1. Chapter 19 Sections 3 and 4 West Africa And Central Africa

2. Rich Trading Empires Ghana- became powerful around 800 A.D. and declined at the end of the 11 th century –Exchanged mainly gold and salt Mali- in 1235 Mali conquers Ghana and declines around 1400 due to poor leadership Songhai- replaced Mali around 1400 –1591: Moroccan army invades Songhai and defeats it destroying the empire

3. Stateless Societies Where people rely on family lineages to govern themselves rather than an elected government or a monarch –West Africa is filled with many different cultures and peoples –Before colonialism most of these people lived in “stateless societies”

4. Economic Struggles Trade is as important today is it was in the past –Must sell its products to industrialized countries in Europe, North America, and Asia. –Economies range from fairly strong (Ghana) to very weak (Sierra Leone) Ghana: relies on the sale of diamonds, gold, magnesium, and bauxite to industrialized countries Sierra Leone: political instability and civil wars have left economy in shambles –Very uneducated population (31% literacy rate)

5. Culture of West Africa Ashanti –Live in Ghana –Known for work in weaving colorful asasia (kente cloth) –Also make masks and wooden stools

6. Central Africa Bantu Migration –Bantus are a group of people and cultures who speak one of the Bantu languages –2000 B.C.- Bantu people move southward throughout Africa May have begun due to land shortages Produced a great diversity of cultures but also helped link various areas of the continent

7. Slave Trade Europeans wanted slaves for their plantations in the Americas –Many african rulers took part in the slave trade Had already been selling slaves to Arabs and other African rulers – saw no difference By the end of slave trade in 1870, Europeans had transported millions of slaves to the Americas and Europe

8. Start of Colonialism Europeans had been in Africa since the mid 15 th century, but stayed near coasts –Changed when King Leopold II of Belgium developed interest in the Congo after it had been explored in the 1870’s –By 1884 controlled and this paved the way for the Berlin Conference

9. Effects of Colonialism Borders imposed on Africans caused problems –Disrupted long standing systems of gov’t in Africa (stateless society) –Installed more centralized gov’ts destroying traditional ways

10. Economic Legacy of Colonialism Economic effects –Loss of resources –Disruption of political systems –Europeans left no money to develop roads, railroads, etc. Congo’s economic chaos –Country possesses huge amounts of resources but colonization left country in state of disarray –Mobutu Sese Seko- country’s leader from 1967 to 1997 (corrupt leader who put economy under national control) –Laurent Kabila- took over after Seko, leadership only led to more violence

11. Improving Education Barriers –Adequate schooling in short supply –Shortage of trained teachers –High dropout rate –Shortage of secondary schools –700 languages