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SUBSAHARAN AFRICAPBS Africa Website and Slideshows
Sub-Saharan Africa• Plateau, Waterfall, Savanna, Rainforest, and Desert• Poorest continent
– Only region to get poorer over last 25 years
– World’s largest number of displaced people and refugees
– Debt crisis
• Most rural continent, though cities growing very fast– Village life and subsistence agriculture important
– Glorious wildlife still exists
• Legacies of Colonialism– Cash crop economies, ethnic conflict, flawed transport systems
• Medical Crises, including most HIV/AIDs in world• Most of world’s remaining Animists
– But missionaries spreading Christianity and Islam
• War and Failed Political Leadership Common– Few successful democracies
African LandscapePlateau, Waterfall, Savanna, Rainforest, and Desert
• Plateau – high tableland– Highest in:
• Ethiopian Highlands• Drakensberg Mtns.
– Lesotho & RSA
Rivers • Rapids and Waterfalls…– Limits transportation
• Congo…– Good for Tourism
• Whitewater Rafting– Hydroelectric Production
Climate and Vegetation• Tropical Rainforest
– Congo Basin &
coast of W. Africa – Diseases
• Malaria– Anopheles Mosquito
Poaching
• Elephant– Ivory Tusks– 2.5 million (1970)– 1.8 million (1978) – 350,000 (1997)– 600,000 (2005)
Cattle Herding• Destroys wilderness
– Nat. Veg. Lost
– Soil compacted, eroded
– Loss of Wildlife Habitat
• Tsetse Fly – sleeping sickness
– Disease to Animals & Humans
– Wildlife Unaffected
– Benefits Wildlife by preventing
spread of domesticated cattle
Sub-Saharan Africa• Poorest continent
– Only region to get poorer over last 25 years– World’s largest number of displaced people and refugees– Debt crisis– 44% of population younger than 15– In 1990s number of those living in “extreme poverty (<$1/day) rose
from 242 million to 300 million+
Angola, 2000
Sub-Saharan Africa• Most rural continent,
though cities growing very fast– Village life and subsistence
agriculture important
– 69% of population is rural– Glorious wildlife still exists
Masai Village, Kenya
Village, ZimbabweRwandan Farm
Sub-Saharan Africa• Most rural continent, though cities growing very fast
– Village life and subsistence agriculture important
– Glorious wildlife still exists Rank City Population
1 Tokyo, Japan 28 million
2 New York City, United States
20.1 million
3 Mexico City, Mexico
18.1 million
4 Mumbai, India (Bombay)
18 million
5 Sao Paulo, Brazil
17.7 million
6 Los Angeles, United States
15.8 million
7 Shanghai, China
14.2 million
8Lagos, Nigeria 13.5 million
9
Kolkata, India (Calcutta)
12.9 million
10 Buenos Aires, Argentina
12.5 million
Lagos, Nigeria
Sub-Saharan Africa• Most rural continent, though cities growing very fast
– Village life and subsistence agriculture important
– Glorious wildlife still exists
Cape Town, Black Township, S. Africa
Lagos, Nigeria
Legacy of Colonialism– Cash crop economies, ethnic conflict, flawed transport
systems
Rail Systems Connect Cities to Ports, Not Other Cities
Oil Palm Production
Coffee in Kenya
European Colonialism• Britain
– East
• France– Northwest
• Belgium– Congo
• Portugal– Mozambique– Angola
• Spain– Equatorial
Guinea
BERLIN CONFERENCE1884
• 14 countries divided up Africa without consideration of cultures; political and tribal fragmentation were the result.
• Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden-Norway (unified from 1814-1905), Turkey, and the United States of America.
• Of these, France, Germany, Great Britain, and Portugal were the major colonizers of Africa
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA’SECONOMIC CHALLENGE
• Economic growth rate- 1.5% - world’s lowest
• The region’s 646 million people have a combined GNP of less than $150 billion, roughly the same as Belgium and its 10 million people.
• Population - growing at a rate of 2.6% annually, vs 1.7% for South America and 1.9% for South Asia
MEDICAL GEOGRAPHY• Studies spatial aspects of disease and
health
• Africa is an extraordinary laboratory.-- Disease incidence and diffusion
-- Widespread nutritional deficiencies
• Millions suffer from:
– malaria - river blindness
– yellow fever - sleeping sickness– AIDS -
bilharzia/schistosomiasis
• Endemic-- Exists in equilibrium with the population
-- Many develop an immunity of sorts
-- Saps energy, lowers resistance, shortens lives
• Epidemic-- Sudden outbreak at local, regional scale
• Pandemic-- Worldwide spread
MEDICAL GEOGRAPHY
The Roots of Religion
Animism (Shamanism) - the belief that all objects, animals, and beings are “animated” or possess a spirit and a conscious life. Also called shamanism because of the prominence of a shaman.
• Such beliefs are common among hunter-gatherers.
• 10% of Africans follow such traditional ethnic religions.
• These beliefs are losing ground to Christianity and Islam throughout Africa.
Nigerian Shaman
War and Failed Political Leadership Common– Few successful democracies; political violence common– Free press is rare– Conflicts limit foreign investment
Some of Africa’s Current Dictators
Robert Mugabe, ZimbabweAge 80. In power since 1980. Breaking up white-owned farms. Nepotism.
King Mswati III, SwazilandAge 35. In power since 1986. Lavish lifestyle. Poor subjects. 11 wives. 3 Fiances. 25 children.
Teodoro Obiang Nguema, Equatorial GuineaAge 61. In power since 1979 coup. Corrupt.
Fig. 17-22, p. 476
Idi Amin. Uganda. Reign: 1971 -1979. Famous for his brutality
Mobuto Sese Seko. Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo). Reign: 1965 -1997. Famous for kleptocracy (billions stolen)
Sahel - “Shore” (7 Countries)
“Sahel” = “Shore”– Southern edge
of the Sahara• Semi-Desert
– Between Savanna & Desert
• Grasses and small trees
W. African Agricultural Exports
• Palm Oil – Ingredient of Food & Soap
Cash crop economies are a major problem throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
• Cocoa– Ivory Coast: 50% World’s Supply
West African Empires, 800-1800 AD• Mali Kingdom
– Capital: Timbuktu, on southern edge of Sahara • Ancient Trade & Educational Center• Niger River• Pop = 100,000 in 1500 AD• Pop = 15,000 now
Liberia• Founded 1847 by freed American Slaves
• Capital: Monrovia named for…
• Civil War: since 1980 war – child soldiers
Nigeria 250+ Ethnic Groups
– Yoruba in SW• Lagos – Nigeria’s largest city
– Ibo in SE• Niger River Delta
– Hausa & Fulani in N• Muslims
• Kano – Nigeria’s main Muslim city
• Shari’a (Islamic Law)
Nigeria Ethnic Tensions & Violence
Civil War in late 1960s
Ibo unsuccessfully tried to secede
• 1 million deaths
• Capital moved – From Lagos to Abuja
• Abuja – in “neutral” region
Central Africa Environment• Tropical Rainforests
– 20% of World’s Remaining TRFs• Rapid Deforestation
Central Africa Resources
• Coastal Oil
• D. R. Congo– Rich in Metals &
Diamonds– Old name = “Zaire”– Terrible Corruption &
Warfare
EAST AFRICA • 5 Countries• Landscape
– Plateau• Serengeti Plain (Tan.)
– Rift Valleys– Lake Victoria
RWANDA• 2 Tribes
– Hutu (Majority)– Tutsi (Minority)
• 1994 Genocide against Tutsi– Million killed in 100 days
Ethiopia• Difficult Environment:
– Deep Canyons Isolated Villages– Crops Depend on Erratic Rainfall– Prolonged Drought Famine
Republic ofSouth Africa
• Blacks = 75%• Whites = 14%• Coloreds = 8%
(mixed race)• Asians = 3%
(mostly Indians)
History of RSA• Dutch Settlers• Cape Town, est. 1652
– “Boers”
– Descendents: “Afrikaners”
• Afrikaans Language
• British control, 1800s
Cities of South Africa • Johannesburg & Pretoria– “High Veld” Region– Grassy Plateau
• Durban– Warm & Rainy
• Like Florida
• Cape Town– Mediterranean Climate
• Like So. Cal.
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