1. Sub-Saharan Africa

2. Introduction Cultural complexity The world’s fastest growing region
Language, religion, ethnicity, colonialism
The world’s fastest growing region
45% of population is younger than 15 years old
Low economic output
1% of global output with 11% population
Mounting debt  structural adjustment programs
Structural adjustment programs - controversial economic measures designed to reduce government spending and encourage private sector initiatives

3. Environmental Geography

4. Elevated landmass Low Africa Great Rift Valley High Africa
Great Escarpment

5. Plateaus Escarpment Mountain range
Forms when plateau abruptly ends (eg. falls)
 impedes river navigation  low connectivity in this region
Great Escarpment: refers to coastal escarpment in south
 narrow coastal plane  few human settlement in the coast
Mountain range
Volcanic mountains in southern half of the Great Rift Valley (eg. Killimanjaro, Mount Kenya)
 created in divergent plate boundary

6. Divergent plate boundary
Ridge
Rift Valley
The Rift Valley
In the Eastern Africa, this geological forces produce gash along the boundary (eg. Lake Nyasa, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria)
 fertile soil, abundant water  dense settlement in eastern Africa

7. Eastern Africa is slowly being torn away from the rest of the continent; in tens of millions of years, eastern African will be separated from Africa

8. Watersheds Congo River (or Zaire) Nile River The Second largest river
Bndry. betw. Rep. of Congo and Demo. Rep. of Congo
Nile River
The Longest river
Lifeblood of Egypt, Sudan
Connects between North and Sub-Saharan Africa

9. Watersheds Niger River Zambezi River
Critical source of water for the arid countries
Mali, Niger, Nigeria
Historic city – Tombouctou (11th century)
Zambezi River
Major supplier of commercial energy
Kariba Res, Cabora Bassa Res.
Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique
Victoria falls in Zambezi River, Boundary of Namibia to have an access to Zambezi River

10. Soils Relatively infertile
 can’t support intensive agriculture
Soil fertility explains patterns of settlement
Rift valley
Rwanda, Brundi, Ethiopia, Kenya
Nigeria

11. Mostly tropical climates (Af, Aw, BSh, BWh) except for South Africa

12. Tropical forests (Af)
Warm to hot temperature; year-round precipitation
Relatively intact (cf. SE Asia, Latin America)
Low population
Oil exports
Political chaos

13. Savannas (Aw) Wrapped around rain forest
Mixture of trees and tall grasses
Critical habitat for large fauna
Eg. Masai Mara Nat’l Park, Kenya
Dry winter, See p231 for the picture

14. Deserts Sahara Desert, Namib Desert, Kalahari Desert
To see the location of deserts, see p226

15. Midlatitude climates South Africa Southwestern Eastern coast
Mediterranean climate (Csb)
 wine production
Eastern coast
subtropical climate (Cfa)

16. Highland Exhibits altitudinal zonation Montane zones Rift Valley zone
Drakensberg Range

17. Desertification in the Sahel
Between Sahara Desert and Savanna southward
Transhumance
Movement of animals between wet-season and dry-season pasture  adequate precipitation is essential for livelihood
Drought ( )
Desert-like condition began to move south
Threaten the livelihoods of farmers and pastoralists

18. What causes the Sahelian drought?
Human-induced environmental degradation
Expansion of agriculture
 loss of natural vegetation, declines in soil fertility
eg. peanuts production during the French colonial rule
Overgrazing
Expansion of animal production after WWII
eg. wells digging to supply water
Climatic fluctuation

19. Deforestation Often occurs in Savanna rather than rain forest
 shortage of biofuel; Green Belt Movement

20. Deforestation Central Africa’s Ituri rain forest
Deforested for logging
Madagascar’s eastern rain forest
 endangered biodiversity
Lemur

21. Wildlife conservation
Diseases kept people and livestock out of the areas  Survival of wildlife
Wildlife reserves are in
East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania)
Southern Africa (Zimbabwe)
Poaching (eg. ivory trade) is a problem

23. Population and Settlement

26. Overall, not densely populated
Similar to that of U.S.
Young population, large families
 population growth
 family planning policies in the 1980s
High child mortality, low life expectancy
 low access to basic health services

27. Population density Crude population density Physiological density
Population / area
Physiological density
# people per unit of arable land
Agricultural density
# farmers per unit of arable land
Even though Sub-Saharan Africa has low crude population density, it has high agricultural density

28. Family size Large families are encouraged by Rural lifestyle
Seen as a source of labor, and social security
Ethnic rivalries
More number is affiliated with high political influence
High child mortality rates
Limited education to women

29. Family size Recently growth rate has weaken due to Government policies
Urbanization
AIDS

31. Nigeria: 127 million

32. Population concentration
West Africa, Highland East Africa
 Fertile soil, permanent agriculture
Eastern half of South Africa
Urbanized economy based on mining
Forced relocation of black South Africans into eastern homelands

33. Subsistence crops
Poor tropical soils  shifting cultivation (or swidden)  can’t support high population density
Staple crops (millet, sorghum, corn, and tubers) all over the region
Yam in West Africa (eg. Ibo: southeastern Nigeria)
Irrigated rice in West Africa, and Madagascar

34. Plantation crops Coffee: Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Brundi, Tanzania
Peanuts: Sahel
Cotton: Sudan, Central African Republic
Cocoa: Ghana, Ivory Coast
Rubber: Liberia
Palm oil: Nigeria

35. Herding and livestock Extremely important in semiarid zones
Camel, goats in Sahara; cow father south of Sahara
Symbiotic relationships with neighboring farmers
Manure of stocks can fertilize the soil; exchanged for grain
But often pastoralists independent of agriculture (eg. Masai)
Difficult environment for raising livestock because of infestation of tsetse flies (eg. Central Africa)

36. Historic cities Axum, Ethiopia (1st century)
Capital of ancient empire
Tombouctou, Gao in the Sahel (11th century)
Trans-Saharan trader centers
Zanzibar(Tanzania), Mombasar(Kenya) (12th century)
established by Arab traders
Rooted in Swahili language

37. West African cities Ibadan, Nigeria – settled by Yoruba (12th century)
Lagos, Nigeria – 12 million, Yoruba
Lagos

38. Accra, Ghana – settled by Ga (16th century)
Colonial administrative center in the late 1800s
Division along income lines

39. South African cities Colonial origin unlike that of west Africa
eg. Lusaka (Zambia), Harare(Zimbabwe), and metropolitan areas in South Africa  rich minerals
South Africa
eg. Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town
Reflects the legacy of apartheid

40. Racial segregation in Cape Town

41. Cultural Coherence and Diversity

42. No institutionalized form of religion No widespread unified language
Many of African are multilingual
Lacks a history of widespread political union
Common history of slavery and colonialism

43. African language groups
Can be divided into two types
(1) Associated with other parts of the world
Afro-Asiatic (North Africa, Ethiopia, Somali)  Islam
Austronesian (Madacascar)  indonesian settlement
Indo-European (French, English, Afrikaans)  colonialism
(2) Unique to the region
Nilo-Saharan (Southern Sudan, Sahel)
Khoisan (Kalahari)
Niger-Congo  Bantu migration

44. Bantu Migration

45. Swahili is the most widely spoken Sub-Saharan language

46. Religion
Combine animist practices and ideas with their observances of Christianity and Islam

47. Introduction of Christianity
A.D. 200 ~
Northern Ethiopia: Coptic form of Christianity
1600s ~
South Africa: European settlers and missionaries (1600s)
Dutch settlers
Mid 1800s ~
Former British colony – Protestant Christianity
Former French, Belgian, Portuguese colony – Catholicism
U.S. – Pentecostal, Evangelical, Mormon

48. Introduction of Islam
1000 years ago introduced to Sahel from North Africa
Later, southward spread from Sahel

49. Interaction between religious traditions
Unlike other regions, religion is not a source of political conflict in the Sub-Saharan Africa with the exception of Sudan
Coexistence
Nigeria: Hausa (north) & Igbo, Yoruba (south)
Eritrea: Half Christian, half Muslim
Eastern coast: Eastern Islam & Hinterland Animist
Conflict
Sudan: Muslims in north vs non-Muslims in south

50. African music tradition
Slave trade  melding of African cultures with Amerindian and European ones
eg. Rumba, jazz, bossa nova, the blues, rock & roll

51. Congo’s Authenticity Movement
Introduced by President Motutu
Subsidies to musical groups
Franco’s OK Jazz band: rumba + Congolese folk music
Soukous: dance step & music style
eg. Papa Wemba

52. Music as political conscience
Singer Fela Kuti was voice of political conscience for Nigerians struggling for democracy
Lyrics critical of military government

53. Geopolitical Framework

54. Long duration of human settlement
Ethnic conflicts after the colonial era

55. Indigenous kingdoms Influenced by Egypt and Arabia
B.C Nubia (northern Sudan)
A.D. 200 Axum (northern Ethiopia, Eritrea)
The first Indigenous African states in the Sahel
Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Kanem-Bornu
City-states in the Gulf of Guinea
Ife/Oyo, Benin, Dahomey, Ashanti
Later profit from the slave trade in the 16th, and 17th century

56. Early Sub-Saharan states and empires

57. European colonization
Failed/limited due to diseases until mid 1800s
Portuguese in Angola and Mozambique
Dutch in South Africa
Quinine made colonization possible
Scramble for Africa in the 1880s
British seizure of Egypt (1882)
Empire-building

58. Berlin Conference
Gathering of 13 countries in 1884 in which Sub-Saharan Africa was carved up and traded around
No Africans participated
Borders drawn with disregard for African cultures

59. European colonization in 1913

60. Establishment of South Africa
Dutch settlement (1652~) in Cape Town
Became Afrikaner or Boer
Slowly expanded towards north and east
Developed social system based on racism
British seizure of Cape district (1806)
Afrikaner migration ( ?)
Afrikaner establishment of two republics (1850s)
British incorporated the Zulu (1900)

61. Establishment of South Africa

62. Establishment of South Africa
Boer War ( )
British-Afrikaner tension over mineral wealth in Transvaal (South African Republic)
The British annexed two republics to form the union of South Africa
South Africa’s independence (1910)
Afrikaner’s National Party gained control (1948)
Introduced apartheid
Construction of black homelands by ethnic group

63. Establishment of South Africa

64. Establishment of South Africa
Townships
segregated neighborhoods for nonwhites, located on outskirts of cities
Opposition to apartheid during 1960s ~ 1980s
Free election (1994)
 Elimination of Homelands

65. Establishment of South Africa

66. Decolonization and independence
Beginning in 1957, smooth transition
Organization of African Unity (OAU) (1963)
Continent-wide organization
Mediate disputes between neighbors
Former Portuguese colonies: Angola, Mozambique
 armed resistance
Socialist-oriented rebel movement during Cold War

67. Enduring political conflict
Lack of institutional framework for independent government; lack of higher education
Difficult to establish cohesive states because of legacy of Berlin Conference
European colonial powers have drawn boundaries without regard for cultural and political geographies

68. Enduring political conflict
Refugees
People who flee their state because of a well-found fear of persecution based on race, ethnicity, religion, or political orientation
3 million Africans (2000)
Internally displaced persons
People who flee from conflict but still reside in their country of origin
13 million Africans (2000)

69. Ethnic conflicts Rwanda (1994) Democratic Republic of the Congo (1996)
Liberia ( )
Sierra Leone (2000)
Somalia (early 1990s)

70. Secessionist movements
Republic of Katanga (1960), Congo
State of Biafra (1967), Nigeria
Eritrea (1993), Ethiopia
Province of Equatoria, Sudan

71. Postcolonial conflicts

72. Big man politics
Occurred when presidents refuse to let go of reigns of power
Military governments, one-party states, and presidents-for-life are the norm
Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia
Corruption of political institutions
Disproportionate spending on the military
1990s saw growth in multi-party states and free elections

73. Economic and Social Development

75. Negative economic growth

76. Roots of African poverty – environmental factors
Infertile soil
Erratic patterns of rainfall
Paucity of navigable river
Virulence of tropical diseases

77. Roots of African poverty – historical and institutional factors
Slave trade  depopulation, flee into refuges
Colonization
little investment in infra., rather interested in natural extraction
 Impedes internally dynamic economy
Failed development policies
economic nationalism  less competitive industries
Agricultural and food policies
low prices of crops  opted for subsistence agriculture
Focus on export crops  failure to meet staple food needs
Corruption: kleptocracy
Kleptocracy: a state in which corruption is so institutionalized that politicians and government bureaucrats siphon off huge percentage of country’s wealth

78. Links to the world economy
Major export & import : E.U., U.S.
Low connectivity
But expansion of mobile telephone
More aid than investment
Little foreign investment  too poor and unstable
p265

79. Debt relief program
Given to countries that are determined to have “unsustainable” debt burdens
States qualify for different levels of debt relief provided they present a poverty reduction strategy
Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique…
Look at map show in the link from the course web site

81. South Africa Largest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa
Well-developed, well-balanced industrial economy
Healthy agricultural sector
World’s mining superpowers
Gold production
Worst distributions of income in the world
Look at the map shown in the link from the course website

82. Oil and mineral producers
Nigeria, Gabon, Cameron
Republic of Congo
Equatorial Guinea
Mineral resources
Diamond - Namibia, Botswana

83. Leaders of ECOWAS Nigeria Ivory Coast, Senegal Ghana
Second largest economy
Oil money  urban growth
Ivory Coast, Senegal
Commercial centers
Economic downturn in the 1980s
Ghana
Economic recovery in the 1990s
Debt relief negotiation (2001)

84. East Africa Kenya Tanzania Good infrastructure by African standars
1 million foreign tourists
Agricultural exports of coffee dominate economy
Tanzania
Built African form of socialism – Ujaama
World’s largest per capital recipient of foreign aid

85. Poorest states Sahel Horn of Africa Conflict-afflicted states Etc.
Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad
Horn of Africa
Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia
Conflict-afflicted states
Burundi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Etc.
Malawi, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, and Zambia

86. Average Life expectancy 51, high mortality rate, illiteracy (note the difference between male and female), rather high female labor force participation

88. Low life expectancy High child mortality rate  paucity of health care
Extreme poverty
Environmental hazards (drought)
Environmental and infectious diseases (malaria, cholera, SIDS, and measles)

89. Women and development
Invisible contributors to local and national economies
Dominates informal sector which accounts for 30 to 50% of GDP

90. Status of women No social liabilities Discrimination
cf. South Asia, SW Asia, North Africa
Discrimination
Prevalence polygamy, practice of “bride-price”, denial of property inheritance
Practice of female circumcision, or genital mutilation