History of Modern Africa 1/15/13 1:42 PM Africa and Its Environment Geography and People • Regions: o Mediterranean o North Africa - climate like southern Europe o Northwest - Maghreb, home of Berbers o Northeast - Nile river, from highlands of Ethiopia and White Nile region to Nile delta • Desert (Sahara) o 1/4 of total African landmass, dry for thousands of years o Oases to support trade caravans o Three mountain areas support agriculture: Air, Hoggar, Tibesti o Sahel: desert edge=shore o Kalahari, Namib deserts in the south o --Donkey, camel -> the spread of Islam, trade, culture, people Savanna o The grasslands, after the Sahel o The Sudanic area • Forest land o South of the savanna, and the middle of Africa o Tropical rain forests along the equator • Four large rivers o Nile, Niger, Congo, Zambezi o Rapids and waterfalls = rivers hard to navigate o Rich in silt = good for agriculture • Great rift valley - straddles the equator • Highlands Drakensburg Mt in the se, the atlas mountains in the NW, the fouta djallon mountain in the west, the Ethiopian highlands in the east • Regions: North, West, Central, East, and South (+diaspora) • North o Dominated by Berbers and ancient Egyptians o Connections to Arabia and Mesopotamiao Ethiopians - intermarriage w/ blacks o Big countries; lots of desert o Arab-Islamic culture • West o Nomads in the Savanna o Cities and villages that traded long-distance o Use iron, herd animals, and cultivate crops --> colonize the forest o Bantu speaking peoples and their knowledge spread to other regions of Africa and created settlement o Niger and Benue river, gold deposits o Kingdoms from the past - Ghana, Songhay, Mali • East o Cattle keeping o Connection w/ Indian ocean o Arab and Persian refugees o Swahili culture along e. coast o Old kingdoms - bunyoro, nkore, buganga, toro, busoga • Central o Equatorial rainforests o Migrations and dev. of bantu people o Low pop density o Low Islamic influence, Christian o Old kingdoms - kongo, luba, lunda, kuba o Very rich in natural minerals, extremely poor • South o Strong external trade o Old kingdoms - Mwene Mutapa, south of Zambezi in modern Zimbabwe o Shaka Zulu - military nation The way Africa is defined is a political question Black Africa: everything except n. Africa and south Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Contemporary Environment Challenges• 70s – environmental concerns expressed • 8os – same concerns repeated with extra force • 90s – ack. That environment is a central issue in Africa’s underdevelopments • Concerns: natural disasters and consequences of exploitation of environment (esp. trees) o Soil erosion, desertification, drought, and global warming o Drought of 70s • Natural movement of people based on environmental concerns is limited by national borders o Transhumance: nomad lifestyle, seasonal change of grazing lands ! Political boundaries limit transhumant societies • Soil degradation and erosion o Old continent – ancient soil, stable geology o Soils lose nutrients b/c of human activities and natural cause • Deforestation o Caused by human beings: failure to create a sustainable society, manage resources efficiently, and use only renewable energy sources o Since the mid 20th century, forested areas = shrinking o UN environmental program = forests may disappear in Africa by the end of the current mil. o 90% rely on firewood for domestic and com. Cooking (SOLVE THIS) o Expansion of cities and pop increases = more tree loss o Crop cultivation - slash and burn for plantations • Desertification o Promoted by deforestation o Replaces productive land, overgrazing, forest destruction, over cultivation o Desert is expanding o Many countries affected, limited population in arid regions o Nomadic pastoralism or the production of limited quantities of grain crops • Industrialization and urbanizationo Incontrollable growth of cities o Modern industries (local and foreign) ignore regulations o Ignorance and slow implementation of laws to protect environment – corrupt go, businesses o 40s - <20% of pop lived in cities o 80s - ˜25% in cities o Cities: slums and squatters, schools, hospitals, sewage, transportation, infrastructure inadequate (safe WATER) o New migrants • Environment and Development o Until 1980s – many governments didn’t connect economics Development and the environment. o To expand cities, they had to destroy countryside o Devastations of rural pop. ! Over 70% of pop dependent on forests, trees, other plants for a # of basic needs such as shelter, food, and medicine o Soil erosion and loss of nutrients have reduced o More land devoted to cash crops (tea, sugar, coffee) at the expense of food crops o Preference for export production that was promoted during colonial era and inherited after independence has posed its own dangers to the environment and the people o Poverty of some countries has been exploited by foreign companies looking for places to dump toxic products ! Easy access to foreign currency o Wildlife = $ ! Botswana, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Kenya – wildlife tourism ! Ivory, rhino horns, leopard skins – poaching ! Many argue for economic growth and humans over animal wellbeing o Ability to sustain large pop will depend on the app of science and tech to agriculture State and Society • Pre-colonialo Ancient kingdoms – Egypt and Kush o Ancient Egypt ! Nile valley – supported agriculture and dense pop ! 3100 BC able to control use of water and land, and track former’s usage ! Leading power in the ancient times, later to be conquered by many civilizations ! Islam became principle religion since 640 AD o Kush ! Upper Nile, prominent in 7th century o Maghreb (Berbers) ! Agriculture in fertile areas ! Nomadic in desert and desert fringes o Along the coast ! Agriculture and large cities ! 1000 BC Phoenicians establish trade station along N African coast ! Led to many settlements, i.e. Carthage, became a large empire in 614 BC o Carthaginians ! Spread of agriculture, and trade on n African coast ! 600 BC – became urban center and prosperous empire ! Brought down by Romans and other Berbers, incorporated into Rome o Northern Africa after Carthage ! Roman empire ! Byzantine Empire ! Became Islamicized and Arabized by Arabs in 709 AD o Other Empires ! Ghana, Mali, Songhay, Kongo, and