GEOG332:  GEOGRAPHY OF AFRICA

SYLLABUS FOR GEOG332: GEOGRAPHY OF AFRICA

SPRING Semester

Instructor: Francis O. ODEMERHO, Ph.D.

Office: Bldg III, Room 1402. Phone: 650-2097.

DESCRIPTION:

The course describes the land and peoples of Africa and attempts to explain the varied socio-economic, cultural and political landscapes of the continent in light of its triple heritage, resource endowments, resource utilization and global relations.

COURSE OBJECTIVE:

In this course, students should be able to:

• identify all African countries and recognize its major geographic regions;
• locate on African maps its major relief features;
• understand the rich history of Africa and its peoples;
• understand why most African countries are relatively less developed;
• relate to African problems like: drought, health, refugee and food shortages and develop appropriate database for a better interpretation of African situations and issues.
 

TOPICS                                                                                         READINGS*

1. General Introduction: A World View of Africa

2. Africa: Location, Geology and Landforms                                     Chap. 1
3. Africa: Climate and Vegetation                                                     Chaps. 1-2
4. Africa: Political Geography - From Kingdoms to Nationhood        Chaps. 3, 4 & 125.
5. Africa: Agricultural Practices and Development                             Chaps. 9 &10
6. Africa: Population and Migration                                                  Chap. 5
7. Africa: Urbanization and Industrialization                                      Chap. 7, 8 & 11
8. Student Presentations

RECOMMENDED TEXTBOOKS:

*Aryeetey-Attoh, Samuel (ed.) (l997). Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 379 pp.

Espenshade E. B. (1992). Goode's World Atlas, New York: Rand McNally & Company, 18^th Edition.

Stock, Robert (1995). Africa South of the Sahara: A Geographical Interpretation. New York: The Guilford Press.

READING MATERIALS:

Check with the Professor for other specialized materials and journal articles on file. Just ask.

STUDENT'S 20-MINUTE CLASS PRESENTATION

• Students could work individually or two students could work together as a group.
• Topics will be assigned to each student or group by the end of the second week of class.
• Students MUST conduct a library research on assigned topic and acquire enough relevant materials for a 20-minute presentation. The Internet contains up-to-date information on your topic, use it if necessary. You could also use my personal collection of useful articles and publications.
• All presentations must be organized and the following format is recommended:

-Introduction:

• objective(s) of the presentation (in bullets)
• outline of presentation (in bullets)

- Presentation of the Issues:

• issues broken down into suitable subheadings
• materials for each subheading presented in bullets
• tables, charts and maps may be used for illustrations

• The use of overheads, laptops with enhanced projector capability and other forms of multimedia are recommended.
• Paper copies (hard copy) of materials presented must be properly collated and organized into forms suitable for submission for grading purposes.
• Student's presentation will be graded using the following marking scheme:

MARKING SCHEME

ITEMS TO SCORE	SCORE (50)
a. Organization and Clarity of Presentation	6
b. Mastery of Topic Materials and Evidence of Library Research (content)	10
c. Supportive Data, Charts, Tables, etc	10
d. Use of Time and Presentation technology	4
e. Hard copy of Materials Presented	15
f. Conclusion	5

 

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CLASSNOTE FOR GEOG332: GEOGRAPHY OF AFRICA

TOPIC 1: WORLD VIEW OF AFRICA
Over the years, Africa has remained the major focus for:

• Arab Islamism
• European colonialism and Neo-colonialism
• Superpower imperialism

Today, Africa commands world attention and interest because of:

• the end of apartheid in S. Africa
• emergence of democratic politics in a dozen hitherto authoritarian systems
• Rwandan mass killings
• Sahelian drought
• refugee problems in:

-Angola

-Liberia

-Sudan

-Zaire, etc

• EBOLA and AIDS

THE AFRICAN IMAGE:

• The mental construct or picture of the continent is largely based on the foregoing interests and the various cultural filters of those with interest in Africa
• Hence, Africa still means different things to different peoples and interest groups
• But the dominant image is largely negative and the mental construct or picture of the continent is still very faint in the eyes of non-Africans and further blurred by new media stereotypes that focus on: -

        -drought
        -hunger
        -AIDS
        -underdevelopment
        -political instability, etc.

• Therefore, the Dominant Images of Africa include:
• AFRICA AS A FERTILE CONTINENT
• CONTINENT OF INSECTS AND DISEASES
• AFRICA AS A HOT DESERT CONTINENT AFFECTED BY DROUGHT
• AFRICA AS A GAME RESERVE OR WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
• CONTINENT AFFECTED BY COLONIALISM
• CONTINENT OF CONFLICTS AND POLITICAL INSTABILITY
• AGRARIAN ECONOMY
• OVERPOPULATED CONTINENT WITH LOW LIFE EXPECTANCY
• CONTINENT OF UNDER DEVELOPMENT AND HIGH DEBT BURDEN
• A CONTINENT WITH A TRIPLE HERITAGE
• As a result, the great diversity and dynamism of African peoples, cultures, socioeconomic and physical environmental conditions are still poorly understood or mis-interpreted today

CONTINENT OF INSECTS AND DISEASES:

    - major endemic diseases include:

• Malaria Fever (80% of world malaria cases occur in Africa, main vector is Anopheles gambiae and caused by plasmodium parasite)
• Yellow Fever
• River Blindness (caused by a parasitic worm, Onchocerca volvulus and transmitted by small black fly, affects population living along swift flowing watercourses, e.g. Volta River basin in Ghana)
• Sickle Cell Anemia
• Trypanosomiasis or Sleeping Sickness (transmitted by tsetse fly and caused by trypanosomes
• Schistosomiasis or Bilarziasis (transmitted through snail host and common in reservoirs of large dams or among irrigation workers, e.g. Sudan)
• Guinea Worm (Dracunculiasis)

    -most Africans have natural immunity to some of the endemic diseases
    -Europeans died in thousands during their early encounter with Africa
    - hence, West Africa is often referred to as the "whiteman's grave"
    - other modern diseases include: EBOLA and AIDS
    - Insect-related diseases, malnutrition, unsanitary conditions are major impediments to good health

AFRICA AS A GAME RESERVE OR WILDLIFE SANCTUARY:

• African rainforests and grasslands (African Savanna) is rich in wildlife
• due to human activities, most of African wildlife is confined to game reserves (national parks) and remain important in East and Southern Africa
• large areas of Africa are devoid of game animals;
• important game reserves in Africa are:

    -Seregenti National Park (Tanzania)
    -Yankari Game Reserve (Nigeria)
    -Borgu Game Reserve (Nigeria)
    -Kokoveld National Park (Botswana)

• common animals in the game reserves include:

    -elephants
    -antelopes
    -Girafe
    -wild beeste
    -hipo
    -lions
    -leopard
    -monkeys
    -gorillas
    -chimpazes, etc

• poaching is rapidly reducing the wildlife stock in Africa.

CONTINENT OF CONFLICTS AND POLITICAL INSTABILITY:

• political instability in Africa follows four basic forms:

    -preponderance of military coup d'etats and protracted periods of military rules
    - presence of one-party states and dictatorships
    -ethnic, religious and civil unrests (civil wars in Chad between 1975 and 1983; Katanga 1960 secession attempt in Zaire; Biafran secession war in Nigeria 1967 to 1970; ethnic rivalry or cleansing between Hutu and Tutsi in Rwanda and Burundi;
    - border disputes between and within countries (Ghana and Togo, Nigeria and Cameroun)

COMMON CAUSES OF POLITICAL INSTABILITY IN AFRICA INCLUDE:

• ethnic differences and tensions in the region
• the triple heritage of the region
• political ineptness and incompetence of some leaders
• unrealistic expectations placed on state institutions
• struggle for indepence in settler colonies, e.g South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Mozambique, Angola- Angola war of 1975-1991, Guinea Bissau, Algeria, etc
• undue international interference in the internal and sovereign affairs of states (cold war effects)
• racial and discriminatory policies

OVERPOPULATED CONTINENT WITH LOW LIFE EXPECTANCY:

• population is over 600 million people
• could rise to 2.9 billion people by the year 2050
• very rapid growth rate of about 3.0% a year
• population doubling time of approximately 23yrs
• population is not evenly distributed:

    - less than 10 countries have population over 25 million people
    - major areas of population concentration include:

• fertile agricultural lands:

    -Mt Kilimanjero
    -shores of Lake Victoria
    -Nile floodplains
    -West Africa coastal plain

• economic centers:

• environmentally distressed areas

    -desert lands and swamp lands

LESS DEVELOPED CONTINENT WITH A HIGH DEBT BURDEN:

• 9% of world population live in Africa but has a share of only 1.2% of World's GNP
• low per capita income of less than <$400
• most African countries belong to the World Bank's low income group:

exception:

-Libya - High Income Group

-South Africa and Gabon - Low Middle Income Group

• 32 of the lowest 40 countries out of 160 countries on the United Nations annual index of development
• owes over $300 billion debt
• devotes a large percent of its annual budget to debt servicing
• to catch-up, most African countries are undergoing agricultural, industrial, technological, social, political revolutions all at once,
• undergoing major transformations of economies, social structures, ideologies and cultural values.

A CONTINENT WITH A TRIPLE HERITAGE:

• Islamic culture (Hemitic/Semitic origin)
• Western culture (Greco-Roman origin)
• Traditional Indigenous culture
• the triple heritage is important in correctly explaining the cultural landscape of Africa

THE PRACTICAL CONSEQUENCES OF SUCH LONG HISTORY OF MIS-INTERPRETATION OF THE CONTINENT:

• is that where understanding dissolves, prejudice thrives
• and the adoption of inappropriate policies and strategies which may not address the real issues of African people

What is responsible for the predominantly negative perception of Africa?

• is it the physical environment?
• is it the colonial experience?
• is it her peoples?
• is it share comedy of errors or what?

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TOPIC 2: AFRICA: LOCATION, GEOLOGY AND LANDFORMS

A.    LOCATION AND SIZE:
        Implications of Location and Size

B.    EVOLUTION OF AFRICA:
        Evidence Supporting Break-up and Drifting
        Geologic Effects of the Evolution

C.    GEOLOGY:
        African Shield
        African Stable Platform
        Deposits in Southern Africa
        Deposits in North and West Africa
        African Fold Mountains:
            Cape Ranges
            Atlas Mountain

D.    AFRICAN RELIEF:
        Lowland Africa
        Highland Africa

E.    EAST AFRICAN RIFT VALLEY

F.    DRAINAGE:
        Coastal Rivers
        Continental Rivers
        African Lakes
        Importance of African Rivers

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AFRICA: LOCATION, GEOLOGY AND LANDFORMS

A. LOCATION AND SIZE:

• most centrally located continent in the world
• the equator divides the continent into two fairly equal parts
• located between lat. 37^o 27'N (Bizerte) and lat. 34 47'S (Cape Agulhas)
• about 70% of the continent falls between the Tropic of Cancer (lat 23½^oN) and Tropic of Capricon (lat 23½^oS)
• Africa is the most tropical continent
• located between long. 18^o 08' W (Cape Blanc) and long. 51^o 35'E (Ras Hafun)
• hence Africa extends through four standard time zones
• The Prime Meridian cuts through four African countries:

    -Algeria, Mali, Burkina Faso and
    -Ghana

• virtually surrounded by water:

    -Red Sea/Suez Canal (NE)
    -Indian Ocean (East)
    -Atlantic Ocean (West)
    -Mediterranean Sea (North)

• Africa is easily accessible from all parts of the world.

    - For Example:

• The Strait of Gilbraltar (70km wide)
• Sanai Peninsular and the Red Sea separates Africa from the Arab world and Asia in the east
• Americas to the west.
• Africa is the second largest continent in the world
• total land area is about 30 million km² or four times the size of the United States
• north-south distance of Africa along long 20^oE is about 7500 km.
• west coast to east coast distance is about 7000km along lat. 10^oN
• but west coast to east coast distance drops to only 3000 km along lat 10^oS.
• Africa has 55 countries:

    -48 countries on the continent
    -7 countries on the islands

• Average country size:

• easily accessible from all parts of the world for the purposes of trade (e.g. slave trade), commerce, and exploitations.
• long history of socio-economic intercourse, invasions, and conquests with the Asians, Arabs and Europeans
• imposition of alien religious, political and economic values and institutions
• Hence, African cultural landscape is dominated by the triple heritage of Islamic, Western, and indigenous cultures and values
• Effects of Africa's large size:

 

Examples:

• Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Central Africa Republic, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Lesotho

    -great diversity on the continent:

• stretches through tropical to subtropical climatic conditions
• diverse natural resources and peoples

B. EVOLUTION OF AFRICA:

• Africa became a separate continent about 180 million years ago
• Gondwanaland broke-up to form:

• Africa remained stationary close to the original point of break-up
• while the other continents drifted away

Evidence to support the break-up and drifting:

• geographic fit of shorelines of Africa and South America.
• similarity of rocks and geologic structures
• similarity in plant and animal fossils
• presence of Paleozoic glacial tillites in South Africa, South America, Southern India, Australia and Antarctica

Geologic Effects of the Evolution:

• a relatively high African Shield (>500 m in elevation)
• high interior plateaus and plains because of the upwelling of heat and magma over the point of Gondwana break-up
• formation of the Great Escarpment because of the upwarping of the margins of the continent by the upwelling of heat and magma
• dominance of volcanoes and hotspots on the African continent
• predominance of a basin and dome topography in the continent.
• presence of rift structures in the continent (the East Africa Rift Valley)
• lack of indentations of African coastlines
• presence of waterfalls and rapids in the lower and middle courses of African rivers

C. GEOLOGY:

• Geology consists of three broad structural components:

African Shield:

• oldest geologic structure called Precambrian rocks(>600 million years old)
• portion of the African Basement Complex rock not covered by sedimentary layers
• exposed at the earth surface as crystalline rock outcrops in over 45% of the continent, especially in West Africa, East and Central Africa
• composed of ancient crystalline igneous and metamorphic rocks: granites, schists, gneiss and quartzites.
• contains a wealth of minerals like:

• African shield granites are resistant and form clusters of inselbergs in dry climates.
• Quartzites are resistant and form ridges and tors in both humid and dry climates
• African shields weather deeply to depths in excess of 100 meters
• The presence of hardpans in African soils limits their use for agriculture
• African shield weather to form mineral ores like: bauxite, iron ore and kaolinite.

African Stable Platform:

• It is where the Basement Complex rock is covered with sedimentary rock layers.
• Deposition of sedimentary layers occurred at different times during:

    -Palaeozoic Era
    -Mesozoic Era
    -Cenozioc Era.

Deposits in Southern Africa:

• During the Lower Palaeozoic Era:

• Ecca Series at the bottom
• Beaufort Series in the middle
• Stromborg at the top.

    - The Great Karoo System is composed of shale and sandstone.
    -It contains large coal reserve
    -Kimberlite pipe intruded 100 million years ago and contains most of South Africa's diamond.

Deposits in North and West Africa:

• Sedimentary layers deposited in Ordovician seas covering North Africa (480 million years ago)
• later covered by continental glacial deposits 420 million years ago
• Voltaian or Sekondi sandstones and shales accumulated 350 million years ago in West Africa
• Continental Intercalaire System were deposited over much of North Africa 100 to 250 million years ago

    - composed of sandstone (Nubian sandstone underneath the Sahara desert)
    - Nubian sandstone is a high yielding aquifer and a very good source of groundwater.

• Continental Terminal (Tertiary sediments) accumulated over the Continental Intercalaire System

    -it is mainly unconsolidated red and grey sands.

• sediments were re-worked by the wind into dune fields (extend beyond the deserts into the savanna grasslands in West Africa).
• Majority of the fossil dunes are now firmly fixed by vegetation and/or silcretes.
• Intensification of farming activities and re-occurring droughts are re-activating some of the dunes today.

African Folded Mountains:

• Cape Ranges and the Atlas Mt.
• The Cape Ranges:

    -consists of:

• western group of anticlinal mountain ridges running north and south
• eastern group of anticlinal mountain ranges running east and west
• The Little Karoo is 30-60 km wide basin separating the eastern group into north and south mountain ranges.
• The Great Karoo is the wide shallow basin separating the Great Escarpment in the north from the Cape Ranges to the south.

D. AFRICAN RELIEF:

• consists of lowland Africa and Highland Africa

Lowland Africa:

• covers the whole of North Africa, West Africa, Central Africa and Sudan
• hardly rises above 1000 meters, except for some high peaks and plateaus
• dominated by extensive undulating plains with elevations <500 m
• the plains broken by:

    -isolated plateaus
    -mountain ranges
    -inselbergs
    -quartzite ridges

• Examples of peaks rising above 1500 m:

    - Atlas Mt. (Jebel Toubkal peak, 4165 m)
    - Cameroun Mt (Emi Koussi peak, 3500m)
    - Darfur Highland (Jabah Marrah peak, 3070 m)
    - Ahaggar massif (Tahet peak, 2980 m)
    - Air Massif (1970 m)
    - Fouta Djallon Mt (1580 m)
    - the mountain ranges are volcanic in origin, except the Atlas

• contains structural basins like:

    -Chad basin (inland drainage basin)
    -Taoudene basin (or inland Niger delta basin)
    -Sokoto basin
    -Niger delta basin
    -Sudd basin

• Quattara depression is produced by wind deflation.

Highland Africa:

• covers the whole of East Africa and Southern Africa
• consists of East Africa Plateau and the Southern Africa Interior Plateau
• rises from about 1200 m in the west to over 2000 m in the east
• broken by numerous small sized mountain ranges with peaks >4000 m

East African Plateau:

• rises from 1200 m to 1500 m but broken by:

- Kilimanjero Mt (5880 m) (highest mountain in Africa)
- Kenya Mt. (5200 m)
- Elgon Mt. (4300 m)
- Ethiopian massif (4250 m)
- Nyiragongo Mt. (Zaire)
- Meru Mt.
- Ruwenzori Mt. (5100 m) (block mountain)
- Danakil Mountain (Eritrea) (block mountain)
- East African Plateau is faulted to form the East African Rift Valley System

Southern Africa Interior Plateau

• dominated by the South Africa Plateau
• dips to the west with 1200 m in elevation
• the outer edge of the interior plateau is the Great Escarpment
• the Great Escarpment forms the Drakensberg Mt. (3350 m) with resistant quartzites and dolerite sills
• South Africa Plateau consists of:

• low points on highland Africa include:

- Danakil depression
- Kalahari basin
- Okavango basin
- Zaire basin

• Salt pans occur in:

-Danakil depression (mined by the Afars)
-Kalahari basin (e.g. Makarikari salt pan and Etosha pan)

E. EAST AFRICA RIFT VALLEY SYSTEM:

• about 4000 km in length
• begins at the Afar depression (i.e. Red Sea junction with Gulf of Aden)
• divided into:

-Eastern Rift
-Western Rift
-Southern (Malawi) Rift

• a divergent plate boundary or a sea floor spreading center
• divided into 100 km segments separated by transfer faults
• the transfer faults are sites of volcanic activities:

• volcanic structures divide the rift floor into isolated internal drainage systems
• Rift Valley Lakes are:

-Lake Albert (Mobutu)
-Lake Malawi
-Lake Tanganyika
-Lake Turkana (Rudolf)
-Lake Kivu
-Lake Edward and Lake Magadi

• Rift lakes have salts in them
• soda ash mined from the saline deposits
• provided the earliest fossil evidence of early human and protohuman life
• uncovered skeletal remains of early man (Lucy) and their tools and weapons at Olduvai gorge and shores of Lake Turkana

F. DRAINAGE:

• African rivers are either coastal or continental rivers

Coastal Rivers:

• drain the continental margin between the edge of the interior plateau and the coastline
• they follow direct short courses across the coastal plain to the ocean
• examples of coastal rivers:

- Shebro River
-Cunene River
-Volta River
-Ogun River
-Cross River
-Komati River
-Tana River
-Juba River
-Tugela River, etc

• they are mostly fast flowing and maintain steeply graded upper courses (Tugela River)
• some flow through deeply dissected coastal plains
• drowned lower courses along submerged coasts
• along drowned upland coasts:

• along submerged lowland coasts:

• they create passes and gateways into the interior by cutting across coastal ranges and escarpments

Continental Rivers:

• drain the continental interior plateaus and structural basins
• most begin in highlands close to the coast but follow a longer route to the sea
• examples are:

-Zambezi River (3520 km)

-Orange River (2080 km)

-Limpopo River (1760 km)

-Gambia River

-Senegal River, etc

• most continental rivers have waterfalls, rapids and cataracts close to their mouths
• continental rivers drain only 48% of the continental interior because large portion is desert
• bulk of the continental interior drained by unintegrated ephemeral streams:

-dry valleys (relic channels)
-wadis

• the ephemeral streams drain into temporary inland drainage desert lakes that evaporate to form salt pans
• permanent inland drainage systems include:
  - the Chad basin
  - Lake Turkana basin
  - Okovango basin
  - East African Rift Valley

• Africa's largest lake is Lake Victoria.

IMPORTANCE OF AFRICAN RIVERS:

• shipping of bulky exports and imports, especially during the colonial period;
• served as routes for European penetration into the interior of Africa
• important inland waterways for the transportation of people and materials;
• fishing
• major source of sustenance and income for some ethnic groups
• irrigation schemes to boost agricultural production ( e.g Sudan and Egypt)
• recreational services and cultural festivals, e.g. fishing festival and boat regatta festivals
• source of hydroelectric power: Africa has the greatest potential for HEP in the world because of abundance of waterfalls

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TOPIC 3: AFRICA: CLIMATE AND VEGETATION

A.    INTRODUCTION

• Temperature
• Precipitation

• in winter (January)
• in summer (July)

C.     CLIMATIC REGIONS OF AFRICA

• Tropical Rainforest Climate (Af)
• Savanna Climate (Aw)
• Hot Steppe Climate (Bsh)
• Cool Steppe Climate (Bsk)
• Hot Desert Climate (Bwh)
• Cool Desert Climate (Bwk)
• Mediterranean Climate

D.     DROUGHT IN AFRICA

• Types of drought:

• Patterns of Drought Distribution
• Causes and Effects of Drought

E.    VEGETATION AND SOILS

• Types and Patterns
• Deforestation of Tropical Rainforest:

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TOPIC 3: AFRICA: CLIMATE AND VEGETATION

A. INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN CLIMATE:

Temperature:

• most tropical continent by location

• however, the extreme northern and southern portions of the continent experience subtropical climate
• generally, temperature is high everywhere (>10^oC)
• spatial variation of temperature is gradual due to the absence of major relief features;
• however, prevailing high temperatures moderated in areas of high elevation.
• pattern of temperature distribution is determined by:

• hence much of East Africa is cooler;

        - offshore ocean currents:

• cool currents depress local temperature
• hence, Morocco-Cape Verde and Cape Town-Cape Lopez have cooler temperatures

• lower winter temperature for northernmost and southernmost parts of Africa due to the influence of mid-latitude depression or westerly winds,
• example: Cape Town (13^oC in July (winter season)

            Algiers (12^oC in Jan (winter season);

        -land area:

• Southern Africa has smaller land area, hence comes under stronger oceanic influence and records lower temperature;

• temperature range increases away from the coast.

Precipitation:

• rainfall varies widely in its amount and seasonal incidence
• hence, rainfall is a more critical variable for climate differentiation over Africa
• Generally, rainfall is highest within latitude 15^o north and south of the equator
• rainfall decreases both northward and southward of the equator
• major dry areas are:

• Sahara aridity caused by the permanent existence of high pressure (air subsidence) in the region
• Namibian coast land aridity caused by the effect of the cold Benguela current and the southeasterlies that arrive as dry
• Rainfall amount is elevated in areas of high relief, e.g. East African Highlands, mountains of southern Africa, hilly areas of Futa Djallon Mts, Cameroun Mts, and Jos Plateau;
• Most parts of Africa receive their rainfall during the summer season

        - Only exceptions are:

• coast lands of North Africa and Cape Town region with winter rainfall
• duration of the rainy season decreases away from the Equator
• rainfall regime is generally the double-peak type in the equatorial belt
• rainfall regime becomes single peak farther away from equator
• anomalous rainfall pattern is observed along the coast of Ghana particularly east of Cape Three Points:

        - rainfall is unusually low along the Guinea coast
        - reasons for the relative dryness:

• the tendency for winds to blow parallel to the shore so that frictional divergence occurs
• the relative coolness of ocean water off the coast of Ghana due to upwelling of cold water which has the effect of stabilizing the air and causing fog off the coast rather than precipitation
• month-to-month variations in rainfall over Africa primarily controlled by the location and movement of the ITCZ

Rainfall Areas in December to March:

    - areas of significant rainfall:

• below the equator, especially between lat. 10^o and 15^oS
• north African coastline which comes under the influence of the mid-latitude depressions
• West coastline
• northern parts of Malagasy Republic (300 mm of rainfall)
• northern coast of Mozambique across to Angola

- areas of little rainfall:

• Africa north of the Equator
• Africa north of lat. 20^oN with the (exception Maghreb coast lands)
• the southwestern Africa
• the Horn of Africa

Rainfall Areas in April to November:

    - areas of significant rainfall:

• African rain belt located north of the equator (stretching across West Africa into Congo basin)
• June to September is the peak of rainy season north of the equator
• conversely, Africa south of the equator is relatively dry
• by October, the rain belt starts moving southward rather rapidly so that by November it is practically south of the Equator except for the coastal areas of West Africa that still receives some rainfall

EVAPORATION:

• In general, evaporation increases away from the wet equatorial region to the dry savanna
• annual evaporation rate:

• mean annual values of potential evapotranspiration (PE):

CLIMATIC DIFFERENCES:

• climatic differences and patterns explained in terms of:

• variations in these rainfall characteristics depend on:

ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE AND WIND SYSTEM:

• Africa has distinct areas of high and low pressure:

        -two sub-tropical high pressure belts at lat. 30^o N&S
        - one major equatorial trough of low pressure
        - the location of the belts vary from day to day and from season to season
        - the belts follow the overhead sun   
        - atmospheric pressure determines:

• general direction of air flow
• occurrence or absence of precipitation
• converging air at centers of low pressure is uplifted to produce precipitation
• air subsidence around high pressure belts produce dry and cloudless weather

PRESSURE AND WIND SYSTEMS IN WINTER (JANUARY):

• a high pressure belt extends from Morocco through Sinai peninsular in the north
• another high pressure belt is centered on the south Atlantic Ocean
• an equatorial trough of low pressure in between
• the equatorial trough is most intense along the west African coast and across southern Africa centered on central Angola, Zambia, and Mozambique
• NE trade winds flow from the high pressure belt in Morocco southward toward the equatorial trough
• NE winds are hot, dry and dusty and are known as the Harmattan in West Africa
• SE trade winds originates from the high pressure belt in the south Atlantic and move towards the equatorial trough
• SE trade winds are deflected to the right at crossing the equator to become the SW monsoon winds at the Guinea Coast
• SE and SW winds are maritime and therefore moist
• the boundary zone separating the dry, hot NE and the moist SE or SW winds and passing through the center of low pressure is generally known as the Inter-Tropical Discontinuity (ITD) or the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)
• NE monsoon reaches East Africa as warm, dry air bringing clear sunny weather
• NE becomes NW over south of Zanzibar and picks up moisture over the Indian Ocean to bring precipitation to Malagasy

PRESSURE AND WIND SYSTEMS IN SUMMER (JULY):

• High pressure belt is more intensely developed over southern Africa
• High pressure belt has moved further north and outside Africa
• hence, north equatorial low pressure trough is displaced to around latitude 15-20^o north of the equator
• the south equatorial low pressure trough over central Angola disappears
• one strong ITCZ develops
• SE and SW air flows are very strong
• since SW and SE winds bring clouds and precipitation to most of Africa south of the surface position of the ITCZ
• midlatitude westerlies develops over the southern extremities of Africa

ITCZ:

• movement of ITCZ determines seasonal changes in Africa
• ITCZ moves north-south with the overhead sun with about 3-4 weeks lag
• movement of the ITCZ is controlled by the location and intensity of the subtropical anticyclones
• ITCZ is at its northernmost position around latitude 20^oN in August
• ITCZ is at its southernmost position around latitude 6^oN in January
• northward movement of the ITCZ is gentle and gradual (160 km/month)
• southward movement of the ITCZ is abrupt and twice as fast (320 km/month)
• climatological important of ITCZ:

-provides a framework for monitoring the north-south movement of the rain-producing SW monsoons
- its movement and depth influence rainfall amount, duration and distribution
-most heavy rainfall activities occur about 300 km south of the surface location of the ITCZ because of its great depth and convective activity at such location

CLIMATIC REGIONS OF AFRICA:

• major climatic belts of Africa:

Tropical Rainforest Climate (Af):
- mean temperature of coldest month is at least 18^oC
- no distinct dry season (wet all year round)
- hot and moist climate
- found along Guinea coast and part of Congo basin around the equator and east Malagasy

Savanna Climate (Aw):
- mean temperature of coldest month is at least 18^oC
- distinct dry season with rainfall occurring in summer
- prevails over a belt stretching from West Africa to Central Africa, east coast of East Africa (from Tanzania to Mozambique) and northwest Malagasy

Hot Steppe Climate (BSh):
- very little rainfall (semi-arid)
- mean annual temperature above 18^oC
- prevails in West African Sahel zone, southern margin of northwest Africa, much of southern Africa and western Malagasy;
- also occurs from eastern Ethiopia through Kenya into northern Tanzania

Cool Steppe Climate (BSk):
- similar to BSh in terms of rainfall characteristics but cooler (mean annual temperature <18^oC)
- occurs in northwest and southwest Africa
- coolness in NW Africa due to effect of high altitude while in SW Africa due to the effect of the cold Benguela current

Hot Desert Climate (BWh):
- arid climate of little or no rain
- hot with mean annual temperature >18^oC
- occurs over Sahara desert and coast of Angola through Namibia into South Africa, most of Somali and extreme southwestern Malagasy

Cool Desert Climate (BWk):
- arid climate with little or no rain
- cool with mean annual temperature <18^oC
- occurs in southwestern Africa

Mediterranean Climate:
- occurs in the extreme southwest of South Africa and coast lands of northwest Africa
- rains occur in winter and summer is hot and dry in north Africa but warm and dry in the south due to the cold Benguela current

DROUGHT IN AFRICA:

• long record of dry or drought years:

            - 1913, 1972, 1973, 1983, and 1984 are very dry years across sahelian Africa

• dry years tend to follow dry years or wet years to follow another wet years:

• 1988 was a very wet year across Africa:

        - >50 mm of rain recorded in Khartoun
        - >400 mm of rain recorded in August alone in Kano City resulting in large dam (Bakolori dam disaster) failure

• Sahelian drought of 1970-1974 first drew world attention to Africa drought problems
• since then, drought of greater intensity occurred in West Africa Sahel, Ethiopia, and the Horn of Africa, East Africa and southern Africa

MAIN TYPES OF DROUGHT:

• meteorological drought
• agricultural drought
• hydrological drought

Meteorological Drought:

• occurs when the amount of rainfall is less than the expected long-term average annual rainfall in the location
• or when percentage reduction or negative departure from the long-term average rainfall occurs
• the definition has a number of problems:

        -paucity of data
        -does not account for soil moisture, ambient temperature, rates of evaporation, etc        important to policy makers and farmers
        -difficult to identify with any degree of reliability

Agricultural Drought:

• occurs when there is not enough moisture available at the right time for the growth and maturation of crops
• timing of precipitation throughout the growing season is as important as the absolute amount per month or season because crops have varying needs for moisture as they develop
• occurs even when rainfall amount seems more than adequate:
• soil in valley bottoms and flood plains become waterlogged leading to diminished aeration and crop failure

Hydrological Drought:

• occurs when streamflow falls below a pre-determined level significant to hinder certain human activities:

        examples:
            - shipping
            -HEP generation
            -irrigation water distribution

• periods of low level of stream flow
• extended period of soil dryness

Effects of Drought:

• scarcity of water for human and animal consumption
• widespread crop failure as soil moisture dries up
• widespread famine, hunger, malnutrition
• over 100,000 lives lost to famine in 1973 alone in the sahelian drought of 1973
• thousands of lives lost in 1983/84 in the sahel and in 1987 in the horn of Africa
• large-scale out-migrations of people from the sahel belt
• more than 10% of the population of Chad, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Niger became drought refugees
• slump in agricultural export and food crops
• weak economies of drought affected countries
• intensification of desertification and increased dust storms and shifting sand dunes
• drastic reduction in lake levels and areal extent due to excessive loss of water:

        -in 1966, Lake Chad was 22,000 km² but dropped to <2000km² by the end of the 1979-1984 drought

• drop in watertable due to reduced recharge of aquifers causing dry valleys

CAUSES OF DROUGHT:

• El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) or Teleconnection:

    - argued that El Nino years tend to correspond to drought years in the Sahel

• Sea-Surface Temperature Changes:

    - results in the reduction of the northward penetration of the southwest monsoon winds

• Prevalence of dust storms caused by wind erosion:

    - it argues that dust storms warm up the atmosphere thereby inhibiting the upward flow of air needed for rainfall

• The albedo effects (Charney hypothesis):

    - dry and bare surfaces have higher albedos than moist covered surfaces
    - hence desert surfaces are cooler because of the higher reflection of solar energy
    - cooler air has less tendency to rise thereby limiting the probability of rainfall
    - this explanation has not been duplicated with much certainty in other environments

• Degradation-induced Changes or Land-Surface Feedback Mechanism

    - it is an extension of the arguments of Charney Hypothesis

VEGETATION OF AFRICA

Main vegetation belts:

• Tropical Rainforest
• Guinea Savanna
• Sudan Savanna
• Semi-desert or Sahel Savanna
• Desert
• Mediterranean Woodland
• Highveldt Grassland and Shrub

TROPICAL RAINFOREST

• occurs in close association with the humid equatorial climates
• areas found:

    -coastal areas of West Africa and Central Africa (central Zaire, Congo, Gabon, southern Cameroun, southern Nigeria, Benin Republic)
    -part of southern Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia

• rainfall in excess of 1500 mm
• rainy season (at least 8 months)
• bulk of the biomass is tree or woody species
• the trees are closely packed
• trees occur in three layers of canopies at different heights

    - emergent layer: (uppermost tree layer)

• consists of isolated tall trees (40-50 meters tall) called emergents because they tower above the general level of the forest;

    - middle tree layer:

• consists of large trees with a dense and continuous canopy
• the trees are 20-30 meters tall;

    - lower tree layer:

• consists of trees with canopy barely touching each other
• trees have narrower profile
• trees are 10-15 meters tall
• rainforest trees include important timber producing species:

• Below the tree layer is the shrub layer

    - consists of dwarf trees and tree saplings
    -generally less than 5 meters tall

• undergrowth layer:

• stratification of the rainforest into layers is a response to competition for sunlight
• sun-loving species grow very tall
• shade tolerant species occupy the lower strata
• stratification of the rainforest has created numerous micro-climatic zones in the forest
• hence, the rainforest is rich in plant and animal species (it has the largest biodiversity of species)
• over 100 species of woody flowering plants per hectare
• African rainforest is not as rich in species as the South American and Asian rainforests
• African rainforests are mainly mixed forests (i.e. a wide range of species growing together in mixtures with no single species dominating)
• mixed forests occur in well drained soils with medium to good fertility status
• single-dominant rainforests are common in Zaire basin, Cameroun, some part of Nigeria and Gabon (i.e. upper tree layer is dominated by one or a few species)
• single-dominant forests occur in nutrient-deficient soils or swamps
• major soil under tropical rainforest is the oxisol
• African rainforests are evergreen, especially where annual rainfall is up to 2000 mm
• drier rainforests (1300-1600 mm) are semi-deciduous
• Woody climbers known as lianas are important flora
• epiphytes (plants attached to tree trunks): ferns, orchids, and mosses
• parasites, lichens, and stranglers like fig tree (ficus sp.) are other flora
• African rainforest fauna include:

        Mammals: squirrels, monkeys, chimpanzee and African elephant;
        Reptiles: crocodiles, alligators, snakes,

Deforestation of African Rainforest

• deforestation rates are very high in African rainforest
• highest rate of deforestation in the world is recorded in West Africa with about 2.1% per year between 1981 and 1990
• Cote d'Ivoire has the highest rate of 5.2% per year in Africa
• except for Central Africa and Madagascar, <15% of the original rainforest is left
• most of the remaining forest are in protected reservations
• rainforest over much of Zaire, Gabon, Congo, and Cameroun have the lowest rate with >40% of its original forests due to very low population density

Causes of Deforestation:

• agriculture:

    - land clearance for cultivation is still a major cause of deforestation
    - natural forest increasingly replaced by plantations of tree crops like rubber, oil palm, coffee and cocoa
    - in East Africa and Cameroun, forests are replaced by plantations of tea, coffee and pyrethrum
    - several centuries of cultivation has transformed rainforest ecosystems into some kind of anthropogenic savanna called "derived savanna"

• logging:

    - major source of hardwoods in high demand worldwide   
    - production of hardwood rose from 4.7 million cubic meters in 1950 to an estimated 25 million cubic meters in 1990
    - volume of hardwood exports rose from 1.5 million cubic meters to an estimated 12 million cubic meters

• fuel-wood consumption

    - the bulk of the rainforest is secondary forest

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Review Questions for the Mid-Term Exam

1. Which of the following statements is NOT true about the location and size of Africa?

A. It is the second largest continent in the world

B. It accounts for 16% the world land area but holds only

9% of world population

C. It is located between lat. 37^o N and 35^o S

D. 30% of the continent falls within the tropics

E. Africa is divided into two halves by the equator

2. The Ruwenzori Mt. and the Danakil Mt are good examples of:

A. fold mountains B. volcanic mountain

C. block mountains D. a shield

E. A and B

Along longitude 20^o E, the north-south distance of Africa is

approximately

A. 7500 km B. 3000 km C. 7000 km

D. 10,000 km E. 27,500 km

4. Which of the following is a possible consequence of the

break-up of the Gondwanaland to form Africa?

A. its relatively high elevation with high interior plateaus

and plains

B. the development of the Great Escarpment which separates

the narrow coastal plain from the interior plateau, especially in southern Africa

C. the dominance of volcanoes and hotspots on the continent

D. its basin and dome topography

E. All of the above

5. Despite the very high potentials of African rivers for

hydroelectric power development, the existing ones are not

used to their fullest capacity because of

A. the seasonality of their flows and frequent droughts in

the continent

B. their very high pollution generating capacity

C. lack of capital and spare parts

D. cultural barriers

E. A and C

6. Africa's longest river and largest lake are, respectively:

A. Niger River and Lake Turkana

B. Congo (Zaire) River and Lake Chad

C. Nile River and Lake Victoria

D. Orange River and Lake Tana

E. Senegal River and Lake Mobutu (Albert)

7. Which of the following lakes is not one of the East

Africa rift valley lakes?

A. Lake Mobutu (Albert) B. Lake Tangayinka

C. Lake Malawi D. Lake Victoria

E. Lake Edward

8. African rivers have the greatest potential for:

A. Navigation B. Hydroelectric power generation

B. Irrigation D. Fishing

E. recreation/tourism

9. The Sahara desert is dry mainly because

A. it is perpetually under high pressure characterized by

air subsidence

B. it is on the leeward side of the Atlas mountain

C. the air is too hot

D. there is no river passing through it

E. there is no moisture available for evaporation in the

desert

10. In West Africa, the advance and retreat of the rains are controlled by the

A. pattern of movement of the ITCZ

B. duration of sunshine

C. amount of solar radiation received

D. degree of cloud cover

E. humidity of the air

11. It is relatively cool along the coast of Namibia because

A. the area has high relief

B. of the effect of the cold Benguela current off the coast

C. it is on the leeward side of a mountain

D. it enjoys a temperate climate

E. the air is always moist

12. What type of vegetation occurs over much of Zaire?

A. savanna woodland B. sub-desert steppe

C. mediterranean vegetation D. rainforest

E. Sudan Savanna

13. The vertical stratification of the rainforest plant species

is a response to:

A. photoperiodism B. moisture

C. edaphic influences D. temperature E. sunlight

14. What type of vegetation occurs over much of the southernmost

tip (i.e. Cape Town area)and northernmost tip (i.e. Tunis area) of Africa

A. desert B. tropical rainforest

C. mediterranean D. savanna grassland

E. high veld

15. Which of the following is the cause of drought in sahelian Africa?

A. El Nino oscillation (ENSO) or teleconnections

B. Sea-surface temperature changes especially in southern Atlantic

C. the albedo effects (Charney hypothesis)

D. degradation-induced changes

E. All of the above answers

16. Rainfall in West Africa is caused by

A. southwest monsoon winds

B. northeast trade winds

C. southeast trade winds

D. westerlies

E. A and D

17. The Mediterranean climate is enjoyed in the following areas of

Africa:

A. Egypt and Algeria

B. the highlands of Ethiopia and East Africa

C. the coastal areas of Ghana and Namibia

D. Mozambique and eastern parts of Malagasy Republic

E. the coastal areas of northwest Africa and southwestern corner of the Republic of South Africa

18. Dust storms are common in the West African sahel during

A. the short rainy season

B. the summer period

C. the retreat of the rains

D. the dry season

E. the onset of the rains

19. The soil order that covers the largest land area in Africa is

A. Entisols B. Ultisols C. Aridisols

D. Inceptisols E. Vertisols

20. The dominant images of Africa include the following except

A. continent of uniformity

B. Africa as a games reserve

C. disease infested continent

D. economically developed continent

E. continent of conflicts and political instability

sea

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TOPIC 4: AFRICA: POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY - FROM KINGDOMS TO NATIONHOOD

A.    INTRODUCTION

B.    INDIGENOUS HERITAGE
        -Africa: Cradle of Civilization
        -Era of Ancient Civilization
        -Bantu Migration
        -Era of Medieval Civilization and Modern Kingdoms
        -Significance of the History of Indigenous Heritage

C.    ISLAM IN AFRICA

D.    HISTORY OF WESTERN HERITAGE IN AFRICA
        -Period of Initial European Contact
        -Period of Enslavement of Africans
        -Period of Land Exploration
        -Period of Colonial Rule in Africa
        -Consequences of Colonialism in Africa

TOPIC 4: AFRICA: POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY - FROM KINGDOMS TO NATIONHOOD

A. INTRODUCTION

• Africa triple heritage:

    -Indigenous heritage
    -Islamic heritage
    -Western heritage
    all influence cultural landscape of Africa

• western and northeastern parts of Africa experienced a longer history of indigenous influences
• eastern and southern parts have a more recent history
• history of the indigenous heritage of Africa:

    -Africa as a cradle of civilization
    -era of ancient civilization
    -Bantu migratory patterns prior to European contacts
    -era of medieval civilizations and modern kingdoms

• history of western heritage:

Africa: Cradle of Man:

• Homo sapiens first appeared in Africa some 150,000 to 200,000 years ago
• evolutionary succession leading to humankind includes:

• fossil evidence uncovered in South Africa, East Africa rift valley, and Afar depression
• its brain size, shape of teeth and jaw, skeletal characteristics differentiated it from both the higher apes and the human species (Homo)

• it is a tool maker
• it has larger brain
• used simple stone tools and lived in encampments

• more erect posture and larger brain
• devised a variety of more sophisticated tools
• lived in savanna environments close to large water bodies

    - the appearance of Homo sapiens is well documented in the discovery of Zinjanthropos in Olduvai Gorge and the discovery of Lucy in Ethiopia

• African Rift Valley system was the first home of man
• first Africans lived in small bands of hunter-gatherers
• about 10,000 years ago, the hunter-gatherers began to settle permanently along the Nile River to domesticate plants and animals
• establishment of local trade networks marked the beginning of ancient civilization in Africa
• first ancient civilizations were stateless
• associations based on kinship and lineages existed
• by 3500 B.C., such associations had developed structured political arrangements
• development of such political structures led to the formation of state societies and civilizations such as ancient Egypt
 

B.    INDIGENOUS HERITAGE:

Era of Ancient Civilization

• important civilizations during this era include:

    -Egypt (c. 3000 B.C. to 1580 B.C.?)
    -Kush with capital Meroe (c. 2000 B.C. to 300 A.D.)
    -Nok (c. 500 B.C. to 200 A.D.)
    -Axum (c.200 B.C. to 700 A.D.)
    -Nubia (c. 500 to 700 A.D.)
    -Carthage (Libyan-Berber State)

• some of the ancient kingdoms became Christian empires (Axum, Kush, and Ethiopia) which flourished till the arrival of Islam in 8^th century
• common features of ancient civilization include:

• Nok
• Nubia
• Egypt
• Lake Victoria District
• most parts of Africa did not experience the bronze age between the stone age and the iron age (notable exceptions: Nubia and Egypt)
• iron-making people expanded territorially at the expense of those using only stone tools and weapons

    -well-established farming system with production of food surplus through domestication of plants like:

• cereals: teff, finger millet, bulrush millet, sorghum, African rice
• Roots and Tuber: yams
• Pulses: bambra groundnuts, cowpeas
• Oil Crops: castor oil, oil palm, shea butter
• Starch and Sugar Plants: ensete
• Vegetables: okra, garden eggs
• Stimulants: coffee, kola
• Fiber: cotton
• Crops introduced into Africa:

• Egypt
• Ethiopia Plateau
• West Africa Savanna
• West Africa Forest
• Forest-Savanna Boundary

    -elaborate irrigation networks like the Egyptian network of dikes and irrigation channels controlling the annual floods of the Nile
    -hillside terracing in Axum
    -well established cities with impressive architecture:

• Meroe ruins of stone buildings (Kush kingdom)

    -well established long distance trade networks and exchange economy:

• between Nok and Carthage

    -impressive Africa arts and sculptures:

• terra cotta sculptures of the Nok
• Egyptian Great Sphinx and Pyramids

BANTU MIGRATION:

• Began at about 5000 B.C.
• originated from areas around the Benue River
• occurred in stages over a period of five millenia
• two major directions of migration:

• the two groups rejoined in south-central Africa about 1500 years ago
• Bantu migration was over by 1000 A.D.
• Bantu migrants encountered stone-age aborigins, including the Khoisan people, with no elaborate economic and political associations
• Bantu migrants inter-married with the aborigins and some assimilated into the Bantu culture
• Bantu migrants were mainly farmers
• they used iron tools and weapons
• Bantu migrants introduced a number of innovations:

• Loango
• Kongo
• Luba
• Zimbabwe
• Changamire

Other Migrant Groups:

• Madagascar was settled by Indonesians >1500 years ago
• people of caucasian origin originating in the Sahara, North Africa and Arabian Peninsula
• Berber-speaking peoples intermingled with Negroes of the Sahara
• Arabs occupied the Red Sea and East African coast
• Arabian cities which became important points of trade and cultural development
• pastoral Fulanis extended their grazing territories from their Senegambia base into the savanna all the way to Lake Chad
• these recurrent processes of migration, diffusion, and assimilation are important in the evolution of ethnic and cultural maps of Africa

INDIGENOUS HERITAGE

Medieval Civilization:

• includes empires with well developed political structures and social orders
• in West Africa, they include early sudanic empires:

    -Ghana (A.D. 700 - 1070)
    -Mali (A.D. 1230 - 1430)
    -Songhai (A.D. 1460 - 1590)

• main distinguishing features of the sudanic empires from the ancient empires:

• collapse of the sudanic states shifted the power base towards the forest belt
• in southern Africa, Karanga evolved with Great Zimbabwe as its capital
• Great Zimbabwe was a city built of stone without mortar and has remarkable ruins of stone towers and walls
• Karanga produced gold for international trade
• no major civilizations in East Africa except for a few important city states
• the city-states created between A.D. 700 and 1500 as trading points between the Arabs and people across the Indian Ocean
• important city-states:

• late medieval period saw the emergence of more states in West Africa, East and Central Africa that later evolved into modern kingdoms

INDIGENOUS HERITAGE:

Era of Modern Kingdoms

• include kingdoms after 1600 or after the collapse of medieval civilizations
• include the forest kingdoms of West Africa:

Ashanti, Benin, Oyo, Dahomey, Futa Toro, Fonta Djallon, Jolof, Segu, Nupe, Cayor and Boal

• kingdoms protected trade routes and their people
• kingdoms initially engaged in trans-Saharan trade on gold, ostrich feathers, salts and slaves
• coastal trading emerged after European arrived
• large-scale slave trade began
• European weapons (guns and gun powder) used for political expansion and slave raids
• kingdoms in Central and East Africa include:

• very few modern kingdoms in southern Africa because the San people were hunter-gatherers
• however, threats of over population and over grazing set in motion the shaking up of the peoples in southern Africa called Mfecane
• resistance to European control, and the need to organize trade and defense prompted the creation of kingdoms like: Zulu, Ndebele, and Sotho in the middle of the 19^th century

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE HISTORY OF THE INDIGENOUS HERITAGE:

• revealed the rich history of Africa and its great contributions to the collective human history
• disproved the general stereotyping of Africa as uncivilized and barbaric
• revealed a well defined social structure, division of labor, cities, trade network and communication systems
• revealed a history of diverse socio-political organizations
• revealed rich history with cultural symbols proudly displayed in non-African museums
• traditional forms of governance, social organization based on lineage and kinship and the traditional religious value systems are evident in all aspects of daily living of Africans
• indigenous influence constitutes the foundation of present-day culture and has influenced the spatial organization and development of the region
• indigenous influence has interacted with Islamic and western influences to produce the familiar social unrest, political instability and economic and cultural dependency
• source of inspiration and identity (see names of African countries reflecting its ancient history)
 

C. ISLAM IN AFRICA:

• spread to Africa in about 700 A.D.
• spread along three major pathways:

• first wave of spread began at about 700 A.D.
• through trade contacts between Arabian traders and Africans along the coast

• second wave of spread began at about 900 A.D. and continued till 19^th century
• facilitated by trans-Saharan trade routes
• Islam was later spread by holy wars called Jihads
• Also spread by Fulani zealots, preachers and warriors in search of grazing lands
• helped to advance the political dreams of the Fulani aristocracy

    -Spread into Egypt

• spread by trade into Egypt and the hrn of Africa
• major Islamic regions:

• forest belt and interior parts of eastern and southern Africa were hardly impacted by Islam
• prevalence of tse-tse fly and forest trees limited the spread of Islam into the forest belt by Moslems riding on horse backs

SOME IMPACTS OF ISLAM IN AFRICA:

• educational systems of the Islamic regions (Koranic Schools flourished)
• Arabic language favored
• import of Arabian architectural designs favored
• political systems and laws (Sharia Laws introduced)
• dominance of Fulani aristocracy in West Africa politics
• Islamic heritage was not as disruptive of African indigenous heritage because it accepted major African practices such as:

• occurred in four main periods:

    -Period of Initial European Contact   
    -Period of Enslavement of Africans
    -Period of Land Exploration
    -Period of Colonial Rule

HISTORY OF WESTERN HERITAGE:

Period of Initial European Contact (1430 - 1500):

• a result of European search for sea route to India to continue their trade on silk, porcelain, spies
• first contact was with Portuguese navigators at about 1434
• first contacts were limited to the coast because existing kingdoms refused European penetration into the interior
• Europeans granted concessions to establish trading posts and forts along the coast
• about 50 forts established along the West African coast
• trade involved exchange of African goods like: gold, ivory, kolanuts, palm produce for European alcohol, guns and sugar
• in the 1530s, Portugal pushed out the Arabs along the East African coast and established its headquarters in Mombasa in 1592

HISTORY OF WESTERN HERITAGE:

Period of Enslavement of Africans (1500 - 1870):

• it is the period of Trans-Atlantic slave trade
• result of a high demand for plantation workers in the Americas between the 16^th and 19^th centuries
• the commercial economy organized to facilitate the capture, transportation and sale of slaves
• Portuguese and Spanish navigators were among the first slave traders in the 15^th century
• the English, Danes, Dutch, Swedes and French joined the trade in late 16^th century
• peak of the slave trade was between 1700 and 1870 when about 80% of the slaves were traded
• castles, like the Elmina castle in Ghana, were established as centers for slave trade
• elsewhere, African intermediaries assembled slaves at slaving entrepots
• the slave trade was one element in a triangular trade linking Europe, Africa and the Americas
• in the trade, European alcohol, guns, and other manufactured goods were exchanged for African slaves, the money obtained from selling the slaves were used to purchase American gold, silver, tobacco, sugar, and rum for European markets
• 6 to 30 million slaves were traded and probably many more died during slave raids and in transit
• much of the slaves came from West African coast all the way to Angola
• African royalties who resisted the slave trade include:

    -Queen Nzinghu of Matamba in Angola
    -Tomba of Baga (Guinea)
    -King Nzega Meremba of Kongo
    -King Agaja Trudo of Dahomey

EFFECTS OF THE SLAVE TRADE:

• popularized the concept of race discrimination by Europe because it was ok to enslave people of different color
• fostered the development of racist stereotypes and myths in Europe
• intensification of ethnic hatred, conflicts and wars in Africa
• depopulation of Africa, especially West Africa
• truncated the normal course of African history and development
• disruption of agriculture, manufacturing and trading activities for over 400 years
• a major cause of underdevelopment of Africa, especially West Africa, due to loss of productive labor force; European goods were mainly armaments and luxury goods which did not provide the impetus for development
• emergence of local aristocrats who benefitted from the slave trade
• powers of the traditional rulers were challenged by the new aristocratic class and religious leaders resulting in frequent unrest
• European trading companies and consular representatives exerted increasing influence after the slave trade
• in the Americas:

• development of the creole language
• development of new religions based on the worship of African deities
• or the mixing of African religion with Christian worship:

• African folklore and Arts evident in African American music culture: spiritual, gospel, blues, jazz, soul, and reggae music share common African roots
• European rulers and merchants benefitted materially from a slave-based economy

HISTORY OF WESTERN HERITAGE:

Period of Land Exploration (1780 - 1884):

• European interest in Africa stopped temporarily after the abolition of slave trade
• Industrial revolution in Europe provided new reasons for Europe to maintain further interest in Africa
• the new interest is because of Africa raw materials and market for European finished goods
• reasons for the exploration of Africa's interior include:

• a number of explorers were sponsored by:

• some of the explorers include:

    -James Bruce (1783) explored the source of the Nile River
    -Mungo Park (1795-1806) explored the source and mouth of the Niger River
    -David Livingstone (1840-1873) explored the Zambezi River, Lake Malawi, source of the white Nile and large part of Central africa; He was sponsored by the London Missionary Society
    -Burton and Speke explored the White Nile to its source
    -Henry Stanley (1876) explored the Congo and was sponsored by King Leopold II of Belgium
    -Stanley obtained trade concessions and signed treaties for Leopold
    -returning explorers presented their findings to their sponsors

RESULTS OF THE LAND EXPLORATION:

• provided detailed description of Africa's landscapes, peoples, culture and resources
• generated European interests in Africa resources and trading opportunities
• generated the interests of missionaries eager to spread the gospel
• aroused interests of the rich class seeking to establish effective control over the newly found riches in Africa
• set the stage for land hunting and intense competition for territories in Africa among European powers
• missionaries, explorers, and commercial agents paved the way for the establishment of colonial rule in Africa

Land Exploration in Southern Africa:

• colonization of southern Africa began during this period by the Dutch (Boer) and the British
• After the fall of Portugal, the Dutch (Holland) became the next European power
• the Dutch established a service port or station for her ships at Table Bay in 1652
• the station grew to become Cape Town
• Cape Town grew very slowly to a population of 25,000 by 1800
• Cape Town later became the base of the Dutch East India Company
• the company traded with the Indies on behalf of the Netherlands government
• the Dutch workers in the company could not return home after their assignments because they were either criminals or deportees
• instead, retiring Dutch workers fought their ways into the interior to settle on their own
• when Holland declined, Britain became the new European power by the end of the 18^th century
• in 1806, Britain took over the Cape Town area but showed no interest in the interior
• the abolition of slave trade throughout the British empire in 1833 and poor British attitude led to the mass exodus of the remaining Dutch settlers from the Cape onto the plateau in 1836
• this came to be known as the First Great Trek
• the Dutch settlers defeated the Zulus in the battle of the Blood River in Natal during the penetration
• the Dutch established two republics on the plateau:

• the Second Great Trek of 1867 was initiated when diamond was discovered on the Orange River banks and large numbers of fortune hunters moved-in
• Britain annexed the diamond region into the Cape Colony
• the Third Great Trek of 1884 was initiated when large quantities of gold was discovered near Johannesburg
• within ten years, the population of Johannesburg exceeded 100,000 white settlers
• British move to annex the gold region provoked the Anglo-Boer war of 1899
• the Dutch settlers (Boers) were defeated but Britain allowed the Boers to join in running the government
• the Union of South Africa was established by Britain in 1910 by combining its four territories in the area:

• Britain granted the Boers their desire to exclude all Africans and non-whites from the politics of the new union
• hence, the Union of South Africa was ruled by all-white electorate
• in 1948 when the Boers or Afrikaners controlled the seats of government, racial segregation was fully implemented
• the union became the Republic of South Africa in 1961.

HISTORY OF WESTERN HERITAGE:

Period of Colonial Rule (1884 - 1960)

• >90% of Africa was still ruled by Africans by 1884
• extension of European enclaves along the coast into the hinterland occurred
• French established its "spheres of influence" over the Senegal River and Dahomey
• British established its interest over the Gambia River valley, Sierra Leone and South Africa
• Portugal established its presence over Angola and Mozambique
• by 1857, France recognized British sovereignity over the Gambia River valley
• in turn, Britain recognized France sovereignity over Senegal River valley
• by 1880, claims and counter claims over the same territories by the major European powers have reached conflict level
• the Berlin Conference of 1884/1885 helped to resolve some of the conflicts by establishing the ground rules for sharing the continent
• at the conference:

    -colonial possessions were consolidated
    -problematic boundaries were defined and delimited
    -rules for effective occupation of territories were established

• France wanted to establish a continuous and interconnected empire from Algeria to Congo
• hence, French West Africa stretched across the Sudan to the Guinea coast
• but Britain and German quickly extended their coastal trading stations inland in order to halt France expansionism in West Africa
• hence, Britain penetrated the interior of Sierra Leone, Gold Coast (Ghana) and Nigeria
• and Germany penetrated the interior of Togo and Cameroun
• British Colonial Empire:

• Germany Colonial Empire:

    -wanted to establish a permanent home in Africa and spent its resources to develop its territories
    -colonized Southwest Africa (Namibia), Togo, Cameroun and German East Africa (Tagayinka, Rwanda and Burundi)
    -lost its African possessions after World War II to the League of Nations
    -League of Nations distributed German possessions as follows:

• Togo and Eastern Cameroun given to France
• Tagayinka and Western Cameroun given to Britain
• Rwanda and Burundi given to Belgium
• Southwest Africa (Namibia) given to South Africa
• Italians established at Eritrea and Somaliland but failed to conquer Ethiopian forces led by Emperor Menelik II in 1896
• King Leopold II of Belgium controlled Congo Free State as his personal estate but was taken over by the Belgian government in 1914
• Ethiopia and Liberia were never colonized
• colonialism involved some form of political and economic and cultural domination

Colonial Policies:

• colonies run by administrative and military officers
• operated as an extension of the European metropolitan state
• colonial policies were developed in Europe and often reflecting the political climate of Europe rather than African needs
• main responsibility is to maintain law and order at little or no cost to European tax payer
• colonial officers:

• colonies with large number of white settlers like Kenya, Rhodesia and South Africa, were governed differently
• the settlers had considerable powers which were often used to legitimize their special previleges
• hence, restrictions were placed on the economic and social choices of Africans, Asians and Arabs in settler colonies
• areas with very few settlers, British called them protectorates
• the indirect rule was introduced by the British in the protectorates
• indirect rule implemented in protectorates where indigenous political systems were well established
• it is a rule through handpicked local chiefs told what to say or do
• they are used to implement unpopular colonial policies, such as: tax collection, recruitment of labor for colonial state projects
• local chiefs were replaced or punished if they become incompetent or too independent minded
• areas like the Igboland of Nigeria with no local chiefs, or among the Swahili of Tagayinka with no history of chieftaincy, the colonial sate created chiefs and used them
• areas of indirect rule witnessed little or no development throughout the colonial era
• the French relied on the policy of assimilation where the objective is to get the people to adopt the French way of life
• Belgian colonial state adopted the paternalistic policy and governed their territories (Zaire) with iron fist
• Belgium limited education of Africans to the elementary level.

CONSEQUENCES OF COLONIALISM:

• colonialism seen by colonizers as:

• the modernization perspective of colonialism challenged by scholars from the dependency school of thought:

-colonialism undermined indigenous economies and society
-colonialism developed Europe and underdeveloped Africa
-introduced economic structures that are highly dependent on European economy
-introduced a dual economy:

• cash crops (cocoa, coffee, tea, rubber, timber, cotton, etc) and mineral export sector (coexisting with)
• a traditional food crop sector

INDEPENDENCE AND NATIONHOOD IN AFRICA:

• independence of Libya in 1951 started the "wind of change" that swept south
• the struggle for independence was favored by:

• by 1960, a large number of African colonies became independent
• most independent states opted for capitalist multi-party democratic system of government and others opted for a one-party socialist model

IMPLICATIONS:

• independence resulted in the birth of nationhood in Africa
• many of the new nations were small both in area and in population:

• national boundaries were inherited from colonial period with some implications:

• Somalis found in Somali, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djoubiti
• Ewe people found in Ghana and Togo
• Hutu and Tutsi people found in Rwanda and Burundi

• Zaire has nine neighbors

TOPIC 5: AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT: TRADITIONAL AND MODERN

A.    Features of Agriculture in Africa

B.    Traditional Farming Systems:
        -shifting cultivation
        -pastoralism
C.    Modern Agricultural Sector in Africa
        -Cash Crop and Commercial Agriculture
        -plantation agriculture
        -irrigation schemes in Africa
D.    Problems of Agricultural Production

E.    Sustainable Agricultural Policies

TOPIC 5: AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT: TRADITIONAL AND MODERN

A. MAIN FEATURES OF AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA:

• >70% of the population engaged in agriculture

involving:
    -food and cash-crop farming
    -pastoralism (raising livestock)
    -fishing and hunting

• in most farming communities, farming is mixed with raising livestock (examples: Serer of Senegal and Amhara of Ethiopia)
• >70% of the farmers utilize traditional methods of agricultural production
• traditional farming systems range from extensive farming system (such as shifting cultivation) to intensive (permanent) farming system
• traditional farming systems tend to respond rapidly to factors like:

• farm holdings are usually small and commonly under 5 hectares
• farms and kitchen gardens <1 hectare in size
• though agricultural production is mainly for household subsistence, large surpluses are freely sold in the marketplace
• western observers term African farmers as irrational farmers because production is not geared toward profit maximization
• African farmers are rational because non-economic variables, such as: household food security, form the rationale for agricultural production
• traditional farming systems and communities are often perceived as simple but studies show a high degree of organization and differentiation
• traditional farming systems rely on natural environmental processes to restore soil fertility
• however, some farmers apply animal waste and kitchen wastes to their farms to improve soil fertility and crop yield
• traditional farming systems heavily depend on nature, hence:

• staple food crops in Africa include:

• intercropping (or polyculture) of several crops on same plot very common
• Use of low level of technology (example: cutlass, hoe, shaduf irrigation, etc)
• labor intense and uses household labor
• women play important role and involved in farm jobs like: hoeing, weeding, and harvesting
• in fact, >70% of Africa's food is produced by women
• tasks for men in food production are limited and may include land preparation prior to planting
• under low population density, traditional farming systems is well adapted to protect the land from degradation
• traditional farming system has evolved in response to:

• important changes to the traditional farming systems:

• very low crop yield
• modern agricultural sector includes:

• Agriculture plays vital role in the economic and social development of Africa

1. DENSELY SETTLED AREAS IN AFRICA

a. Denely Settled Areas Guinea Coast:

i. Igbo homeland
ii. Yoruba urbanizes heartland
iii. Close-settled areas around Hausa cities like Kano, Zaria and Sokoto in northern Nigeria
iv. Agricultural belts (e.g. cocoa, rubber, kola, timber)
v. Mineral areas (phosphates and petroleum)
b. Densely Settled Areas Around Lake Victoria:
i. Western and Northern lakeskores in Burundi and Rwanda
ii. Southern Uganda and Western Kenya
c. Localized Pockets in East and Central Africa:
i. North and Southern of Lake Malawi
ii. Northeast Tanzania
iii. Hinterlands of Nairobi
iv. Central Ethiopia

d. Densel y Settled Areas in South Africa
i. Bantustans created by the Southern African government, i.e. African Homeland
ii. Southern Transvaal industrial mining regions near Johannesburg (25% of Africa's manufacturing)

e. Densely Settled Areas Along the Nile Valley:
i. Irrigated agricultural land of Sudan abd Egypt
ii. Industrial and urban centers in Egypt (West Delta from Cairo to Alexandria)

f. Densely Settled Areas in Historic Sudanic Kingdoms:
i. Discontinuous belts across the savanna belt
ii. Ancient cities of the Sudanic Kingdoms: Bamako, Ougadougou, Kano, Timbuktu, Goa, etc

g. Densely Settled Areas Along the Maghreb Coast

2. SPARSELY SETTLED AREAS IN AFRICA:

a. Sahara desert and Sahelian drought/desertification regions

b. Desert and semi-desert areas of Botswana, Namibia, Angola, and west South Africa

c. Large part of west Central Africa between Chad and Angola:
- tropical rainforest zone in Congo basin (Congo, Zaire, Gabon)
- savanna environments in CAR, southern Sudan and Angola

C. FACTORS OF POPULATION DISTRIBUTION:

i. Environmental Stress: (low population concentration due to: frequent drought problems, swamps, steep slopes, etc)
ii. Fertile Agricultural Lands: (high population concentration, e.g. volcanic lands of Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, etc)
iii. Agricultural belts of Guinea Coast
iv. Industrial Belts (South Africa, Egypt,West Africa, etc)
v. Mining Regions: (Zambia Copper belt, South Africa Mines, etc)
vi. Historic Significance