Ch. 13:SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA SECTION 1: GEOGRAPHY & HISTORY

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY The Sub-Saharan Africa lies south of the Sahara desert. The region incudes the island nation of Madagascar. The region is divided into four parts: west, central, east, and south.

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY West Africa includes savannas and much of the Sahel. The Sahel is a semiarid grassland that separates the Sahara in the north from the tropical grasslands, or savannas, in the south.

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY Parts of the Sahel are changing into a desert. The process is called desertification- means there is less fertile land to grow food. Can be caused by many factors including climate change & overpopulation. https://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=tDWS6AzEkE0

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY Central Africa’s primary landform is rain forest. East Africa contains rift valleys, deep valleys that formed when Earth’s crust separated and broke apart. Kalahari desert has limited surface water, but is supports a variety of plants & wildlife.

EAST AFRICA & THE RIFT VALLEY Great Rift Valley walls often rise more than 6,000 feet in height. West of Tanzania is Lake Tanganyika- second deepest freshwater lake in the world. East Africa mostly sits on plateaus. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania was created by plate movements.

WEST AFRICA’S STEPPES West Africa supports several different types of life. Semiarid steppes, or grasslands, define part of West Africa. The growing population in West Africa has increased the demand for food crops– causing deforestation.

WEST AFRICA’S STEPPES Highland, which are areas of higher mountains land, are also found in West Africa. The series of sandstone plateaus is marked by rugged canyons.

WEST AFRICA’S STEPPES West African coastal countries have more people and cities than the interior. Coastal countries often have tropical climates.

RAIN FOREST & RESOURCES The Congo Basin is the main geographic feature of Central Africa. Within the basin is a rain forest, which is a forest with warm temperature, plentiful rain, high humidity, & thick vegetation.

RAIN FOREST & RESOURCES The rainforest is the world’s second largest in size. The Congo River is a major waterway in Central Africa. https://www.youtube.c om/watch?v=Jc61s9UsL JA https://www.youtube.c om/watch?v=bhbAh9A MN3Y

RAIN FOREST & RESOURCES Most populated country in central Africa is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The DRC has a wealth of natural resources, including copper, forest, diamonds, and the Congo River.

SOUTHERN PLATEAUS & BASIN The Congo Basin extends into the Southern African countries of Angola and Zambia. From there, land rises to a large plateau that spans most of Southern Africa. Six of the area’s countries are landlocked, or have no direct access to a coast.

SOUTHERN PLATEAUS & BASIN The plateau of Southern Africa is defined by the Great Escarpment. Escarpment is a steep slope. The Zambezi River in Southern Africa collects water for the entire south- central part of Africa. https://www.youtube.com /watch?v=imgMbHWFwG8

SECTION 2: HISTORY

BANTU MIGRANTS About 10,000 years ago an agriculture revolution began in Central Africa. 2,000 B.C.– one of the greatest human migration occurred– the Bantu Migration. By 1,000 A.D., Bantu peoples had spread from Central Africa to across the sub-Saharan Africa.

BANTU MIGRANTS The Bantu had knowledge of iron working that gave them an advantage over other tribal groups. Today, nearly 85 million people can trace their history back to the Bantu migration. Swahili is one of the best-known of the surviving Bantu languages. The language would later become common in North Africa & Europe. Swahili is now a lingua franca or common language between multiple groups of people.

EARLY STATES & TRADE The trans-Saharan trade- the trade across the Sahara, introduced Africans to the Islamic religion. Ghana gained wealth & power by taxing the gold & salt trade, controlling West Africa from 700 to the 1200s.

EARLY STATES & TRADE The Songhai empire traded gold & salt, prospered from the 900s to the 1400s. The Kingdom of Benin lasted from the 1200s to the 1800s, traded with European countries.

EAST AFRICAN EMPIRES Aksum flourished between 300 & 600 A.D. Located in modern day Ethiopia. Many city states such as Mogadishu formed on the coast of East Africa.

OTHER AFRICAN STATES In Central Africa, the state of Kongo was founded in 1390. Known for its highly- organized government. Traded with Portugal.

EARLY STATES & TRADE Between 1200 & 1450, a walled city of stone was built called Great Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is Shona word meaning “stone houses.” Traded with China & India.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk0-cCggHbQ

IMPACT OF THE SLAVE TRADE The Portuguese were the first Europeans to explore the African coast in the 1400s. The trans-Atlantic slave trade- traded slave across the Atlantic Ocean. Enslaved people were brought to African coastal cities and held until sold.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NXC4Q_4JVg

IMPACT OF THE SLAVE TRADE After purchase, enslaved Africans were shipped to Europe or the Americas. The trip across the Atlantic Ocean was known as the Middle Passage, could take several months. About 2 million died in the trip.

IMPACT OF THE SLAVE TRADE It is estimated that 12 million African were enslaved & shipped to the Western Hemisphere. These loses weakened many African communities & completely destroyed others. Cultures, customs, traditions, languages of Africa were brought to the Americas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NXC4Q_4JVg

INDEPENDENCE By the mid- 1800s, European countries began to fight over African colonies. In 1884, Europeans held the Berlin Conference to settle their disputes. No Africans were invited. Europeans divided Africa among themselves.

INDEPENDENCE In the early 1900s, Pan-Africanism, a movement to unify African people began. By the 1950s and 1960s, this nationalist movement had brought together many African leaders. In 1963 the Organization of African Unity (OAU) was founded to promote Pan-Africanism. Known today as the African Union (AU).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRMR23OC-vw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtjlOwa5AUQ