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African Rift, Valley
grasslands,
safari country,
early hominids
originated here
Africa is a
continent of
diverse
geographic
people,
resources,
culture, and
societies….
North- SaharaArabic traders
Nile river valley
West- Tropical
Jungle, Niger
River is rich in
natural mineral
land
EAST-Rift Valley
grasslands
Animal reserves
Southern- rich
resources, dry
plateau.
A Satellite View
•The Sahara
desert separates North/ Arabic
from the Sub-Saharan/Black
region
Africa
• History- points in early
history
• Colonialism…& Legacy of
• Resources
• Sudan
• Rwanda
• Apartheid in South Africa
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–
–
–
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History of South Africa
White Afrikanner colonialism
Apartheid
Nelson Mandela
Truth and Reconciliation
Mediterranean Sea
The
Libyan Desert
Tropic of Cancer
20° N
Sahara Desert
Complete
Topography
Sahel
Nile River
L. Chad-->
Equator 0°
L. Albert-->
Δ Mt. Kenya
L. Victoria
Of
AFRICA
Δ Mt. Kilimanjaro
L. Tanganyika->
Indian
Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
Zambezi River
Tropic of Capricorn
20° S
Limpopo River
Orange River
Pacific Ocean
Great Rift Valley
3,000 miles long
Mt. Kilimanjaro:
Snow on the Equator?
Natural Resources
The African Savannah:
13 million sq. mi.
African Rain Forest
# Annual rainfall of up to 17 ft.
# Rapid decomposition (very humid).
# Covers 37 countries.
# 15% of the land surface of Africa.
Key points in Early
African History
• Hominids orginate in Africafive million yrs ago
• 5000 BC Ancient Egyptian
civilizations in NE Africa
domesticated animals, grew
crops along the NILE- Art,
Writing, Irrigation, Empire,
Government, Architecture
• Ancient iron-age groups of
people settled all parts of
Africa with AGRICULTURE
and
•TRADE of RESOURCES: trading
gold, copper, precious stones, animal
hides, ivory and metal goods
Look at the
Colored tribal regions
And the gray country
boundaries
•
•
•
•
•
•
Early
Africa
There were many great empires in SubSaharan Africa over the past few millennia,
especially in West Africa and Southern
Africa where important trade routes and
good agricultural land allowed large states
to develop.
CHRISTIANITY-spreads into north Africa=
Coptic Christians- Egyptians…
Trade between Mediterranean countries
and West Africa across the Sahara Desert,
was important and this is how…
Islam spreads into northern Africa in the
700-1000
– The arrival of Islam created a significant
political and social change
– Leaders converted to Islam- Arabic and
Muslim law in administration
– Mix of Arab and Native culture
The Portuguese explore and again spread
Christianity into No and West Africa in the
1500’s.
The DUTCH in the 1600’s begin
colonization of southern Africa
Africa and the age of exploration
•
•
Portuguese explorers Vasco Da Gama and Prince
Henry, the Navigator, were 1st to explore Africa looking
for an oceanic route to the Indies. trading European
wheat and cloth for African gold and slaves.
The Portuguese wanted, to find a route to India and
kept trying to circumnavigate Africa.
•
Beginning in the 17th century, the Netherlands began
exploring and colonizing Africa.
•
To compete with the Portuguese, two Dutch companies
were founded: the West Indies Company, with power
over all the Atlantic Ocean, and the East Indies
Company, with power over the Indian Ocean.
•
the Dutch built 16 forts in different places, partly
overtaking Portugal as the main slave-trading power.
•
The Dutch left a lasting impact in South Africa, a region
ignored by Portugal that the Dutch eventually decided
to use as station in their route to East Asia. They
founded Cape Town in 1652, starting the European
exploration and colonization of South Africa.
Ancient
African
Societies
• The earliest African slave trade across the-Sahara.
• When camels were introduced into Africa from Arabia in the 900’s slaves
were carried north mostly as servants. Women became servants and
became part of harems
• The Atlantic slave trade developed later, and would have a much bigger
impact. As colonies in the New world grew the demand for slave labor grew.
• Workers were needed for agriculture, mining and other tasks. To meet this
new demand, a trans-Atlantic slave trade developed. Slaves purchased in
those West African regions known as the Slave Coast, Gold Coast, were
often captives of internal warfare or were exchanged with European slave
traders for firearms, rum, fabrics and seed grain.
• The AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE DEPLETED Africa of able bodied MEN and
hurts their economic development
African
Slave
Trade
Source for
Raw
Materials
Industrial
Revolution
European
Nationalism
These create fierce competition
Economic and political motives overlap
Markets for
Finished
Goods
European
Motives
For Colonization
Missionary
Activity
Military
& Naval
Bases
Social
Darwinism
Places to
Dump
Unwanted/
Excess Popul.
European
Racism
“White
Man’s
Burden”
Soc. & Eco.
Opportunities
Exploration to Colonization
• European exploration of Africa
in the 17th and 18th centuries
was very limited. Instead they
were focused on the slave
trade, which only required
coastal bases and items to
trade. The interior exploration
and colonization of the African
interior would start well into the
1800’s.
• Many explorers felt that it was
their duty to introduce Western
civilization and Christianity to
"savage" black African peoples
• SOCIAL DARWIN, SURVIVAL
OF THE FITTEST, WHITE
MAN”S BURDEN to “IZE”
Civilize, Christianize,
Westernize the native people
European Colonialism
•
•
•
•
•
•
“Imperialism”- extending ones control over
another
Colonialism- annexing territory outright and
establishing governments to rule over people
Thru the 1800’s the Industrial revolution and
economic competition led European nations
to COMPETE FOR COLONIES and the
division of Africa. driven by small groups of
wealthy financiers
Europeans convene the BERLIN
CONFERENCE 1844 to establish how
AFRICA would be partitioned resulting in…..
“Scramble for Africa”- most sudden case of
colonization 1875-1902 Europeans colonized
90% of Africa in less that 20 years
Colonial Administration of colonies:
–
–
•
Europeans were encouraged to settle in
colonies creating DOMINANT MINORITY
SOCIETIES,
Colonial administrators used one ethnic group
over another… the “DIVIDE AND CONQUER”
technique giving one group power over another
to administer…. Thus was the case in RWANDA
as we will see.
In most cases colonial administrators could
not fully administer the territories and relied on
local power thus creating various factions with
in the societies.
Legacy of European Colonialism
• European colonialism had a devastating impact on
Africa.
• Africa is PLAGUED with, economic, political and
humanitarian problems
• Profits from colonialism and empire building DID NOT
MATCH EUROPEAN EXPECTATIONS
• Exploiting the native people and the land
• THIS led to major political problems b/c of random
borders that were created without regard for ethnic
groups and land
• WAR, corruption in military governments, famine, and
disease all hamper economic progress.
• The struggle to rebuild is proving difficult.
Africa’s
Problems
• The Legacy of European
Colonialism has created:
• Political corruption, Militaristic
dictators, lack of respect for
rule of law, human rights
violations are all common
reasons for some of the
causes of Africa’s problems.
• The artificial boundaries
created by colonial rulers
brought together many
different ethnic people within a
new nation that did not reflect
the cultural and ethnic
diversity.
Current problems in Africa
• Dictatorship- no democracy little free enterprise
and RAMPANT POLITICAL CORRUPTION and
political Instability
• Health Epidemics- AIDS, clean water
• Lack of Infrastructure- roads, hospitals, schools,
extracurricular opportunities.
• Inability to transform raw materials and natural
resources to economic activity= jobs
• ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT lacks
The legacy of Belgian Colonialism
• King Leopold of Belgium-takes the Congo as his personal “kings”
colony.
• He forced the natives to provide him with quotas of Ivory, rubber and
other natural resources for his own personal wealth
• He started the brutality of natives by having their hands CUT OFF as a
way to force them to provide him with resources.
• His forces would also take the women and children and “brutalize’ them
• These practices were then taken by on by rebels and leaders as a
system of brutality.
5-8 Million Victims!
(50% of Popul.)
It is blood-curdling to see them (the
soldiers) returning with the hands of
the slain, and to find the hands of
young children amongst the bigger
ones evidencing their bravery...The
rubber from this district has cost
hundreds of lives, and the scenes I
have witnessed, while unable to help
the oppressed, have been almost
enough to make me wish I were
dead... This rubber traffic is steeped
in blood, and if the natives were to
rise and sweep every white person on
the Upper Congo into eternity, there
would still be left a fearful balance to
their credit.
-- Belgian Official
• King Leopold's legacy
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3516965.s
tm
South Africa
• Originally colonized
by the Dutch then the
British. A Dominant
Minority Society was
created
• Discovery of
Diamonds, GOLD,
wineries, Tourism,
and European
investments. Makes
SA a modern nation
• The system of
Apartheid officially
segregated the
whites, mixed and
blacks and
oppressed and
suppressed
human rights.
• In 1994 After an
anti-Apartheid
movement.
Apartheid ends
and Nelson
Mandela
becomes the first
black President
• Mandela credited
Mahatma Gandhi
as a major source
of inspiration in
his life, both for
the philosophy of
non-violence and
for facing
adversity with
dignity.
South Africa
1993 Black Hawk Down
Occurs in SOMALIA
Genocide
in Rwanda
1994 after years of ethnic
fighting genocide breaks out
in Rwanda
US DOES NOT WANT TO
INTERVENE
A Brief History of Hutus and Tutsis
• Hutus first settled in the Great
Lakes region of Central Africa
between 500 and 1000 BC.
Generally, Hutus were an
agricultural people who lived
in large family groups. They
agreed to raise crops for the Tutsi
in return for protection.
• The Tutsis, a tall, nomadic, warrior
people, who began arriving in the
Great Lakes region from Ethiopia
some four hundred years ago,
settled among the Hutus
• They intermarry - adopting their
language, beliefs and customs, the
two lived in harmony.
•The Hutu make up about 85% of
the population and the Tutsi only
about 15%
Causes of the Hutu Tutsi conflict
• Colonialism identifies economic differences. The
Tutsis as cattle-herders were often in a position of
economic dominance to the soil-tilling Hutus. That is
not to say that all Tutsis were wealthy and all Hutus
were poor, but in many areas, like Rwanda, the
minority Tutsis ruled the Hutus
• Colonial rule, in the late 19th Century, did little to bring
the groups together.
• The Belgians, who ruled what would later become
Rwanda and Burundi, saw the Tutsi, who were taller
and a bit lighter, as superior to the Hutu’s
• They forced Hutus and Tutsis to carry ethnic identity
cards. The colonial administrators further exacerbated
divisions by only allowed Tutsis to attain higher
education and hold positions of power
• The animosity of the Tutsis by the Hutus has grown
since their independence
Before the Genocide
• Since the end of
colonialism the fighting
between Hutus and
Tutsis has existed leading
to the massacre of ½ a
million and more in
refugees
• 2,500 UN peace keeping
forces have been in
central Africa since 1990
overseeing a cease-fire
accord agreement
• Belgian troops have also
been stationed trying to
keep ethnic tensions
under control
The Genocide begins
• Hutus turned on Rwanda's
Tutsi minority on the night
of April 6, 1994, after a
plane carrying the
presidents of Rwanda and
neighboring Burundi was
shot down.
• Bands of Hutu thugs,
working mostly with
machetes and astonishingly
relentless enthusiasm, killed
almost 1 million men,
women and children and
turned another 2 million into
refugees, all for the crime of
being Tutsis
Genocide in Rwanda
• Between APRIL AND
JUNE… 100 days 800,000
Rwandans were Killed as the
world stood by. (8000 per
day)
• This Ethnic Genocide
occurred between the
HUTU’s and TUTSI’S.
• Most of the Victims were the
Tutsi’s and moderate Hutu’s
• The Perpetrators--- were the
Hutu’s led by an extremist
group– the Interahamwe.
• The west and the UN were
aware of this massacre AS it
was happening
• The Ethnic conflicts
between Hutus and
Tutsi’s created hundreds
of thousands of refugees
spilling over into
neighboring Zaire and
Burundi
800,000 killed in 100 days
systematic slaughter of men,
women and children
1 million refugees
Lieutenant-General Roméo A. Dallaire
Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission
for Rwanda during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide
• Dallaire did everything he could,
pleading for 2000 more
peacekeepers to be added to his
insufficiently equipped 3000 man
force.
• If they had answered Gen.
Dallaire's pleas, the U.N. could
have stopped the slaughter of
hundreds of thousands of
Rwandans. Instead, following the
deaths of 10 Belgian
Peacekeepers assigned to
protect the President, most white
Europeans left RWANDA and his
forces were cut down from 3000
to a mere 500 men,
• “A Good Man In Hell”
Roméo A. Dallaire
• Gen. Romeo Dallaire,
frustrated, and disheartened
by the U.N.'s passive
attitude, repeatedly
confronted his superiors and
the extremists.
• He was unable to prevent
horrific events from
unfolding.
• They essentially watched as
one of the most horrible
genocides in human history
took place before their very
eyes.
UN admits Rwandan genocide
failure
• The United Nations
Security Council has
explicitly accepted
responsibility for failing
to prevent the 1994
genocide in Rwanda.
• UN council members
acknowledged that their
governments lacked the
political will to stop the
massacres.
Massacre in church in Nibouye
A technical college in the south
Project Rwanda- Orphanage
Why was there no U.S. response
• Clinton administration officials
identify factors, including the
"Somalia syndrome."
Congress and the Clinton
administration were reluctant
to send U.S. troops into more
humanitarian missions after
the disastrous retreat from
Mogadishu
•Rwanda was a country of no strategic importance and President
Clinton has been criticized for lack of leadership and lack of
national interest in responding to the genocide in Rwanda
End of the Genocide
• The Tutsi rebels, called the (RPF) Rwandan
Patriotic Front led by the now president,
Paul Kagame,
• Put an end to the massacre by overthrowing
the Hutu leaders and capturing the capital
Kigali.
• Elections have been held and both groups
are represented in the government
Paul Kagame
DARFUR
About Darfur, Sudan
• The Sudan is located
in North Africa.
Neighboring countries
include Chad, to the
west, and Saudi
Arabia, to the east
across the Red Sea.
• Darfur is located in
the western region of
Sudan, Africa.
How It Began
• An outbreak of civil war in
Darfur, entirely separate from
Khartoum’s 21-year assault
against the African peoples of
southern Sudan.
• The people of Darfur rose up in
a rebellion early in 2003 and
militarily.
• The Islamic government of
Sudan, is deliberately
destroying the African tribal
peoples of the region.
• What the U.N. and Western
diplomats are calling “ethnic
cleansing”, it is actually an
ongoing genocide.
Genocide in Sudan
• Through a system of torture,
rape and murder, the
government sponsored Arab
militia, known as the
Janjaweed, has succeeded in
killing almost one half million
black tribal Africans since
February of 2003. Their goal is
to eliminate the black tribal
African farmers in that region.
• WHY
Genocide in Sudan
• 4 million are starving.
• Estimated 500 people a day die
in the region.
• Disease takes its toll on a great
number of people in the refugee
camps,
• There are inadequate medical
supplies, shelter, food, as well as
poor sanitation for the excessive
number of people who need it.
The international community has
taken notice- the U.S. Congress
recently labeled the situation in
Darfur a genocide.
• A team of U.N. human rights
investigators reported that the
government and the Janjaweed
have instituted a "reign of terror".
Genocide in Sudan
• Like in the Rwandan
genocide in 1994,
nothing substantial
has been done to stop
the atrocities in
Darfur.
• Two "cease-fires", in
2004 and 2006, have
not prevented the
violence from
continuing, and the
situation is becoming
increasingly dire.
A Genocide warning
• The Principal victims include the
Dinka and Nuer peoples in
southern Sudan and the Nuba in
central Sudan.
• The Sudanese government; a
military regime based in the north
led by Omar al- Bashir is Primarily
responsible for the devastation.
• The genocide warning has been
issued based on the following
actions.
• 1. Divide and Destroy: strategy of
pitting ethnic groups against each
other with enormous loss of civilian
life.
• 2. The use of mass starvation as a
weapon of destruction. Food
supplies and livestock have been
destroyed
A Genocide warning
• 3. Rape and enslavement of
women and children by the
government allied militia.
• 4. Bombings of hospitals,
clinics, schools, and other
civilian and humanitarian
targets.
• 5. Disruption and
Destabilization of the
communities of those who flee
the war zones to other parts of
Sudan.
• Taken together these actions
threaten the destruction of an
entire group.
•
•
•
•
•
•
OIL sits under the land in DARFUR and
the Arab military government, which
came to power after a Coup take over
of a democratically elected
government, can get OIL revenues only
if it gets the land.
Why Target China?
China is the leading foreign investor in
Sudan, with an annual trade value of
roughly $1 billion. In the past several
years,
China has developed a number of oil
fields, built a 900 plus mile pipeline, as
well as a refinery and a port. Sudan
represents China's largest overseas
investment, worth at least $3 billion,
and Sudan is the third largest supplier
of oil to China.
China's trade in oil with Sudan has
close connections with arms dealing.
Many of the helicopter gunships used
by Khartoum were purchased from
China using expected revenues from oil
extracted in South Sudan.
Amnesty International has documented
the effect of China's arms exports to
Sudan, noting that Chinese equipment
has been used by the Government of
Sudan and Janjaweed in operations in
Darfur.
WHY
CHINA
•
•
It is incumbent upon China to do
all it can to address the tragedy in
Darfur and Chad. As a key
supplier of arms and funds to the
Khartoum government, China is
especially responsible for the
continued violence in Darfur at the
hands of the Government of
Sudan and the Janjaweed.
Furthermore, by virtue of its close
relationship with the Government
of Sudan, China is one of only a
few actors that can exert pressure
to end the targeting of civilians in
Darfur, and fulfill commitments
Khartoum has made to disarm the
Janjaweed and adhere to its
responsibility to protect civilians in
Sudan.
The Death Toll
• The death toll
exceeds 100,000 and
may be more than
400,000
• About 2 million
civilians have been
driven from their
homes, their villages
torched and their
property
• thousands of women
raped