Africa Unique physical geography squarely positioned on the equator no mountainous backbone

Environment High temperatures & humidity create breeding grounds for organisms that carry disease - mosquitoes, flies, snails, worms

trypanosimiasis, malaria, yellow fever, ebola, schistosomiasis

Disease in Africa Endemic – disease that affects many people without causing rapid and widespread deaths Epidemic – disease that has local or regional dimensions only (may cause widespread deaths) Pandemic – disease that has spread worldwide

History Africa is the cradle of humanity 7 million years of evolution of man in Africa

Development of Africa Until 500 years ago, Africa was developing as an indigenous culture of trading, with the strength in the interior of the continent Timbuktu - major trading location (in modern Mali)

Colonial Transformation Portuguese navigated around Cape of Good Hope looking for a way to get to the Orient without having to pass through Islamic lands.

Slave Trade The slave trade developed this way Coastal peoples would capture able-bodied men from the interior populations and trade them as slaves to the Europeans : 30 million slaves were sold from Africa

After the slave trade diminished (around 1850), Europeans laid claim to all of Africa as colonies

1884: Berlin Conference - divided Africa among Portugal, Britain, Belgium, France, & Germany Boundaries were drawn with no regard for unified areas or hostile societies

Colonialism lasted until about the political fragmentation of today is a direct result of the greediness of European countries wanting minerals & other resources