Midterm Flashcards
Africa composes ___% of the world’s surface and ____% of earth’s total land area (islands included)
6, 20
The three largest countries in Africa are:
- Algeria
- DRC
- Sudan
Countries in Northern Africa:
Egypt
Libya
Tunisia
Algeria
Morocco
Sudan
It is characterized by its proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, arid climates, and cultural ties to the Arab world.
Animals associated with saharan west africa
Cross River gorilla
Pygmy Hippo
Barre Cheeked Trogon
Diana Monkey
Forest elephant
Black belly seedcracker
Countries in West Africa:
Nigeria
Ghana
Senegal
Mali
Ivory Coast
Mauritania
West Africa is known for its diverse cultures, rich history, and significant contributions to the transatlantic slave trade
Countries in East Africa
Kenya
Tanzania
Uganda
Ethiopia
Rwanda.
It is known for its stunning landscapes, including the Great Rift Valley, as well as its diverse wildlife and cultural heritage.
Countries in Central Africa
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Cameroon
Gabon
Central African Republic
characterized by its tropical rainforests, diverse ecosystems, and challenges related to political instability
Countries in Southern Africa
South Africa
Zimbabwe
Zambia
Botswana
Namibia
diverse landscapes, including savannas, deserts, and coastal areas, as well as its history of colonialism and apartheid.
What does the term African Diaspora refer to?
- Dates of trans Atlantic slave trade
What countries outside of Africa have the greatest number of African descendants?
The African diaspora refers to the widespread dispersion of people of African descent beyond the continent of Africa, primarily as a result of the historical transatlantic slave trade, colonization, and migration.
Trans Atlantic slave trade: 15th-19th century
Brazil and the US
how many countries are there in Africa?
48 countries, 6 island nations
How did colonial borders cause conflict in Sudan and South Sudan?
Sudan, as a unified entity, was under British and Egyptian colonial rule from the late 19th century until Sudanese independence in 1956.
During this period, the British-Egyptian administration implemented policies that favored the Arab-dominated north over the predominantly African south, exacerbating ethnic and religious divisions.
Colonial powers often used divide-and-rule tactics to maintain control over their territories. In Sudan, this involved favoring the Arabized Muslim populations in the north while marginalizing the non-Arab African populations in the south. This led to deep-seated grievances among southern Sudanese communities.
When the colonial powers drew the borders of Sudan, they paid little attention to the cultural, ethnic, and linguistic boundaries of the various indigenous groups. As a result, the borders divided ethnic groups, separated communities that had historical ties, and created artificial distinctions between “northern” and “southern” Sudan.
How are three ways that climate, topography and biomes are effected by where people live and farm and where cities develop
- Rerouting of water ways
- Expansion of the desert
- Rainforests shrinking
How many countries are in the western hemisphere? Are they more or less advanced? Why?
19 of 54
more advanced
closest to Europe and trade routes
oil and natural resources
Animals associated with north Africa:
Dromedary camel, fat in hump (only one) breaks down for energy,
Sand viper, bury themselves to protect from heat
Fennec fox, nocturnal
Addax Antelope
Monitor Lizard
what mountain range separates desert from mediterranean?
Atlas mountains
Two notable aspects of sub-saharan west africa nature/ wildlife
Rainforest- serve as transitions into dry savannah areas
Unique primates
Congo basin wildlife
Great ape diversity
21 species of primates
182 species of snakes
East Africa nature/wildlife
Great riff valley, early human skeletons discovered here
Serengeti
Mount kilimanjaro
“Big 5” of African wildlife species
Annual wildebeest migration
Ethiopian wolf
Gelada baboon
(Maasai people live in balance with nature)
What was “The Dark Continent” and how did it shape western perception of Africa?
1950’s Disney true life adventure, popular documentary
Frame Africa as being uninhabited, erasure of Africans living there,
Described the physical environment as unexplored, mysterious and dangerous
untamed, exotic
Justification for colonization
- ignores presence and rights Africans, shows Africa as uncivilized and in need of “taming”
What are some of the main differences between Egypt and the rest of Africa?
Egyptians more related to the Mediterranean and Arab world, connection to the nile valley, cultural and linguistic ties to Middle East
blocked from the rest of Africa by the desert
6000bce earliest point of civilization
Nubians are indigenous to Africa, not Mediterranean
30 different dynasties
use of tributaries make it easy to conquer
innovations that came out of Egypt
First elevated bed, chairs and boxes
Paper and ink (papyrus, made of reeds, ink made of soot and spit)
Medicine: heal wounds, stitch together wounds, toothpaste (rock salt, mint, dried iris, pepper), makeup, hair, breath mints
Math (building of the pyramids)
Calendar: tied to agriculture, 12 months, each month was 30 days and then 5 at the end
religion in Egypt
Religion
Polytheistic
Osiris god of the underworld
Wealthy were mummified so that they were in good condition when they got to the underworld
Now the dominant religion is islam and coptic christianity is about 5%
Cairo in egypt has many churches next to mosques
what is the Fertile Crescent
Nile river and levant area
Fertile area of early agriculture
Cradle of civilization
Needed sedentary ag to start sedentary society
Effective irrigation techniques
Civilization started simultaneously elsewhere in the world so cradle of civilization has been called into question (very eurocentric)
when/where did the ottoman’s rule? what was their influence in Africa?
14th -20th century
mostly influenced north africa
spread of islamic culture, language and architecture
Indigenous tribes in Egypt
Jebeliya
Bedouin
Matrough
Muzeina
Nubian (oldest ethnic group in egypt, original indigenous people, matriarchal society, preserved language for 7000 years)
Aswan High Dam built through the villages and displaced the nubian
why is Libya divided?
Italian control
right side connected to Egypt
left side connected to Tunisia
in 1945 separated into three regions
- Cyrenaica
- Fezzan
- Tripolitania
oil creates more division
what can we learn from the derna dam break? When did it happen? How many people were killed?
September 11 2023
11,000 people killed
2 dams burst
Happened along the coast, wealthier area
Libya national army, gov that is not recognized by the rest of the world
Lack of infrastructure, communication, any sense of danger
Conflicting info about staying at home or evacuation, no facilities for evacuation
what is the Arab spring?
The Arab Spring refers to a series of pro-democracy uprisings and protests that swept across several countries in the Arab world, starting in late 2010 and continuing into 2011 and beyond. These protests were largely driven by frustration with autocratic regimes, political repression, economic stagnation, corruption, and lack of political freedoms.
The movement began in Tunisia in December 2010 when a street vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, set himself on fire in protest against police harassment and humiliation. His act sparked widespread protests against the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, eventually leading to his ousting in January 2011.
The success of the Tunisian revolution inspired similar protests in other Arab countries, including Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, and others. These protests varied in scale and intensity, but they all shared the common goal of demanding political reforms, greater civil liberties, and an end to authoritarian rule.
how did ottoman rule help Morocco?
kept invaders out
where are the amazigh people from? what language do they speak? what is their relationship with other groups throughout history? What language do they speak? What does the earthquake in the Atlas Mountains tell us?
indigenous to North Africa, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mali, niger
- Language is oral rather than written
- Matriarchy
- Dhabba kehena
- Ancestral queen mother
- Many tribes within this community
- Kabyles
- Rifans
- Taureg
Have not mixed with arab populations, very little arab genetics
Often ostracized
Tortured and killed under king hassain
Muslims not always arab, arab not all muslim
Language: Tamazight
- Children banned from speaking it
- Language is in danger of disappearing
- Oppressed
Different dialects so there is no standardization (can’t be shared on social media)
Language fundamental to cultural identify and effective way of subjugating people
Atlas mountain earthquake
Amazigh Usually desert nomads but in morocco they live in the atlas mountains
Infrastructure was destroyed and global attention and aid was very minimal
If you are not a country that is in the forefront of people’s minds or imagination, gets less attention and help
Since 1910 the Sahara has expanded by ____ primarily expanding south and toward the mediterranean, to the islands and parts of spain
10%,
Dorcas gazelle:
thrives in arid conditions because it is water independent, water from vegetation that they eat, no standing water, even during extreme drought
Dromedary camel:
one hump, cultural icon, conserve water because their humps are filled with fat that they convert to water and energy, drink up to 40 gallons of water at one time, survive dehydration because they have specialized kidneys and intestines are specialized for water absorption, nostrils close to trap the moisture in
Fennec fox:
giant ears to regulate heat just like elephants, release excess body heat and conserve energy because they are nocturnal, fewer predators, fur on feet so they don’t get burned
Red neck ostrich adaptation
adapted for sahara, lay eggs in communal nest which distributes incubation and protection and protects from excessive heat, thick shells
Monitor lizards:
ectothermic and regulate body temp, warmth from sun and retreat underground to stay cool with microclimate in burrows
Silver ant:
heat resistant, go out when it is hottest, run super fast, long legs to keep bodies off the sand, hairs on them that reflects the heat
Death stalker scorpion characteristics
potent venom, nocturnal, venom is so toxic it can kill anything, potential cancer treatments
African wild dogs:
hunting in packs (more efficient protects from predators), cohesive social structure
Saharan cheetah:
different from other cheetahs, more solitary and lighter build