West Africa

Nigeria/geography Gulf of Guinea coast is covered with mangrove swamps Inland = vast tropical rain forest Forest gradually thins into savannahs in central Nigeria In the winter, harmattan winds blow south from the Sahara

Mangrove Swamps

Congo Basin Rain Forest

Tsetse Fly

Savanna

Sahara Desert

Nigeria/economy One of the world’s major oil producing countries Government has used money from oil to build schools, highways, skyscrapers, & factories 1/3 of people lack jobs & live in poverty People mainly work as subsistence farmers Nigeria is leading producer of cacao beans = used to make chocolate & cocoa

Cacao Beans

People of Nigeria Has more than 300 ethnic groups 4 largest = Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, & Ibo/ English is used in business & government 60% of people live in rural villages Abuja = capital, Lagos = largest city Earliest people of this Region = Nok Great Britain took control by 1900’s Became independent in 1960 After independence, Ibo people tried to set up own country/ civil war resulted = starvation & conflict led to 2 million deaths/ Ibo were defeated

Sahel Countries Niger Chad Mali Burkino Faso Mauritania

The Sahel

Sahel Countries All located in area known as Sahel Receives little rainfall, only short grasses & small trees grow can grow Most people have traditionally herded livestock/ sometimes animals overgraze and strip the land bare Dry & wet periods follow each other/ if seasonal rains do not come, drought results AD , 3 great African empires arose in the Sahel; Ghana, Mali, & Songhai Empires controlled trade in gold, salt, & other goods between W. Africa & SW Asia-N. Africa

Sahel History Early 1300’s, Mansa Musa made a grand journey to Makkah-holy city of Islam Mansa Musa was faithful Muslim Musa made Timbuctu capital & leading center of Islamic learning/ People from all over the Islamic world came to study there Invaders from North Africa defeated the Songhai in late 1500’s – last of great empires Sahel came under French rule/ French made 5 colonies

Mansa Musa

Great Mosque at Timbuktu

Africa Salt Trade Salt is essential for Life, every person contains about 8 ounces of salt in their body/ People lose salt when they sweat African salt was traded for many items; gold, ivory, slaves Salt trade grew with camel caravans/thousands of camels caravans carried tons of salt across the desert Local kings placed taxes on salt – payable by gold – for caravans crossing their realms 3 great empires gained great wealth from salt trade

African Salt Trade

Salt Caravan

Sahel Countries Today 1960, Sahel colonies all became independent countries Sahel people are mostly subsistence farmers Religion = Mostly Muslim Mostly live in small towns Mali & Burkino Faso are two of the poorest countries in the world Mixture of African, Arab, & European traditions

Ghana First of the trading states/ emerged in the Niger valley grasslands/ Between Sahara & tropical forests/Modern Ghana is just east of the location Most people were farmers who lived in villages Ghana kings were strong, wealthy rulers To protect kingdoms, Ghana kings had a well trained army of thousands of soldiers Ghana prospered from gold & iron products In exchange, Muslim merchants brought textiles, horses, metal goods, & salt Salt important for preserving & spicing food/ needed to replace lost body salt in hot climate

Ghana Ghana eventually exported ivory, ostrich feathers, hides, & slaves Exchanging goods was done by silent trade; At a boundary line, no foreigner was allowed in/ foreigners would place goods & leave, Ghana would then leave gold & leave, if one side was not happy with exchange then they would leave it & suppliers would replenish with more Berbers = nomadic people who were main traders on the camel caravans Kingdom was weakened by wars & collapsed in 1200

Mali Kingdom Arose to replace Ghana/ established by Sundiata Keita in 13 th century Sundiata captured Ghana capital in 1240/ united people & created strong government Empire extended from Atlantic coast to trading center of Timbuktu Mali built power on salt & gold trade Most people were farmers/ lived in villages with local rulers

Mali Kingdom Mansa Musa = rich & powerful king of Mali Musa encouraged the growth of Islam, study of the Quran, & ordered mosques built Pilgrimage to Mecca is legendary/ Gave gold to the host everywhere he went, purchased items from merchants with gold/ Put so much gold into circulation that it lost its value Most famous mosque = Sankore mosque in Timbuktu Made Timbuktu = center of Islamic learning Imported scholars & books to spread the word of Allah

Mali Kingdom Ruled from 1307 to 1337/ doubled Mali’s size/ created strong central government Musa was last powerful leader of Mali By 1359, civil war divided Mali

Songhai Kingdoms Niger River provided rich soil for farming & raising cattle Established southeast of Timbuktu 1009, Kossi converted to Islam & established Dia dynasty/ prospered around the main trading center of Gao of Songhai Sunni Ali expanded Songhai & created the Sunni dynasty in 1464 Ali spent most of his time on military campaigns/ able to gain control Timbuktu & Jenne which gave Songhai control of trading empire

Sunni Ali Expanded Independent Songhai

Muhammad Ture Ruled Songhai At Its Height

Songhai Kingdom Empire reached its height under Muhammad Ture = devout Muslim who overthrew Ali’s son in 1493 & created the Askia dynasty Ture created an empire that stretched a thousand miles along the Niger River Ture created strong central government with local provinces under the control of appointed governors Songhai cities prospered under Ture Songhai empire came to an end after Ture’s death Morocco came to occupy it by the 16 th century

Coastal Countries of West Africa Gambia Senegal Guinea Guinea Bissau Cape Verde Liberia Sierra Leone Cote d’Ivoire Ghana Togo & Benin

Coastal Countries Border the Atlantic Ocean/ receive plenty of rainfall Rain forests have been damaged along the densely settled west coast/ forests have been cleared to make space for palm, coffee, cacao, & rubber plantations Ancient Ghana was prosperous empire located on trade routes/ ad 700 –1200/ located on headwaters of Niger & Senegal rivers/ knew how to make iron weapons Ashanti & Abomey kingdoms ruled from late 1400’s to 1800’s/ kingdoms were centers of trade, learning, & arts/

Rubber Plantations

Coastal Countries European slave trade became a major source of income for west African kings French, British, & Portugese set up colonies to obtain rich resources of the region/ all were independent by 1970’s Europeans traded with Africans for gold, ivory, etc.

Portuguese Fort in Mombasa

People of the Coastal Countries Ghana - Rich in bauxite & diamonds Senegal - Important source of phosphate & fertilizers Liberia - Only west African country that was never a colony -African Americans freed from slavery founded Liberia in 1822 Sierra Leone -created as a home for freed slaves/ British ruled

People of the Coastal Countries Cote d’ Ivoire(Ivory Coast) -1400’s to 1900’s European trade of ivory Elephant tusks/ today ivory trade is illegal Ghana -Has 100 ethnic groups -Many ethnic groups keep their local kings, but have no real political power/ are ceremonial leaders -Lake Volta = World’s largest artificial lake

Lake Volta

Ivory Trade

Slave Trade Many African states & kingdoms sold people as slaves to Europeans & Americans Most slaves were prisoners of war sold into slavery After development European sailing ships, Slave trade became important source of wealth for kings The removal of so many skilled people devastated West African families, villages, & economies

Slave Trade

Atlantic Slave Trade