1. Chapter 6
Study Guide

2. Key Terms
A(n) __________ is a type of West African storyteller who uses music
 griot
Chad’s farmers live mainly in the south because they need __________ soil.
 arable
A fairly dry area between the Sahara desert and the wetter regions to the south is the __________.
 Sahel
When trees are cut down faster than new ones grow, __________ occurs.
deforestation

3. Key Terms A(n) _______ is a series of flat grasslands with few trees.
 savanna
A life-threatening disease that is carried by mosquitoes, and that is common in the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa is called __________.
 malaria
The ________ trade began in the 1500s.
 Atlantic slave trade
The trade between West Africans and Arabs that began around AD750 was called __________.
Salt trade

4. Key Terms
European countries taking over different parts of Africa is an example of __________.
 colonization
The __________ is an organization of African nations that promotes African unity and economic development.
African Union

5. Questions Compared to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana is
Somewhat more stable.
Due to the different climate zones in Chad, farmers live mostly in the
south, where there is arable land.
During the period when Arab traders came to West and Central Africa to trade salt for gold, they changed the culture of the region by brining
the religion of Islam.
Enslaved Africans traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to America by way of the
middle passage.

6. Questions
Ghana is thriving more than other nations in the region partly because after Jerry Rawlings seized power in 1981, he ____.
Introduced economic reforms
Name the basins found in West and Central Africa.
Chad Basin, Niger Basin, Congo Basin
One of the ways European colonization upset life in West and Central Africa was by ________.
drawing borders without regard to the location of ethnic groups.
One possible answer to economic problems in West and Central Africa is ________.
microcredit

7. Questions Subsistence farmers grow ____________.
only enough food to feed their families.
The climate along the equator in Africa is ____________.
hot and wet.
The cultures of West and Central Africa are mostly based on __________.
a blending of traditional ways and modern ways.
The political movement that brought Africans from different countries together in the 1950s was known as _____________.
Pan-Africanism.

8. Questions What do colonialism and imperialism both require?
one country ruling over another country
What is the expansion of desert called?
desertification
What was the effect of the trans-Atlantic slave trade on West and Central Africa?
It led to an increase in wars.
Which African climate zone is home to the Sahel?
Semiarid
Which African climate zone is home to the savanna?
Tropical wet and dry

9. Questions Why did Mansa Musa go to Mecca?
to go on a religious pilgrimage
Why do Nigerians remain poor, despite the fact that their nation has large oil deposits?
corruption

10. Short Answer
What are some effects that war has had on people in West and Central Africa? (4 points)
War in West and Central Africa has led to a rise in the number of child soldiers, an increase in the number of African refugees, and increase in poverty and widespread disease.

11. Why is corruption such a major problem in Nigeria? (2 point)
Short Answer
Why is corruption such a major problem in Nigeria? (2 point)
The poor management of money by Nigeria’s government and the country’s large oil business make it tempting for people to use their power for personal gain.