SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
(CHAPTER 6)
MAJOR
GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES
• Comprised of dozens of countries and hundreds
of ethnic groups
• 48 countries in Africa (42 in Sub-Sahara, 6 in
N/Africa)
• A plateau continent that is physiographically
unique
• A realm of subsistence farmers
• Inefficient state boundaries represent colonial
legacies
• Dislocated peoples and refugees
• Great resource potential and raw materials
AFRICA’S
PHYSIOGRAPHY:
Rift Valley
Kilimanjaro
Major Rivers (Nile,
Congo, Niger)
Sahara Desert,
Plateaus,
rainforests
This map shows
North Africa also.
CLIMATE
VEGETATION
EARLY CULTURE HEARTHS
EARLY KINGDOMS
The Ruins of the Great Zimbabwe (also, pg 300)
CULTURAL PATTERNS
• Religions
– Christianity (next slide)
– Islam (see transition zone slide
& pg 338, 312 & 309)
– Traditional religions
• Population distribution
(further slides)
• African languages
– Lingua franca (define)
– Multilingualism
• Urbanization
(later discussion)
AFRICAN TRANSITION ZONE
• SAHEL REGION – ‘Sahel’ is the Arabic
word for ‘border’ or ‘margin’.
• A zone where people are ethnically African
but culturally Arab (behave/live like Arabs,
even though they are black Africans).
• NORTH VERSUS SOUTH – creates Muslim
vs. Christian patterns in countries, leading to
cultural and political instability e.g. Sudan.
• DESERTIFICATION – principal
environmental problem in the African
Transition Zone.
AFRICAN TRANSITION ZONE
POPULATION
DISTRIBUTION
Broad
Language
Groups
There are over
1000 individual
languages, in
addition to
dialects*
*Note the difference
btw the 2
Also, Lingua Franca
Of the 50 largest cities in the world, 5 of
them are in Africa (Also, pg 311)
Beware of percentages; they can be skewed, based on WHAT
NUMBER it takes to BE a City. Africa has more cities than you see.
The “Dual City” Phenomenon
• Most African cities tend to be “dual cities”. This
is mainly as a result of the presence of a
traditional city center and colonial/modern city
(Western) city center in existence within the
same city.
• So, most large cities in Africa tend to have “two
downtowns” – the traditional and Modern.
• This phenomenon was first recognized by
Professor Mabogunje (1968), at the University of
Ibadan, Nigeria.
Modern Cairo, Egypt (Africa)
Lagos Skyline, Nigeria
Some problems of urbanization in Africa – urban primacy,
housing, sanitation, traffic, unemployment, inadequate services,
etc. – same as everywhere in South America or Asia.
THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE
COLONIALISM
• European Colonial Objectives
– Ports along the West African coast
– Water routes to South Asia (India) and
Southeast Asia
– 1500’s- looking for resources and slaves
– 1850- Industrial Revolution occurs in
Europe
• Increased demand for mineral resources
• Need to expand agricultural production
BERLIN CONFERENCE
1884
• 14 European States divided up Africa without
consideration of existing cultures (pg 305)
• Results of superimposed boundaries
------
African peoples were divided.
Unified regions were ripped apart.
Hostile societies were thrown together.
Migration routes were closed off.
Old inland traditional cities were ‘ignored’ and declined.
• When independence returned to Africa after 1950,
the realm had already acquired a legacy of political
fragmentation.
UNIQUE COLONIAL POLICIES
• Great Britain: In some sub-regions, “Indirect Rule” was
practiced (Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe)
– Indigenous power structures were left intact to some
degree (especially in the Muslim north) and local rulers
were made representatives of the crown. Led to
unequal development and later conflict.
• France: “Assimilationist” (Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast,
Togo, Benin Rep. etc.)
– Enforced a direct rule which propagated the French
culture through language, laws, education and dress
(acculturation)
COLONIAL POLICIES
• Portugal: “Exploitation” (Guinea-Bissau,
Angola, Mozambique)
– Was first to enslave and colonize and one of the LAST
to grant independence
– Maintained rigid control; raw-resource oriented
• Belgium: “Paternalistic” (Rwanda, Democratic
Rep. of the Congo [Zaire], Burundi)
– Treated Africans as though they where children who
needed to be tutored in western ways; did not try to
make them Belgian, but tortured them, instead. The
WORST colonial system. See video, and pg 305.
– Raw-resource oriented; ignored the development of
natives
THE LEGACY
• Sometimes, several hundred languages are spoken in
each country.
• Antagonism between ethnic groups (e.g., Rwanda, Nigeria,
etc)
• Low level of development is linked to colonization
– Communication Africa is naturally impeded by desert, dense
forest, and lack of navigable rivers in certain regions (rapids and
waterfalls).
– Transportation facilities – However, the colonialists were only
interested in the movement of goods from the interior to coastal
outlets, hence the odd railway designs in Africa. See pg 317.
– Dual economy (i.e. local & export) remains intact, as it was during
colonial times. Most States rely on a single crop or mineral and are
vulnerable to world markets (as you find in other former colonies
around the world).
INDEPENDENT
STATES
IN SUBSAHARAN
AFRICA
(PG 306)
Supranational
Organizations
in Africa –
Southern Africa
Development
Community
(SADC), African
Union (AU),
ECOWAS, etc
MEDICAL GEOGRAPHY
• Studies spatial aspects of disease and
health
• E.g.:
-- Disease incidence and diffusion
-- Widespread nutritional deficiencies
• In Africa, millions suffer from:
– Malaria
- River Blindness
– Yellow Fever
– AIDS
- Sleeping Sickness
- Bilharzia
REGIONS OF SUBSAHARAN AFRICA
WEST AFRICA
NIGERIA
• At independence, Nigeria was composed
of three regions (based on regional ethnic
bases of the Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and
Ibo).
Hausa-Fulani
Yoruba
Colonial
Development (West)
Ibo
Muslim
Dominated (North)
Densely populated
rural areas (East)
NIGERIA
• In 1967 interregional rivalries led to civil war
when the eastern region tried to secede as
Biafra.
• Regions have been subdivided and rearranged
to ensure a civil war does not occur again
(hopefully).
• Currently - a Federal State under an elected
government
• Capital city moved from Lagos to Abuja (1992)
NIGERIA
REGIONS OF SUBSAHARAN AFRICA
EQUATORIAL / CENTRAL AFRICA
Astride the
equator
Mainly lowland
countries
Vast areas of
rainforest
EQUATORIAL AFRICA
• Delineated from Nigeria by
physiographic as well as
cultural breaks.
• The Adamawa Highland
coincides with the border
between British-influenced
Nigeria and Frenchacculturated Cameroon.
EQUATORIAL AFRICA - Regional Features
• Dominated by Congo River and Basin
– Equatorial rainforest
– Impeded in transportation and communication
• French is predominant in most states except Sao
Tome and Principe
• The most underdeveloped region in this realm
• Resources
– Copper (Democratic Republic of Congo)
– Timber, oil (Gabon, Cameroon)
– Gold, manganese and uranium
HORN
OF
AFRICA
Includes
Old
Kingdom
of Kush
(Ethiopia)
EAST AFRICA
Lies astride the equator
Mainly highlands
Cooler and generally
drier conditions prevail
Ethnic diversity
EAST AFRICA - Kenya
•
•
•
•
•
•
Dominant state in region
Capitalist approach to development
Nairobi (3.0 million)
Coffee, tea, tourism revenues
Swahili is the lingua franca
1980s - world’s fastest growing
populations
SOUTHERN AFRICA
This is a region; it’s not
the same as “South
Africa” – the country.
10 countries
(Madagascar? See pg
322)
6 landlocked states
Northern zone marks
limit of Congo basin
Plateau country
Rich in natural
resources
Agricultural diversity
SOUTH AFRICA
(the country)
SOUTH AFRICA