1. SUBSAHARAN AFRICA DEFINING THE REALM Topics: The cradle of humankind
Wildlife conservation and sustainable development
Neocolonial land grabs?
Africa’s complex, fragmented ethnic mosaic
The AIDS scourge
Africa: The latest emerging economy?

2. SUBSAHARAN AFRICA PHYSIOGRAPHY
One-fifth of the Earth’s entire land surface.
Much of region far from maritime sources of moisture.
Large areas lie under Subtropical High Pressure Belt producing arid conditions.
Water supply one of Africa’s great problems.

3. Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics
African Genesis
Cradle of humankind!
7 million years of archeological research.
Predominant “Out-of-Africa Theory” based on findings.
African Rift Valley
Great Lakes, Waterways, Volcanoes created by tectonic forces.
Rift Valleys—formed as parallel faults appear and the crust between them sinks, forming great steep-sided, linear valleys.
Unusual river courses
Inland and coastal deltas, long distance flows, valley waterfalls.
Plateau continent
No large mountain range.
Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics
Continental drift
All continents once part of one giant landmass called Pangaea.
Plate tectonics created Rift Valleys.
Oldest human remains found here.

4. AFRICA’S HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY
Early States and Trade
West Africa Origins
Regional complementarity
Trade between forest and dryland people.
Markets and urban centers in savanna belt.
Timbuktu (Mali)—once a thriving center of commerce and learning and one of the leading urban centers in the world.
Cultural Hearths
Ghana—Oldest and best known (9-12th centuries AD).
Kush—irrigation systems, iron tools, impressive structures (Egyptian influences).
Axum—richest market, controlled Red Sea trade.

5. Great Bantu Migration Nigeria and Cameroon south and eastward.
Zulu Empire in South Africa
Rich and varied cultures (pre-colonization).
Highly fragmented groups—weak security, little cooperation.
European Slave Trade
Africans forced migration to Brazil, Caribbean Basin, and USA.
Largest in volume (30 million poeple).
Ravaged interior populations.
Major cruelty (Christopher Columbus and Portuguese trading ships).

6. SUBSAHARAN AFRICA AFRICA’S HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY
The Colonial Transformation
Colonization of Africa
1884—Berlin Conference
After 1900, European powers control of acquired areas.
Government with differing political, social, and cultural impacts.
British—indirect rule with local rulers representatives of the British Crown.
Portuguese—harsh and direct control.
French—created culturally assimilated elites.

7. SUBSAHARAN AFRICA Natural Environments
Animals Fairing Poorly
Shrinking rainforest and savanna habitats—last refuges for wildlife.
Species threatened and extinct.
European colonizers and hunting as a “sport.”
Farmers killing wildlife
Poaching in protected areas.
Game reserves and conservation areas—inadequate and poorly connected for migration and food/water sources.
Climatic region distribution:
Congo Basin (Equatorial Africa) – warm and wet.
Cape Good Hope (South Africa) – moderate and dry.

8. SUBSAHARAN AFRICA Natural Environments
Wildlife Management and Tourism
Recognize importance of nature conservation.
Tourism generates important revenues.
Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa
Challenge of meeting needs of:
Sedentary people
Migratory animals
Tourist facilities
People, Farmlands, and Environments
Major population clusters in West Africa, East Africa, and the Horn.
Dependence on subsistence agriculture (government policies and exports, 75% women’s work, few green crops).
African farming challenges:
Climatic variability.
Economic policies of national governments—prices are kept artificially low.
Difficulties in reaching world markets.

9. SUBSAHARAN AFRICA AFRICANS AND THEIR LAND
Political and economic factors
Land tenure—the way people own, occupy, and use land.
African communal land ownership, not individual.
Stolen Lands
Colonialism/land alienation.
Unequal distribution of land ownership (ex. Bushmen and Khoisan nomadic peoples).
Governments sell public lands to agrobusiness-investors.
Rapid population growth has led to land/resource overuse.

10. SUBSAHARAN AFRICA ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH
Types of Infectious Disease:
Endemic—disease that infects many people in a kind of equilibrium without causing rapid or widespread deaths.
Examples: hepatitis, venereal diseases, and hookworm.
Epidemic—disease outbreak of local or regional dimensions.
Example: “Sleeping Sickness” vectored by the tsetse fly.
Pandemic—disease spread worldwide.
Example: “Malaria” transmitted by mosquitoes.

11. The AIDS Scourge “AIDS Belt”—Democratic Republic of Congo to Kenya.
Worst-afflicted areas in South/Western Africa.
South Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
60% of those infected are women.
Impacts life expectancies, children, and economy.
South African Orphanage – mostly HIV+ children.
© Alexander B. Murphy
AIDs Epidemic Poorly Treated
Originated in tropical Africa and spread throughout.
Social stigma.
Expensive medications.
Government leadership is inconsistent.
Example: Orphan children.

12. SUBSAHARAN AFRICA CULTURAL PATTERNS
African Languages
More than 1,000 languages.
Many without written tradition.
Geographic realm and Afro-Asiatic language family.
Niger-Congo family—dominant native language family.
Common modern languages =
Hausa, Yoruba, Swahili.
English, French (lingua franca)
Some languages on the verge of extinction, many already gone.
Language and Culture
Multilingualism—society with a mosaic of local languages.
African federal governments decide.
Colonial language vs. dominant local language.

13. SUBSAHARAN AFRICA CULTURAL PATTERNS
Religion in Africa
Indigenous African belief systems
Spiritual forces in natural environment.
Christianity
Christian denominations spread through colonialism.
Roman Catholicism, Anglican, Presbyterian, Evangelical.
Islam
Out of Arabia across the Sahara and along the north coasts of Africa.

14. SUBSAHARAN AFRICA URBANIZATION AND SOCIAL CHANGE
Least urbanized world realm.
Rural population issues.
Formal sector—governmental control and regulations affecting civil service, business, industry, and their workers.
Informal sector—areas where activities are beyond governmental control.
Migrants/refugees in squatter settlements.
Example: Rwanda and warfare.
Black market animal trading.
Example: Ivory poaching in protected wildlife areas.
Piracy in Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.
Zaire-Rwanda border – Hutu Refugees heading home (1996)

15. SUBSAHARAN AFRICA A POSTCOLONIAL REALM
African Governments Problematic
Geographic territory and ethnic identity discrepancies.
Authoritarian rule, unstable political systems, exploitation.
Colonial infrastructure to ports for European economic benefit.
Modern conflicts (ex. Southern Sudan and independence).
Supranational Organizations to Overcome Disadvantages
ECOWAS in 1975 (15 countries), SADC in 1990s, AU in 2001
Promote trade, transportation, industry, and social affairs.
Fast-Growing African Economies
Stereotype—realm made up of dysfunctional government, economic underperformers, famines, and violence.
6 countries with fastest economic growth worldwide! ( )
Angola, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Chad, Mozambique, Rwanda.
World’s newest emerging market.

16. SUBSAHARAN AFRICA REGIONS OF THE REALM
Topics:
South Africa after apartheid
Madagascar’s unique wildlife
Oil and blood in the Niger Delta
The shadow of Islam
The unforgiving Sahel
Pirates in the Gulf of Aden

17. SUBSAHARAN AFRICA Regions of the Realm
Southern Africa
East Africa
Equatorial Africa
West Africa
African Transition Zone

18. SUBSAHARAN AFRICA SOUTHERN AFRICA
SOUTH AFRICA
Largest economy -
Produces 45% of GDP.
Minerals, farmland, cities, ports, transportation, stability.
Zulu and Xhosa nations.
Gateway from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.
Dutch and British colonies
East India Trading Company founded Cape Town—1652.
Boers—Dutch descendants
Afrikaners (later descendants)
Apartheid—
Strict racial segregation.
Separate development—racially based entities whose inhabitants would be citizens of those ethnic domains.
First democratic election—1994 in Republic of South Africa.
Nelson Mandela (of African descent) became president – ANC, “A Long Walk to Freedom” and hero status.
Population = 50 million.
79% black
9% white
9% coloured
3% asian

19. SOUTH AFRICA Soweto shantytown The Ethnic Mosaic
Regionalism of ethnic groups
Zulu nation—Kwazulu-Natal Province.
Xhosa—Eastern Cape.
Tswana—border with Botswana.
Coloured—Cape Town.
South Asian—Durban.
Soweto shantytown
Ecologically Protected Areas -
Kalahari National Park, Kruger National Park, Cape Ranges, Marine Protected Areas.
Ongoing Challenges
Economy dependent on minerals exports, weak manufacturing sector.
High unemployment and low income among blacks.
Scourge of AIDS and governmental failure to solve the crisis.
Democracy has prevailed
ANC presidents elected
1999—Thabo Mbeki
2007/2009—Jacob Zuma (Zulu ancestry).

20. SOUTHERN AFRICA THE MIDDLE TIER Botswana Zimbabwe
Diamond-exporting.
Kalahari Desert, Central Game Reserve, Chobe NP.
Okavango River and Wildlife.
Most severely AIDS afflicted country.
Lesotho and Swaziland
Traditional kingdoms.
Dependent on remittances from workers in South Africa.
Namibia
Former German colony.
—administered by South Africa.
Namib Desert—one of world’s driest deserts.
Subsistence farming, mining, and ranching.
Zimbabwe
Good farmlands, cool uplands, mineral resources, and varied natural environments.
After white-minority rule ended, enormous inequality hindered development.
Ethnic conflict
Shona and Ndebele
President Mugabe
Encouraged squatters to invade white farms, destroyed agriculture economy and informal settlements, lacking foreign investment.
80% unemployment.
4 million refugees (of 12.9M population).
Socio-political tragedy.
SOUTHERN AFRICA

21. SOUTHERN AFRICA THE NORTHERN TIER Zambia Malawi Angola Mozambique
Former British colony.
Copperbelt—mineral wealth.
Chinese influence and expansion of mining operations.
Malawi
Agricultural economy, cycles of boom and bust (Lake Malawi as eastern border).
Angola
Former Portuguese colony.
Fastest growing economy in the world (oil rich).
Exclave (outlier)—Cabinda.
Victim of Cold War (communism vs. rebel mvt.).
Mozambique
Bauxite deposits.
Good relative location—Port traffic and trade.
Poverty reigns.

22. SUBSAHARAN AFRICA EAST AFRICA
Great Lakes
Rift valley and high-plateau basins.
Lakes Albert, Edward, Kivu, and Tanganyika.
Highlands
East African Plateau.
Fertile soils and abundant precipitation.
Towering volcanoes.
Lake Victoria.
Bantu population
Ancient ways.

23. EAST AFRICA Tanzania Uganda Kenya Largest and most populous state.
Dar es Salaam—capital city.
100 ethnic groups
30% of population are Muslims
Serengeti National Park—tourism, wildlife, and preservation.
Mt. Kilimanjaro (19,240 ft.)
Massive Lake Victoria to north.
Kenya
Dominant state of the region.
Nairobi—region’s largest city.
Mombasa—East Africa’s busiest port.
Agricultural exports—coffee and tea.
Tourist industry – Serengeti plains and safari.
Problems of past decades.
High population growth and pressure on resources.
Poaching and terrorism.
Natural disasters—El Niño.
Government corruption and ethnic divisions.
AIDS epidemic
Uganda
British colony.
Kampala—capital city.
Landlocked state.
Lake Albert, Nile River.
Economy
Agriculture—coffee, cotton, farm exports.
Mining—copper.
Idi Amin—dictator
Ousted Asians.
Destroyed economy.
AIDS epidemic
Lord’s Resistance Army

24. EAST AFRICA Madagascar Rwanda and Burundi Ethiopia
World’s 4th-largest island.
Southeast Asian—Malay influence.
Rice is the staple food.
Malagasy—language.
French colony.
French—lingua franca.
Unique wildlife (large tropical island south east of continent)
Forests and Primates.
Rwanda and Burundi
Belgian territories.
Africa’s mostly densely populated countries.
Tutsi—pastoralists.
Hutu—farmers.
Twa—pygmy.
1994—Rwandan genocide and refugee migration.
Ethiopia
Adis Abeba—capital.
Coptic Christian population.
1993—yielded independence to Eritrea.
Chinese investment in Ethiopian infrastructure projects.

25. SUBSAHARAN AFRICA EQUATORIAL AFRICA
Equatorial—locational warm/wet conditions and significant biodiversity.
Low-elevation western tropics.
Dominated by Congo Basin.
The Congo—largest in territory and population.
Atlantic coastal and landlocked states.

26. EQUATORIAL AFRICA Across the Congo/Ubangi Rivers
The Congo—Democratic Republic of Congo
Centrifugal forces pull the country apart.
Forested basin creates communication and transportation barriers.
Amazing fauna: Great Apes.
Productive areas in the periphery.
Areas tend to look across the border for outlets, markets, and ethnic kinship.
Civil war spillover from Rwanda.
One of world’s largest refugee flows in The Congo.
Civil unrest erupted in 2007 and continues intermittently.
Across the Congo/Ubangi Rivers
Chad—landlocked, remote, oil discoveries, assistance from China.
Central African Republic—landlocked, chronically unstable, and mired in poverty.
São Tomé and Príncipe– densely forested volcanic islands.
Ministate transformed by recent oil discoveries.

27. EQUATORIAL AFRICA South Sudan
Coastal States—petroleum and timber important for states’ economy.
Gabon—upper-middle-income economy with largest proven mineral resources.
Cameroon—strongest agricultural sector because of its higher-latitude location and higher-relief topography.
Congo—recovers from civil war, potential transit hub for the region.
Equatorial Guinea—mainland territory and island of Bioko, Spanish colony, one Africa’s least- developed territories, potential to be transformed by oil production.
Cabinda—Angolan exclave.
South Sudan
Africa’s newest country—2011 independence.
Religious divide between Islam and Christianity-animism.
Oil revenue potential.
Grinding poverty, lack of good governance and infrastructure.

28. SUBSAHARAN AFRICA WEST AFRICA
Extends from margins of Sahara to Gulf of Guinea and from Lake Chad west to Senegal.
Steppe-desert North to wet coastal south.
British and French colonial legacy.
Realm’s most populous region.

29. WEST AFRICA Nigeria Africa’s most populous state.
1960—independence from Britain.
Muslim North/Christian South.
Niger Delta—large oilfields discovered in 1950s.
Misguided development plans.
80% population earn less than U.S. $2 a day.
Islam Ascendant
Sharia law (strict Islamic)
Persecution of non-believers.
Riots between Christians and Muslims (suicide bombing attacks).
Christians fled northern states.

30. WEST AFRICA Coast and Interior Desert and steppe environments.
Liberia
1822—founded by freed American slaves.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first female president (elected 2006).
Nobel Peace Prize
Democratic and stable state.
Sierra Leone—Diamond Coast
Dictator/rebel havoc to free elections.
Guinea
Potential economic opportunities in both agriculture and mining.
Violent power struggle.
Periodic markets—village markets open every three or four days, ensuring that all villages get a share in the exchange network (tradition).
Coast and Interior
Desert and steppe environments.
Burkina Faso
Muslim majority.
Poor, landlocked, undeveloped gold reserves, relies on cotton exports.
Ghana—Gold Coast
Democratic government.
Sound economy based on cocoa exports.
Discovery of coastal oil reserves.
Ivory Coast—Côte d’Ivoire
1960—independence from France.
Muslim North/Christian South.
Turbulent history.
Senegal
Dakar—capital
95% Muslim population.
Wolof—dominant ethnic group.
Lacks valuable resources.
Subsistence-farming.
Democratic and stable.
Gambia
English-speaking enclave.
Surrounded by Senegal.
Democratic and independent.

31. SUBSAHARAN AFRICA AFRICAN TRANSITION ZONE
Between northern arid Sahara and southern humid savanna zone.
Sahel—steppe region.
Intersection of Subsaharan cultures and Muslim world.
Islamic Front—religious frontier through Africa.
Marked by conflict.

32. AFRICAN TRANSITION ZONE
The Horn of Africa
Volatile subregion.
Djibouti
95% Muslim.
Ministate.
Choke point—Bab el Mandeb Strait and entry to the Red Sea (oceanic shipping lane).
Eritrea
1993—split from Ethiopia.
Ongoing boundary conflicts with Ethiopia have damaged both economies.

33. AFRICAN TRANSITION ZONE
Ethiopia
Highlands—core area.
Adis Abeba—capital.
Christian heartland.
Encircled by Muslim societies.
34% of population Muslim.
Landlocked and fragmented.
Weak political and economic systems.
Somalia
Desert-dominated climate.
Muslim population.
Failed state—fragmentation.
Somaliland—independent, most stable, not recognized by “international community.”
Puntland—degree of autonomy, warlords, and Islamic militia.
Mogadishu—official capital
Somalian Pirates

34. Homework Read Textbook Chapter 6a/b Homework:
Choose one the Field Notes” subsection topic in Ch.6 textbook; research and summarize (1 page). OR
Choose a realm/region within or adjacent to South Africa to review in detail (1 page). Use Chapter 6b for ideas and information, research and summarize.