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West Africa

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Congo Basin Rain Forest. Tsetse Fly. Savanna. Sahara Desert. Nigeria/economy. One of the world's major oil producing countries ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: West Africa


1
West Africa

2
Nigeria/geography
  • Gulf of Guinea coast is covered with mangrove
    swamps
  • Inland vast tropical rain forest
  • Forest gradually thins into savannahs in central
    Nigeria
  • In the winter, harmattan winds blow south from
    the Sahara

3
Mangrove Swamps
4
Congo Basin Rain Forest
5
Tsetse Fly
6
Savanna
7
Sahara Desert
8
Nigeria/economy
  • One of the worlds major oil producing countries
  • Government has used money from oil to build
    schools, highways, skyscrapers, factories
  • 1/3 of people lack jobs live in poverty
  • People mainly work as subsistence farmers
  • Nigeria is leading producer of cacao beans used
    to make chocolate cocoa

9
Cacao Beans
10
People of Nigeria
  • Has more than 300 ethnic groups
  • 4 largest Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, Ibo/ English
    is used in business government
  • 60 of people live in rural villages
  • Abuja capital, Lagos largest city
  • Earliest people of this Region Nok
  • Great Britain took control by 1900s
  • Became independent in 1960
  • After independence, Ibo people tried to set up
    own country/ civil war resulted starvation
    conflict led to 2 million deaths/ Ibo were
    defeated

11
Sahel Countries
  • Niger
  • Chad
  • Mali
  • Burkino Faso
  • Mauritania

12
The Sahel
13
Sahel Countries
  • All located in area known as Sahel
  • Receives little rainfall, only short grasses
    small trees grow can grow
  • Most people have traditionally herded livestock/
    sometimes animals overgraze and strip the land
    bare
  • Dry wet periods follow each other/ if seasonal
    rains do not come, drought results
  • AD 500-1500, 3 great African empires arose in the
    Sahel Ghana, Mali, Songhai
  • Empires controlled trade in gold, salt, other
    goods between W. Africa SW Asia-N. Africa

14
Sahel History
  • Early 1300s, Mansa Musa made a grand journey to
    Makkah-holy city of Islam
  • Mansa Musa was faithful Muslim
  • Musa made Timbuctu capital leading center of
    Islamic learning/ People from all over the
    Islamic world came to study there
  • Invaders from North Africa defeated the Songhai
    in late 1500s last of great empires
  • Sahel came under French rule/ French made 5
    colonies

15
Mansa Musa
16
Great Mosque at Timbuktu
17
Africa Salt Trade
  • Salt is essential for Life, every person contains
    about 8 ounces of salt in their body/ People lose
    salt when they sweat
  • African salt was traded for many items gold,
    ivory, slaves
  • Salt trade grew with camel caravans/thousands of
    camels caravans carried tons of salt across the
    desert
  • Local kings placed taxes on salt payable by
    gold for caravans crossing their realms
  • 3 great empires gained great wealth from salt
    trade

18
African Salt Trade
19

Salt Caravan
20
Sahel Countries Today
  • 1960, Sahel colonies all became independent
    countries
  • Sahel people are mostly subsistence farmers
  • Religion Mostly Muslim
  • Mostly live in small towns
  • Mali Burkino Faso are two of the poorest
    countries in the world
  • Mixture of African, Arab, European traditions

21
Ghana
  • First of the trading states/ emerged in the Niger
    valley grasslands/ Between Sahara tropical
    forests/Modern Ghana is just east of the
    location
  • Most people were farmers who lived in villages
  • Ghana kings were strong, wealthy rulers
  • To protect kingdoms, Ghana kings had a well
    trained army of thousands of soldiers
  • Ghana prospered from gold iron products
  • In exchange, Muslim merchants brought textiles,
    horses, metal goods, salt
  • Salt important for preserving spicing food/
    needed to replace lost body salt in hot climate

22
Ghana
  • Ghana eventually exported ivory, ostrich
    feathers, hides, slaves
  • Exchanging goods was done by silent trade At a
    boundary line, no foreigner was allowed in/
    foreigners would place goods leave, Ghana would
    then leave gold leave, if one side was not
    happy with exchange then they would leave it
    suppliers would replenish with more
  • Berbers nomadic people who were main traders on
    the camel caravans
  • Kingdom was weakened by wars collapsed in 1200

23
Mali Kingdom
  • Arose to replace Ghana/ established by Sundiata
    Keita in 13th century
  • Sundiata captured Ghana capital in 1240/ united
    people created strong government
  • Empire extended from Atlantic coast to trading
    center of Timbuktu
  • Mali built power on salt gold trade
  • Most people were farmers/ lived in villages with
    local rulers

24

25
Mali Kingdom
  • Mansa Musa rich powerful king of Mali
  • Musa encouraged the growth of Islam, study of the
    Quran, ordered mosques built
  • Pilgrimage to Mecca is legendary/ Gave gold to
    the host everywhere he went, purchased items from
    merchants with gold/ Put so much gold into
    circulation that it lost its value
  • Most famous mosque Sankore mosque in Timbuktu
  • Made Timbuktu center of Islamic learning
  • Imported scholars books to spread the word of
    Allah

26
Mali Kingdom
  • Ruled from 1307 to 1337/ doubled Malis size/
    created strong central government
  • Musa was last powerful leader of Mali
  • By 1359, civil war divided Mali

27
Songhai Kingdoms
  • Niger River provided rich soil for farming
    raising cattle
  • Established southeast of Timbuktu
  • 1009, Kossi converted to Islam established Dia
    dynasty/ prospered around the main trading center
    of Gao of Songhai
  • Sunni Ali expanded Songhai created the Sunni
    dynasty in 1464
  • Ali spent most of his time on military campaigns/
    able to gain control Timbuktu Jenne which gave
    Songhai control of trading empire

28
Sunni Ali Expanded Independent Songhai
29
Muhammad Ture Ruled Songhai At Its Height
30
Songhai Kingdom
  • Empire reached its height under Muhammad Ture
    devout Muslim who overthrew Alis son in 1493
    created the Askia dynasty
  • Ture created an empire that stretched a thousand
    miles along the Niger River
  • Ture created strong central government with local
    provinces under the control of appointed
    governors
  • Songhai cities prospered under Ture
  • Songhai empire came to an end after Tures death
  • Morocco came to occupy it by the 16th century

31
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32
Coastal Countries of West Africa
  • Gambia
  • Senegal
  • Guinea
  • Guinea Bissau
  • Cape Verde
  • Liberia
  • Sierra Leone
  • Cote dIvoire
  • Ghana
  • Togo Benin

33
Coastal Countries
  • Border the Atlantic Ocean/ receive plenty of
    rainfall
  • Rain forests have been damaged along the densely
    settled west coast/ forests have been cleared to
    make space for palm, coffee, cacao, rubber
    plantations
  • Ancient Ghana was prosperous empire located on
    trade routes/ ad 700 1200/ located on headwaters
    of Niger Senegal rivers/ knew how to make iron
    weapons
  • Ashanti Abomey kingdoms ruled from late 1400s
    to 1800s/ kingdoms were centers of trade,
    learning, arts/

34
Rubber Plantations
35
Coastal Countries
  • European slave trade became a major source of
    income for west African kings
  • French, British, Portugese set up colonies to
    obtain rich resources of the region/ all were
    independent by 1970s
  • Europeans traded with Africans for gold, ivory,
    etc.

36
Portuguese Fort in Mombasa
37
People of the Coastal Countries
  • Ghana
  • - Rich in bauxite diamonds
  • Senegal
  • - Important source of phosphate fertilizers
  • Liberia
  • - Only west African country that was never a
    colony
  • African Americans freed from slavery founded
    Liberia in 1822
  • Sierra Leone
  • created as a home for freed slaves/ British ruled
    1787-1961

38
People of the Coastal Countries
  • Cote d Ivoire(Ivory Coast)
  • 1400s to 1900s European trade of ivory Elephant
    tusks/ today ivory trade is illegal
  • Ghana
  • Has 100 ethnic groups
  • Many ethnic groups keep their local kings, but
    have no real political power/ are ceremonial
    leaders
  • Lake Volta Worlds largest artificial lake

39
Lake Volta
40
Ivory Trade
41
Slave Trade
  • Many African states kingdoms sold people as
    slaves to Europeans Americans
  • Most slaves were prisoners of war sold into
    slavery
  • After development European sailing ships, Slave
    trade became important source of wealth for
    kings
  • The removal of so many skilled people devastated
    West African families, villages, economies

42
Slave Trade
43
Atlantic Slave Trade
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