Africa

Africa• Where on earth is

it?• The continent is

surrounded by the– Mediterranean sea

to the N– Atlantic Ocean to

the W– The Suez Canal &

the Red Sea to the NE

– The Indian Ocean to the E

Africa• Its the world's 2nd

largest & 2nd most populated continent in the world.

• It covers 6% of the Earth’s total surface area & 20.4% of the total land area.

• Africa is considered by most scientists to be the oldest inhabited territory on Earth, w/ humans tracing their origin to Africa.

• It accounts for about 14.72% of the world’s population

Nile River• Major N flowing river

in North Africa.• The longest river in

the world @ 4,130 miles long.

• The source of the Nile is sometimes considered to be Lake Victoria.

• It’s made up of 2 tributaries:

• 1. White Nile • 2. Blue Nile

Nile River• White Nile-Starts in equatorial East

Africa.• Gets its name from the whitish clay

suspended in its waters from past flooding.

• The White Nile gets bogged down in swamps in Sudan & loses ½ of its water to evaporation.

• Blue Nile- Starts at lake Tana in Ethiopia.

• Flows about 870 miles to Khartoum, where the Blue & White Nile join to form the Nile.

• 90% of the water & 96% of the transported sediment carried by the Nile originates in Ethiopia.

Nile River & Egypt• It played a crucial role in the

development of Egyptian civilization.• Silt deposits from the Nile made the

land fertile because the river overflowed annually.

• Egyptians would trade their goods along the Nile.

• This trading system secured Egypt's relationships with other countries, & helped w/ economic stability.

Nile River & Egypt• The Nile was an important part of ancient Egyptian

spiritual life.• Hapy was the god of flooding, people thought that

Hapy & the pharaoh controlled when & how much it would flood.

• The Nile was considered to be a causeway from life to death and the afterlife.

• The east was thought of as a place of birth & growth, & the west was considered the place of death.

• Ra, god of the Sun, underwent birth, death, & resurrection each day as he crossed the sky.

• Thus, all tombs were west of the Nile, because the Egyptians believed that in order to enter the afterlife, they had to be buried on the side that symbolized death.

Nile River• The Nile has long been used to transport goods.• Because winter winds blow south, up river, ships

could sail up river, & down river using the flow of the river.

• 1970 completion of the Aswan High Dam ended the summer floods & their renewal of the fertile soil, changing farming practices.

• It aimed to increase economic production by regulating the annual floods & providing storage of water for AG, & later, to generate hydroelectric power.

Aswan High Dam• Benefits:• 1. Protection from floods &

droughts.• 2. Increase in agricultural

production & work.• 3. Electricity production.• 4. Improved navigation that

benefits tourism• Negatives:• 1. Resettlement- People’s

homes were flooded during the construction of the dam.

• 2. Loss of sediments & soil fertility

• 3. Coastal Erosion- the sediment isn’t being deposited any more.

• 4. Pollution from fertilizers

Life in Sub-Sahara Africa• It claims the world’s highest birth rate &

shortest life expectancy.• Pop distribution is uneven.• EX: about 835 people per sq mile in Rwanda

while only about 5-6 per sq mile in Namibia & Botswana.

• Closely related to geography cause of deserts.• Most people crowded around lakes & coast.

Life in Sub-Sahara Africa• w/ limited farm land, the gov’s have had a hard time feeding

their people.• Food production has dropped 20% since 1970 & the pop has

tripled.• Famine, poor nutrition, & impure water have been the main

cause of death among infants & young children.

Life in Sub-Sahara Africa• Diseases:• 1. Malaria- female mosquito

born disease. After a period of between two weeks & several months spent in the liver, parasites start to multiply w/in red blood cells causing fever, headache, hallucinations, & death.

• 2. Sleeping sickness- caused by the bite of the Tsetse fly, symptoms include confusion, reduced coordination, & disruption sleep.– with bouts of fatigue that lead

to daytime sleep & night-time insomnia

– Without treatment, the disease is fatal, with progressive mental deterioration leading to coma & death. Damage to the brain can be irreversible.

Life in Sub-Sahara Africa• 3. Aids- Acquired immune deficiency syndrome– a disease of the human immune system– caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).– This condition progressively reduces the effectiveness of

the immune system & leaves individuals open to infections & tumors.

– In 2007, UNAIDS estimated: 33.2 million people worldwide had AIDS that year; AIDS killed an 2.1 million people in the course of that year, including 330,000 children, and 76% of those deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa.

– According to UNAIDS 2009 report, worldwide some 60 million people have been infected, w/ some 25 million deaths, & 14 million orphaned children in southern Africa alone since the epidemic began

AIDS• Research indicates that HIV originated in west-central

Africa during the late 19th or early 20th century.• Although treatments for AIDS & HIV can slow the course

of the disease, there is no known cure or vaccine.

• Animals that can kill you in Sub-Sahara Africa!– Snakes– Crocodiles– Hippos– Buffalo– Lions– Fish

Snakes• 1. Puff Adder• This species is

responsible for more fatalities than any other African snake.

• About 100 mg is enough to kill a healthy adult human w/ death occurring after 25 hours or more

Snakes• 2. Black Mamba• The mortality rate from

its bites can be nearly 100%, unless the snakebite victim is promptly treated

• can grow up to 14ft. & move @ 10-12 mph

Snakes• 3. Cobra-is the

largest (20 ft), most venomous snake in the world.

• It is estimated that approximately 75 % of people receiving a bite will eventually die from the medical complications from the bite.

• A real bite can cause death w/in 10 mins.

Snakes• 4. Gaboon Viper-

found in the rainforests & savannas of Sub-Saharan Africa.

• world's heaviest viper (20 lbs), it has the longest fangs (up to 2 inches),and the highest venom yield of any venomous snake.

Nile Crocodile• Crocodiles kill hundreds of people each year in

Africa.• Can be found in almost every major river

throughout the continent as well as many lakes.

Hippos• Responsible

for more human fatalities in Africa than any other large animal.

• On land they can run 20 mph.

• They can’t swim, they only float & jump through the H2O.

Cape Buffalo• Buffalo are thought to kill around 200 people

every year.• They charge & then they gore their victims.• Nick-name is "Black Death"

Lions• Live throughout sub-Saharan Africa.• Made famous cause of the “Man eaters of Tsavo”.• In March 1898 the British started building a railway bridge over the

Tsavo River in Kenya.• During the next nine months of construction, two maneless male

lions stalked the campsite, dragging workers from their tents @ night & eating them.

• Crews tried to scare off the lions & built campfires & thorn fences around their camp for protection to keep the man-eaters out, to no avail. The lions crawled through the thorn fences. After the new attacks, hundreds of workers fled from Tsavo, halting construction on the bridge. Patterson set traps & tried several times to ambush the lions at night from a tree. After repeated unsuccessful endeavors, he shot the first lion on December 9, 1898. Three weeks later, the second lion was found &killed. The first lion killed measured nine feet, eight inches from nose to tip of tail. It took eight men to carry the carcass back to camp. The exact number of people killed by the lions is unclear. Over the course of his life, Patterson gave several figures, once claiming that there were 135 victims.

Lions

Lions• Sick male lions are mostly responsible for the

hundreds of human deaths that occur each year because of lion attacks.

Sharks• Great Whites-There have

been more than 200 Great White shark attacks off the coast of South Africa in as many years.

• Great Whites attack by propelling themselves at their prey with great speed. They take a single huge bite and drag their victims down into deeper water. Then they let go and the prey just bleeds itself to death before being gobbled up.

EgYpT• Egypt is one of the most populous

countries in Africa.• The great majority of its estimated

79 million people live near the banks of the Nile River.

• In June 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, w/ General Muhammad Naguib as the 1st President of the Republic.

• Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser.

• Three years after the 1967 Six Day War, during which Israel had invaded and occupied Sinai, Nasser died and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat.

EgYpT• Sadat switched Egypt's Cold War loyalty from

the Soviet Union to the US.• Sadat visited Israel in 1977, which led to the

1979 peace treaty in exchange for Israeli w/drawal from Sinai Penin.

• Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world & led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by most Egyptians.

• A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by Hosni Mubarak.

Hosni Mubarak• He was appointed VP in 1975.• He is also the longest serving

President of Egypt, his term was 29 yrs.

• Wars and the monetary gain from the Gulf War of 1991 – Egypt was a member of the allied coalition

in the 1991 Gulf War– Egyptian infantry were some of the first to

land in Saudi Arabia to evict Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

– Reports that sums as large as $500,000 per soldier were paid published in the media.

– Egypt's president joined without hesitation. After the war, his reward was that America & other countries forgave Egypt for about 14 billion dollars.

Hosni Mubarak• It all started going wrong for him in 2004 when he

came under criticism for favoring big business & privatization rather than workers' rights.

• His so called “elections” seem to have been a sham because No one could run against the President due to a restriction in the Egyptian constitution.

• The People's Assembly played the main role in electing the President of the Republic.

• In the 2005 elections Mubarak allowed for someone to run against him but he was in control of the electoral institutions.

Suez Canal• An artificial sea-level

waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea & the Red Sea.

• Opened in November 1869, it allows water transportation tween Europe & Asia w/out having to go all the way around Africa.

• The canal is 120 miles long & 80 ft deep.

• Its owned & maintained by the Suez Canal Authority of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

• It is open to the world to use during war & peace

Suez Canal• In 1854-1856 Ferdinand de Lesseps obtained a

concession from Sa'id Pasha, the viceroy of Egypt, to create a company to construct a canal open to ships of all nations.

• The company was to operate the canal for 99 years from its opening.

• Building it took 10 yrs of mostly slave labor.• The canal had an immediate impact on world trade. • It allowed the entire world to be circled in record time. • It played an important role in increasing European

colonization of Africa.

Suez Canal• Ships as big as

66ft draft, & 240,000 deadweight tons can travel on the canal.

• The – to the canal is that at certain spots it is a 1 way shipping lane.

Kalahari Desert• A large arid to semi-arid sandy area in

Southern Africa covering 350,000 sq mi.• Supports some animals & plants cause

most of it isn’t a true desert. • Small amounts of rainfall & the summer

temp is very high. Usually gets 3–7.5 inches of rain a yr.

• Has big areas covered by red sand w/out any permanent surface water.

Kalahari Desert• The Kalahari has a large # of game reserves.• Population– The San have lived in the Kalahari for 20,000

years as hunter/gatherers.– They hunt wild game with bows/arrows & eat

edible plants.– The San rarely drink water; they get most of

their water needs from plant roots & desert fruits.

– These migratory people do not domesticate animals or cultivate crops,

• http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=1E3AE146-8FF8-4FE1-B20C-BA483DDBFC6B&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US

San• San men have a reputation as trackers & hunters.• The San have no assigned authority figure or chief,

but govern themselves by group consensus. • Disputes are resolved through lengthy discussions

where all involved have a chance to make their thoughts heard until some agreement is reached.

• Today, the San suffer from a perception that their lifestyle is 'primitive' and that they need to be made to live like the majority cattle-herding tribes.

• The last of the hunter-gatherers were forcibly evicted from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve

Sahara Desert• World's largest desert

covering 3,630,000 sq mi of N Africa.

• Its almost as large as Europe & the US.

• Divides Africa into North & Sub-Saharan Africa.

• The Sahara has one of the harshest climates in the world w/ a NE wind causing sand storms.

• Half of the Sahara receives less than 0.8 of rain a year, & the rest receives up to 4 inches.

Other issues in Africa• Famine- is a widespread scarcity of food,

caused by crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies.

• Famine strikes Sub-Saharan African countries the hardest, because of exhaustion of food resources, over drafting of groundwater, wars, internal struggles, & economic failure.

Famine from 1950-NOW• During this period after WWII many of Africa's

colonies had gained their independence, however, those that assumed power continued to control the population the same as their previous oppressors.

• From 1967-1969 large scale famine occurs in Nigeria due to the government blockade. It is estimated that 1.5 million people died of starvation due to this famine.

• Additionally, w/ the added effect of the drought and other corrupt governments withholding food during this time; 500,000 Africans die in Central & West Africa

Famine from 1950-NOW• Many African countries are not self-sufficient

in food production, relying on income from cash crops to import food.

• Ag in Africa is exposed to climate change, especially droughts which can reduce the amount of food produced locally.

• Other agricultural problems include soil infertility & erosion, swarms of desert locusts, which can destroy whole crops, & livestock diseases. The Sahara reportedly spreads at a rate of up to 30 miles a year

Famine from 1950-NOW• The 2005–06 Niger food crisis was a severe

but localized food security crisis. It was caused by an early end to the 2004 rains, locust damage to some pasture lands, high food prices, & severe poverty.

• In the affected area, 2.4 million of 3.6 million people are considered highly vulnerable to food insecurity.

Apartheid • Apartheid- a system of racial

segregation enforced by the National Party of S Africa between 1948-1994.

• This system of suppression restricted the rights of the majority non-white citizens of S Africa & white Afrikaner minority rule was established.

• Racial segregation in S Africa began in colonial times. However, apartheid as an official policy was introduced in 1948.

Apartheid• New legislation in 1948

classified people into 4 racial groups ("native", "white", "coloured", & "Asian").

• Residential areas were segregated, sometimes by means of forced removals.

• Non-white political representation was completely abolished in 1970, and starting in that year black people were deprived of their citizenship, legally becoming citizens of one of 10 tribally based self-governing homelands called Bantustans,

Apartheid• The government segregated

education, medical care, beaches, and other public services, and provided black people with services inferior to those of white people.

• Education was segregated by means of the 1953 Bantu Education Act, which created a separate system of education for African students.

• It was designed to prepare black people for lives as laborers.

• In 1959 separate universities were created for black, coloured & Indian people. Existing universities couldn’t enroll new black students.

Apartheid• During the 1960s,70s &

early 80s, the gov implemented a policy of 'resettlement', to force people to move to their designated "group areas.“

• Oppression against African women was different from discrimination against men. They had very few or no legal rights, no access to education & no right to own property.

Apartheid• The government responded to a series of

popular uprisings & protests w/ police brutality, which in turn increased local support for the resistance struggle.

• http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=B8212A6A-CDCB-4EC4-9FDF-9BF57C978623&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US