First Civilizations, the Slave Trade, and Colonization African History First Civilizations, the Slave Trade, and Colonization

First Civilizations Tens of thousands of years ago the first people began moving into Africa They were subsistence farmers, hunting, gathering – traditional economy

Around 2500 B.C. the climate changed in Africa This created the Sahara Desert Thousands of people had to move

The tribes that moved had already learned how to domesticate plants and animals and took these skills with them

African Tribes Bantu tribes Swahili tribes Kush tribes Mali tribes Ghana tribes

Bantu Migration One of the groups in Africa thousands of years ago were the Bantu. Bantu peoples created states like Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe Over 150 Million people speak some form of Bantu today

Answer the Early Civilization questions on your paper

The Slave Trade Around 1200 A.D. European societies had begun trading with the African kingdoms They traded for many things, like gold and enslaved workers.

The Slave Trade African Chiefs and Kings had enslaved and traded prisoners of war for centuries. They traded to the Arab world and then to Europeans The Slave Trade increased greatly when plantations were built in the Americas

European Colonization 1800 A.D. As Europe become industrialized they need more raw resources to make products They also wanted new places to sell their products By 1914, all of Africa was controlled by Europeans, except Ethiopia and Liberia

European Colonization The European Colonies became countries. But these countries were not divided based on existing ethnic divisions. This caused conflict among many African peoples.

Colonies to Countries After World War II many Africans began demanding control of their own countries. As the countries became independent many kept old colonial boundaries. This had led to ethnic conflict and several civil wars.

Lasting Effects Europeans took the best land by force. African farmers were forced to grow cash crops like cocoa and coffee, causing there to be a shortage of food in many areas of Africa. Africans were forced to work under terrible conditions on plantations, railways, and logging. In order to gain power, Europeans encouraged Africans to fight against each other. New political boundaries caused ethnic groups to clash. This has led to ethnic and political unrest in Africa today. There have been over 50 ethnic conflicts in Africa since WWII as a result of the colonial lines drawn by Europeans.