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
Language groups
Arabic, french, swahili, hausa, igbo, yoruba (Nigerian), tamazight, oromo, portuguese, amharic (english not one of them)
200 afro-asiatic
140 nilo saharan
30 khoisan
All languages are official languages
English doesn’t even make the top 50 languages
Expected that by 2025, 1 in ___ people in the world will be living in Africa
4
true of false: Population is decreasing but growth rate is increasing
False: Population increases but growth rate is declining
Most densely populated and urbanized city:
Djibouti, Japanese, French and American defense forces
Nigeria population
Pop is __% of Africa
Grew __% from last year
Median age
Population: 227 million
Population of nigeria is almost 3% of entire country
Up 12% from last year
Median age is 17.2
Most urbanized country
Gabon
Most densely populated countries:
Rwanda and burundi
Nigeria 483ppl/sq
Between 300-500 ppm/sq mile
what are factors that affect the growth rate?
food insecurity
disease
conflict
- People leaving the continent
Similarities in North African countries
- primarily mediterranean country origins
- heavily influenced by ottoman occupation
- were colonized many times
- ruled by dictators or military regimes
- internal conflict
countries that colonized Africa
Belgium
britain
france
germany
italy
portugal
spain
how has religious affiliation changed in Africa?
Used to be majority ethnic/ traditional religions, now 42% muslim and 28% christian
what is the most populous country in Africa?
Nigeria
What is the country where the most languages are spoken?
Nigeria,
fewer international languages the more interior you get
Cause and effect: Food insecurity in Africa
Exacerbated by drought
Lack of nutrition means many children die early, this raises birth rate because people have more children to make up for child mortality rate
Only place in which children are overweight and stunted in growth
___% of child mortality is due to food insecurity
45%
___ of pop is undernourished
1/3rd
main methods of food production
Hunting and gathering
Subsistence farming
- herding animals
- crop cultivation
- silvopastoralism
Commercial farming
what happened with the locusts and agriculture in East Africa?
Locusts are a type of grasshopper that can form swarms of millions of individuals, capable of devastating crops and causing significant damage to agriculture. In Africa, locust outbreaks have historically been a recurring problem, particularly in the Sahel region and parts of East Africa.
One notable example is the Desert Locust outbreak that began in East Africa in late 2019 and continued into 2020. This outbreak was fueled by unusually heavy rainfall and cyclones in the region, which created ideal breeding conditions for locusts. The swarms spread rapidly across several countries, including Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Uganda, causing extensive damage to crops and pastures.
the problem with commercial farming in Africa
Food sold at market and overseas
- Farming of plants and foods that are not native —> Require more water, more nutrients than are in the soil, more susceptible to pests
- Crops were brought in through colonization, high value when exported
- Draw water away, fertilizers and pesticides that get into water
- Take away land from local farmers
___ out of ten countries for new HIV infections are in sub saharan africa
7
___% of people with aids are in sub-saharan africa
69%
___ of world’s children living with aids are in africa
92%
factors that contributed to the aids crisis in Africa
lack of prevention and education
south African president that said people got aids because they were poor
lack of accessibility due to western Pharmaceutical companies
taboo subject
sexual violence and rape
effect of ebola in Africa
1976 first outbreak
2014-2016 outbreak in west Africa, was spread through commuters
wipes out entire communities
Much more difficult to catch than covid
Originated from mammals like primates that are eaten for bushmeat
Caused prejudice toward Africans and Black people also in the US, similar to discrimination against Asian people during covid
Complete panic in the US
Response to and effect of Covid
Covid barely touched sub saharan africa
Dealing with Ebola allowed for regulations and restrictions
Even with bad distribution of vaccines
Least impacted region of anywhere in the world
Incredibly rigorous death reporting system, most accurate death reporting out of anywhere in the world
Very strict infectious disease control system
Despite this, sub-saharan africa had a travel ban, lasted longer than any other travel ban for any other country
Travel ban in europe lifted many months before africa
One of the last variants was the south african variant (after south african scientists), came from the netherlands
Triggering prejudice
Strain originating from india not called indian strain
Considered to be more economically powerful
Factors that direct trends in conflict
Communal
- land and water resources
Borders
- want traditional land back
Food
- food riots
Religion
- extremist groups
life expectancy for the continent as a whole
63 yrs old
what region/ group has the lowest life expectancy ?
Western African men, chad 53.7 years old
___% of world pop lives in sub saharan Africa
18
less than __% of individuals in subsaharan Africa live in cities
45
median age in the US is ____ while median age in Africa is _____
39, 19
indicators of developmental success
stable gov (functioning)
stable economy (varied economy)
strong infrastructure (internet, phones, technology, electricity)
educated pop (good education)
healthy pop (health care, prenatal care and infant care)
personal freedom
the two countries with a high development score
Botswana and South Africa
what is the African union and what is their goal?
The African Union (AU) is a continental organization consisting of 55 member states across Africa. It was established on May 26, 2001, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and officially launched on July 9, 2002, in Durban, South Africa, succeeding the Organization of African Unity (OAU). The AU is headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The primary goal of the African Union is to promote unity, cooperation, and development among African countries, with the aim of achieving peace, security, and prosperity on the continent.
What does Strong infrastructure include?
Roads, able to transport goods
Ability to trade with other countries
Communication
Electricity
Mobile phone subscriptions: mostly use burner phones
Kenya: ten year waiting list for landline phone
what are key aspects to creating an educated population?
Men and women educated
education accessible
Education beyond primary school and college educated
Receive education outside of home country
Exposing pop to rest of the world, gaining first-hand experience
What countries compose the African union and what is it?
All african nations
Supranational body to empower its citizens
Hold leaders accountable and protect their citizens
Healthier future for everyone
Inclusion in G20 with same status as other countries
Sustainable development
English and chinese
Why is it important that Egypt Morocco and Tunisia are tourist destinations on a global scale?
People know what they are like, care about them and have developed an attachment to the place
only country that has not been colonized
ethiopia
What are the causes and effects of refugee camps in subsaharan Africa? Example of camp and how many refugees:
Caused by civil disturbances, people escape into. neighboring countries
ex. over 250,000 people in Kenya, mostly from Somalia
effect is tension and strain on resources
environmental degradation of the land, all vegetation removed and land compressed
Why is it a problem that the median age is 19 in some places in Africa?
Not enough people old enough to be in the workforce
too many children that require resources and care
especially infants are care intensive
Main effect of Born Free
set the precedent for the movement/ idea behind reintroduction. Rather than kill animal or send it to the zoo, could be reintroduced
Major takeaways from video: The problem with Africa’s borders
Uses religion, ethnicity and language to try and divide up the country, showing that current colonial borders create boundaries where these categories split
Muslim north and Christian south
630,000,000 largest christian pop anywhere on earth
Berlin conference: leaders voted to keep arbitrary boundaries
What was the time frame of colonization in Africa?
1880-1900
How did they justify the colonization of Africa
said it was to stop the slave trade but really they just reinforced it
Had to liberate Africa through three C’s
Commerce
Christianity
Civilization
(David Livingston)
What was the initial “area of confusion” for colonial powers in Africa disputed at the Berlin conference?
mouths of the niger and Congo river
What does the term “scramble for Africa” refer to?
refers to the rapid colonization and partitioning of Africa by European powers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This period saw European nations aggressively competing to establish colonies and control territories across the African continent. The scramble was driven by various factors, including economic interests in Africa’s resources (such as minerals, rubber, and agricultural products), strategic considerations for trade routes, and the desire for political power and prestige. This colonization had significant and lasting impacts on Africa, including the imposition of colonial rule, the exploitation of natural resources, the disruption of indigenous societies and cultures, and the establishment of arbitrary borders that often ignored existing ethnic and cultural divisions.
when was the Berlin conference and what was it?
1884-1885
Otto van Bismarck
14 countries
legitimized European European claims to African territories
Who was Henry Morton Stanley and why is he relevant?
contributed to the “scramble for Africa”. Payed by Leopold to go up and down the river to make “treaties” with the local people so that the king has access to resources
How was colonizing India related to colonizing Africa
1958 taken over india
Initially looking at cyro and south africa
Cecil rhodes wanted great britain to control the entire world
Convinced british gov of cyro to cape railway system
Who was Leopold and why is he important?
Leopold ran the congo as his own personal empire, congo free state,
Philanthropic enterprise to “shower the natives with civilization”
Belgium gives him money to start his own kingdom
Profits from rubber and slavery then went to him
Set up through the stanley treaties
One of the treaties was with high powered arab slave trader
Appointed him as governor and allowed him to ramp up slave trading
Belgium comes back for international anti-slavery trading
The way that he stops the slave trade is mass murder of the slaves
Help the women captive so that the men would do the work
Amputations were standard
15,000,000 people died under his reign
Important to what he did to central africa
Disadvantage to the european merchants so they stopped him
Significant of WWI in Africa
first shot taken by African soldier wearing British uniform that fired on German forces?
Exploitation of Africa for war efforts:
Huge losses by the africans who were forced to participate in the war, over 2,000,000 150,000 injured or disabled, starvation from food shortages
Armies would seize food from communities and families
The soldiers were farmers and hunters and fisherman
Very little discussion of Africa
very different conflict because they lacked the same technology that was in europe
-less environmental degradation
- No trenches and poison gas
Massive exodus of europeans from the continent as they were pulled to the western front or northern africa
Pullout of services manned by europeans
In some cases there were senegalese that were already doing these jobs, in british west africa there were new opportunities that opened up were opportunities to
First time that africans saw the europeans in a different life, had the money and resources
Africans see white people fighting each other, they were told to kill the white people
Economic disruption but caused a shift by looking at colonizers and seeing the weaknesses
When porters came back they had new view of the white man
Significance of WWII in Africa
Colonizers came back
Colonizers sell food for way more to make up the losses of WWI, blame colonial gov planting the first seed for fight for independence
We fought on your side , we should get something out of this
Supplying rubber and minerals and food
Contributed marginally as soldiers
Small sub saharan force
Due to race policies only men of european descent can participate in armed combat
Wanted madagascar because of the japanese so the british took it over from the french
Post WWII
Germany loses holdings
Africans across continent know they have ability to defeat these people
Dates of independence: After WWII - 1994 (entire pop of south africa can vote) independence in 1691
7% white but still african
Name changes after WWII
Desire to shed colonial legacy and regain identity
Kingdom of eSwatini
DRC (different than congo)
Namibia , german southwest africa, then southwest africa
Ghana, the gold coast 1957
Benin Republic, dahome 1975
Malawi
Zimbabwe and Zambia, previously rhodesia
Botswana,
Burkina Faso , 1960 dependence from France
Continued impact of colonization
Political fragmentation
Economic dependency
Cultural erosion
cultural erosion from colonization ex from Portugal and Britain
Eroded indigenous culture and language and beliefs
Portuguese colonies
Changes names while people in british colonies kept african names
South africa and apartheid
Institutionalized segregation
All of south africa is owned by a person or by the government
Economic dependency from colonization, example from one African country
White saviorism
Colonial economy structures to serve interests of colonizers, every country set up to be resilient on export driven economies and limited industrial development, hindering sustainable growth /
Germans desert benin, infrastructure is hollowed and no longer used
WWI and WWII start and end dates
1914-1918
1939-1945
Arab spring dates
2010 -2013
