Debate Prompt – Should the hunting of wild game be made illegal in Africa?

Why is Africa the poorest region on earth?

Lets look at Africa more closely

In General 1. World’s 2 nd largest – continent (over 3 times the size of the United States) 2. Is not a country – contains over 50 nations * broken into 5 sub regions – north, west, central, east, & southern 3. Almost – equally divided by the equator (overall a warm continent) 4. Believed to be – where man first originated * East Africa – Great Rift Valley – 3 million years ago Africa Human origins

Physical Features Climate 1. Almost 90% of the continent is – found in the tropics (hot year round) 2. Most rainfall – occurs near the equator a. Dry conditions – are most dominant as you move north and south of the equator b. A large portion of Africa – has a wet and dry season 3. A few mild climates – Mediterranean, Humid Subtropical, and West Coast Marine (in the south) *makes growing a surplus of food difficult!

Environmental Issues 1. Tropical climates can breed – diseases like malaria and ebola * AIDS is more common in Sub-Saharan Africa than anywhere else in the world ebola

African History (ancient)

Human Geography A Brief History 1. Early civilizations – not much is known because few written records were kept (mostly oral history) a. East – Kush & Axum b. West – Ghana, Mali, Songhay, & Kanem Bornu c. South – Great Zimbabwe, Zulu, & Monomotapa * African cultures had organized and advanced societies (economics and culture)

Africa was pretty advanced at one point in history! Sooooo?

Think of a time when you had a past injury that took a while to recover from? Share what is was like to recover from it or how it impacted your life with someone near you

Want to win one of these?

What is empathy? You are going to try to feel like what it is like to walk in the shoes of a person that lives in Sub Saharan Africa.

What empathy did you gain about the people of SS Africa from this activity? How does it feel to be exploited (used)?

So, if the slave trade wasn’t bad enough! Scramble for Africa – European powers colonize Africa (Imperialism) * Only – Ethiopia &Liberia remained free from colonial rule *Independence – was gained by most countries in the 1960’s * Impacts were devastating for Africa

Colonialism (Scramble for Africa) Independence

Paul Rusesabagina Political Patterns 1. Colonialism – hurt Africa as a whole (it exploited people and resources) a. Present boundaries – were drawn by Europeans without considering the ethnic groups living there * resulting in many – civil wars as groups fought for control after independence * over 120,000 child soldiers are found * ethnic cleansing – has killed thousands (Rwanda – 1994 – 800,000 killed & 2 mil. Refugees) b. Treated Africans – like children (gave them little freedom and opportunity) * left these countries with – few qualified (capable) people to lead today c. Many are under the control of- dictatorships (oligarchy – rule by a few) * coups (overthrows) – happen frequently (very unstable) – Darfur / Sudan d. Racial problems – between Africans and Europeans * Apartheid (South Africa) – separation of the races (ended in the 1990’s) 60 min - Kony Kony interview Human Geography Paul Rusesabagina Nelson Mandela Joseph Kony

DQ Who has a passport? What are they used for? What if you needed a passport to move about within the country because of your race – how would that make you feel?

Apartheid Q’s 1. Describe S. Africa’s colonial past? Who was involved? 2. How did the system of apartheid work? Purpose / aspects of life? 3. What was the ANC and how did it fight apartheid? 4. Who was Nelson Mandela and how did he influence the system of apartheid? 5. How (& when) did the system of apartheid end?

To think about Who is our Nelson Mandela? Nelson Mandela bio