and animals) along the Nile (Note: those who control water, control life).

Human Origins

Most of the evolution of early man took place in Africa and that we are all descended from African ancestors. We are all descend from one family of man in Africa.

Resource challenges

Most transportation is designed not to transport people but is designed to get these minerals out of Africa Africa has a great potential energy source. The waterfalls and fast flowing rivers to use hydro-electric energy (clean). Unfortunately there are not many hydro-electric power plants. The exposure of Africa to the tropical sun and rain has caused a lot of erosion leaving poor soil, not fertile. The richest soil is in the cooler South African regions were agriculture.

# of languages spoken

Over 1,000

Bantu Migration/Expansion

Population growth forced many Bantu to migrate south. The carrying capacity of the areas they lived in could not support the population growth and people moved spreading their language and culture, from around 500 b.c. to around A.D 1000

natural resources

Raw materials supplied by nature. Africa is rich in minerals that are considered valuable and are used by industry around the world. Gold - one fifth of the worlds gold output Diamonds - half of the worlds diamond output Copper - used in construction and in wiring for electricity Cobalt - used for rockets and jets Bauxite - Used in aluminum production Oil - for fuel

slave trade

The business of capturing, transporting, and selling people as slaves

Khoisan language family

The oldest language family in Africa - Located in southern African their language was characterized by the use of "clicking" sounds

Great African Rift Valley

The region where sharp steep edges where the other continents broke away leaving rift zones with steep mountains and valleys that act as natural barriers making it hard to travel across and carry goods across. -Hard to build railways across and rivers have steep waterfalls that prevent boats from traveling down them from end to end.

Self-determination

The right of people to choose their own form of government

Niger-Congo Language Family

This language family is located in Subsaharan Africa, consists of many different languages that belong to different tribes, and the borders between the languages is quite different than its country's host. Due to the impact of imperialism, this fault occurs

Nilo-Saharan language family

This language family is located innorth-central Africa, immediately north of the Niger Congo language. Despite having relatively few speakers, The Nilo Saharan family is divided into 6 branches

Savannah

a flat grassland in tropical or subtropical regions

Rainforest

an area of lush vegetation and year-round rainfall

19884 Berlin Conference

• European countries took over Africa and divided Africa up between them. • Their maps were not accurate. In doing so they split apart ethnic groups and kingdoms that continue to cause issues today.

African Independence from Colonial Rule

• World War II was a turning point • Atlantic Charter was proclaimed and the United Nations Created and the concept of self determination • Africans started to voice their desire for freedom and independence from European rule • Ghana was the first independent country in 1957. • The rest were less peaceful and required armed revolts • Unfortunately, freedom from colonial rule did not result in democracy. The new countries were ruled by authoritarian dictators.

Crop raising and Herding Societies (Early)

•3/5 of the Africa is desert and much of the rest has poor soil •Being close to the equator means long hot and dry season and shorter wetter growing seasons •Crop production may have been tied to the making of intoxicating drinks from grains like a beer type drink •Women started gathering seed heads from plants like from grains •Developed farming tools such as iron hoes and tools to make farming more effective and efficient

Slave Trade Africa - Cause and Effect

•Apologists - Slavery was better for the Africans because their society was so backward. Bringing them to Christian America was better than leaving them in their pagan homeland. •African nationalists - African culture was "deformed and barbarized" by the slave trade. The west was enriched by the slave trade at the expense of the Africans. •Profits have the slave trade may have funded the industrial revolution in Europe and America. But there were those in Africa who also profited from the slave trade. •Approximately 10 million Africans were brought over to America as slaves during a time when African populations were declining and European and American populations were increasing. This had a negative economic impact on Africa at the profit of Europe and the Americas

Legitimate Trade (Post Slave Trade Late 1800's)

•At the end of the 18th century, European industrialists were trying to find new markets for their goods (clothing, pottery, metal goods) •At the same time, they say Africa as a source of raw materials (minerals, palm oils, gold, timber etc). •This "legitimate" trade was more profitable than the old slave trade for sugar and tobacco etc. •Europeans came into Africa and pushed out the African traders. •This started a scramble for Europeans to colonize Africa in the 1880s and 1890s.

Muslim Slave Trade

•Before the American slave trade there was the Muslim Slave trade around 1000 BCE •It is estimated that there were as many victims of the Muslim slave trade as the American slave trade •Differences between the Muslim and American Slave trades -Muslim - Twice as many women were enslaved as men. They were servants and concubines (a woman who lives with a man but has lower status than his wife) to the Muslims. -American - Twice as many men as women were enslaved. Men were used as labor in the plantations and mines

Exploration (Post Slave Trade Late 1800's)

•European explorers mapped Africa which was of little consequence or meaning to the Africans -However it set up the Europeans with the ability to divide Africa in preparation for the colonial period.

Colonial Conquest and Resistance

•Europeans faced some resistance. For example Muslim armies in the Sudan resisted British advances. •There were attempts to gain independence back but they were unsuccessful and the European countries had control by 1905.

Colonial Rule in Africa

•Exploitation - Europeans exported raw materials produced by African labor for European profit. Cash crops - coffee, rubber, peanuts and cocoa for European markets •The Europeans ruled by authoritarian means and were often brutal; dictatorships. •They claimed they were helping the Africans by 'civilizing" them by providing a European education. •Dominant European powers were Britain and France •After World War I German territory was split between Britain and France as the victors

Kingdom of Mali

•Formed when a ruler named Sundiata Keita united the tribes of the Malinke peoples. •Took over surrounding kingdoms including Ghana. •Religion - Islam •Consisted of many small tribes. Most were Mande peoples who spoke similar languages -Farmers were highly regarded because they provided food. Just below the farmers were the artisans. Other groups included fishermen, scribes, civil servants, soldiers, and slaves. •Mansa Musa a wealthy ruler. He took a lavish pilgrimage to Mecca.

Savannah Societies (Early)

•Gathered wild grains that grew on the planes and hunted big game; giraffe, zebra, warthog •Nomadic moved around a lot •Congregate in larger groups in the wet season when food was plentiful. Separated and dispersed during the dry season to try and find more food.

Rainforest Societies (Early)

•Hunted game, and gathered insect and plant foods. •Nomadic moved around a lot and built temporary housing •Men hunted while women gathered food •Group decisions, no defined leader

Lake and River Societies (Early)

•Lake and river areas •Carved harpoons and fish hooks out of bone •They were stationary and did not move and their populations grew.

Kingdom of Kush

•Lasted for over 1400 years. It was first established around 1070 BCE when it gained its independence from Egypt. It quickly became a major power in Northeast Africa. In 727 BCE, Kush took control of Egypt and ruled until the Assyrians arrived. The empire began to weaken after Rome conquered Egypt and eventually collapsed sometime in the 300s CE. two different capital cities. -The first capital was Napata during the height of power. -Around 590 BCE, the capital moved to the city of Meroe where a vast iron industry flourished • Two of the most important resources of Ancient Kush were gold and iron. o Gold was traded to the Egyptians and other nearby nations. o Iron was the most important metal of the age. It was used to make the strongest tools and weapons

The Kingdom of Ghana

•Ruled from around 300 to 1100 BCE. •The main source of wealth was the mining of iron and gold. -Iron was used to produce strong weapons and tools that made the empire strong. -Gold was used to trade with other nations for needed resources like livestock, tools, and cloth. -They established trade relations with the Muslims of Northern Africa and the Middle East. Long caravans of camels were used to transport goods across the Sahara Desert. •Berber Muslims tried to convert Ghana to Islam. The Kings of Ghana refused and soon came under constant attacks from Northern Africa. At the same time, a group of people called the Susu broke free of Ghana. Over the next few hundred years, Ghana weakened until it eventually became part of the Mali Empire.

Cities in the Western Savannahs

•Urban centers (Cities) formed around 2300BCE •There were no monumental pieces of architecture showing off political power. It was thought to be a pluralist society, no center of power. People peacefully coexisted. •Caravans of camels were used to bring good from the southern interior to the north. These cities became trading posts for arab traders

Bantu

•means 'People' •Mastered pottery making and making tools out of iron. •Fished, grew yams and palm oils, raised goats

desert

An extremely dry area with little water and few plants

Carrying Capacity - Desert and Savannah Regions

Are drier areas are prone to drought causing human and animal starvation the carrying capacity is low