7th Grade UBD - Unit 2 - Africa
People and Their Environment- The region of Southern Africa is located on a plateau with steep escarpments and narrow coastal plains. It has mountains, deserts, the powerful Zambezi River, and a wealth of mineral resources. It has a diverse population- people are from Africa, Europe, and Asia. Society and Culture- Southern Africa has been a region of violent conflict. Its countries have suffered through civil wars and struggles of blacks to achieve rights under white-minority- ruled governments.
Video-National Geographic Traveler
To the East of Southern Africa lies the Indian Ocean and to the West lies the Atlantic Ocean. At the Southern tip is the Cape of Good Hope. Portuguese navigators gave it this name in the 1400’s to cheer sailors on during voyages around the continent. Sailors were not easily fooled. They called it the Cape of Storms because of its strong winds and slashing rains.
Southern Africa is a plateau region with a steep escarpment and several mountain ranges. Southern Africa is rich in water and mineral resources. Southern Africa is populated with many native African groups as well as Dutch, British, and Asian descendants. Many people are moving to large cities in the region.
Key Term Great Escarpment- A steep wall of rock, often thousands of feet high, that drops to the costal plain.
Six nations of the region are landlocked and depend on railroads and ports in other countries for trade. Africa has been called the Plateau Continent and much of Southern Africa is a plateau covered by grass.
Southern Africa has two deserts- the Namib the Kalahari. The Namib Desert is nicknamed the Skeleton Coast because of human and animal bones that sometimes surface when the sands shift.
Southern Africa has several river systems. The rivers in South Africa are used for transportation as well as a source of renewable resources for the region.
Hydroelectric dam projects in Africa have sometimes unintentionally harmed small farmers who lost their land when it was flooded with reservoir water.
Southern Africa is rich in mineral resources. Its mineral wealth includes gold, platinum, chromium, and precious gems, especially diamonds. South Africa has the world’s largest reserves of gold, platinum, and chromium.
The region also has major energy resources such as coal and oil.
South Africa, in terms of wealth, and influence, dominates the continent of Africa. It has Africa’s richest farmland, the best weather, many different valuable minerals, the biggest cities, the finest roads and railroads, and the most factories.
In South Africa, almost three out of every five people live in cities. Most people migrate to the cities due to drought or in search of work. Southern Africa is home to many people from Europe, Asia, and India.
Key Term Afrikaners- Are descendents of Dutch settlers who came to the continent in the 1600’s.
1. What is ironic about the name Cape of Good Hope? 2. Why is the Namibian Desert called the Skeleton Coast? 3. What are some natural resources found in Southern Africa?
1. What is ironic about the name Cape of Good Hope? The Cape of Good Hope was an ironic nickname since strong storms and winds affect this area. 2. Why is the Namibian Desert called the Skeleton Coast? Skulls and bones of human and animals sometimes surface when the sands of the desert shifts. 3. What are some natural resources found in Southern Africa? Southern Africa has resources such as coal, oil, gold, platinum, chromium, and precious gems, especially diamonds.
Have you ever experienced being left out when you should have been included? Maybe you didn’t get to do something you had planned. Explain how you dealt with the experience of being unfairly left out. (5 minutes)
Work with a neighbor and compare your answer with theirs. What things are the same and what things are different? (3 minutes)
Southern Africa was a region of conflict. Winning independence took many years and many lives. South Africa’s policy of apartheid segregated the races until 1990.
Key Term Protest- To express opposition through action or words; "opposing the laws of the country."
Key Term Apartheid- A policy of segregation and political and economic discrimination against non- European groups in South Africa.
Key Term Discriminate- Unfair treatment, often based on race, religion, or gender.
Until recently, white people controlled almost all the riches and resources in South Africa by what is known as apartheid. Apartheid laws placed every South African into a category based upon race. The law also made it legal to discriminate on the basis of race.
Apartheid separated South Africans into four groups- blacks, whites, coloreds, and Asians. These laws affected where you could live, voting rights, and access to certain restaurants, schools, and hospitals.
Many South Africans fought the apartheid. During the 1950s and 1960s, blacks and some whites took to the streets in peaceful protest against it.
The well-armed South African police met them with deadly force. Hundreds of men, women, and children were killed or wounded. Thousand more were thrown in jail.
Countries around the world joined the movement against apartheid. Many nations stopped trading with South Africa. Its athletes were even banned from the Olympic Games and other international events.
In 1990, South Africa’s President F.W. de Klerk, pushed through laws that helped to end the apartheid system. In April 1994, for the first time, South Africans of all colors peacefully elected a president. They chose Nelson Mandela.
Key Term Nelson Mandela- Was the former president of South Africa.
Video- Nelson Mandela
Reading Activity- Eyewitness To History 7
1. Why do you think that economic sanctions are sometimes considered controversial?
Economic sanctions are controversial because innocent people often suffer the effects as much as governments and industry leaders do.
What has been the “muddiest” point so far in this lesson? That is, what topic remains the least clear to you? (4 minutes)
Work with a neighbor and compare your muddiest point with theirs. Compare what things are the same and what things are different? (3 minutes)