GEOG151 Final Sub-Saharan Africa

Africa’s size

the second largest continent by area and population (abt 1.2B), but often looks smaller on maps bc of distortion

Sahara Desert size

the third largest desert in the world after Antarctic and Arctic Deserts

Why is the north of Africa considered as a region with the Middle East?

because Islamic expansion dominated North Africa

Where in Africa is there a strong Islamic influence?

along the eastern coast, particularly near the Horn of Africa

Horn of Africa

a peninsula that extends into the Arabian Sea. It resides on the Somali Plate, and is separated from the Nubian Plate by the East African Rift

What does the process of Africa splitting into two plates contribute to?

it contributes to the formation of the African Great Lates, which include Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika

Lake Victoria size

the largest lake in Africa by area

Sahel

south of the Sahara desert, a transition-zone to the Sudanian Savannah, a region of grasslands

Near the equator in Africa

The African Tropical Rainforest is near the equator. ringing the rainforest is the Savannah

two largest African language families

Afro-Asiatic family (Berber and Arabic) and Niger-Congo family (Bantu)

Swahili

a common Bantu language, is a lingua franca for much of Africa (5 mil native speakers, 140 speakers total)

Atlantic and Arab Slave Trades

approximately 30 million Africans were sold into slavery during European colonization

The Scramble for Africa

• in 1870, only 10% of Africa was under European control

• By 1914, 90% was under European control

  • exceptions: Ethiopia and Liberia

• Transition from imperialism to colonialism

• Little open conflict between European parties

• Mostly French (in the West) and British (in the East)

Cecil Rhodes

the face of British Colonialism in Africa - the founding chairman of diamond company DeBeer, founded Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and is the man behind the Rhodes Scholarship

Indian Diaspora in Southeast Africa (removal from homeland) due to

1833 Slavery Abolition Act - approximately 3 million persons of Indian descent living in SE Africa today

When Africa was decolonized, how did many country’s government change?

shift from democracy to single party governments/dictators

Robert Mugabe

Rebel leader who won a civil war and established Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia (1980), he nationalized much of the agriculture and industry in Zimbabwe and establishes a single-party state, wins every election until Nov 2017. Zimbabwe ranked poorly on measures of corruption, especially in elections

Apartheid (1948-1944 in South Africa)

social stratification that influence jobs, housing, etc. It enforced racial segregation and discrimination primarily based on skin color and facial features, with white people holding a higher status than other racial groups.

What is Africa’s largest country by population and GDP?

Nigeria

What does the Gulf of Guinea have that contributes to economic development

large oil reserves

Are rates of urbanization in Africa high or low?

high - large rural populations

What rates are the fastest changing in Sub-Saharan Africa?

urbanization rates - Sub-Saharan Africa has the fastest urbanization rates in the world. most of this growth is the growth of already very large mega-cities

mega-cities

those with populations over 5 million

Why did Americas withdraw from the war in Somalia in March 1994?

no national interest

1994 Rwandan Genocide

ethnic majority Hutus in Rwanda revolted against the formerly ruling ethnic minority Tutsis. about 800k skilled in state-ordered genocide. the genocide re-ignites the civil war and the Tutsis led forces won

Paul Kagame

Rwandan President since 2000, de facto leader since 1994 - authoritarian

What was Congo formerly a colony of?

Belgium

Congo War - “Great African War”

following Rwandan Genocide, Mutubu is weakened and over thrown, Kabila takes power and kicks out Ugandans and Rwandans and allies with Hutu group. substantical ehtnic violence, hundreds of thousands dead

Second Congo War (1998-2003)

• recurring conflict b/w DRC and 8 nearby countries and 25 armed groups

• L-D Kabila expels Uganda and Rwanda militaries; they respond by backing insurgents against him

• Eastern Congo destabilized, severe economic disruption, starvation, factionalism, chaos

• 1-5 million deaths

• conflict continues —> valuable resources at stake in eastern Congo

conflict minerals

an extension of the term “conflict diamonds” or (blood diamonds) referring to conflicts in Angola, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau

• coltan (Columbite-Tantalite), cobalt, tin, tungsten, gold, copper, diamonds

• bans and auditing to reduce impact, but these laws are skirted in practice

Coltan (Columbite-Tantalite)

used in manufacture of electronics (mobile phone, computers)

cobalt

used in batteries and electronics

Boko Haram

a terrorist group based in Nigeria that became known for its extreme violence and kidnappings, especially against schools, women, and children. (35,000-350,000 dead)

Al-Shabaab

a violent extremist group based in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia known for carrying out terrorist attacks and trying to establish a strict Islamic state governed by Sharia law.

Where does Militant Islam in Africa operate?

in the transition zone