Africa Global 9 Mrs. Hart, - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Africa

Global

9

Mrs. Hart,

Mrs. Costello

Mrs.

Suto

,

Ms.

SoddanoSlide2

Geography

2

nd

largest continent

1/5 of Earth’s land surface

Varied geographic features.Slide3

Climate Zones

Dry steppeRain Forest – less than 5% of the land

Savanna- grassy plains

Desert- Sahara (largest in the world), Kalahari, Namib

Fertile farmland- Mediterranean coast of North Africa, and tip of South AfricaSlide4

Limitations to movement

Very large coast line with few good harbors

Much of interior is high plateau

●

Cataracts (steep waterfalls) and rapids

hinder travel between the coast and

the interior.

Obstacles to MovementSlide5

Migration

Great Rift Valley of East Africa served as a gateway into the interior of the continent with many navigable rivers. It was also home of the Earth’s earliest people.Slide6

Migration

The Sahara was not always desert. It began as fertile land in the Nile Valley. Neolithic farmers cultivated crops and domesticated animals. Climate change dried the land and the desert spread (desertification) Slide7

Affects of desertification

People were forced to find new areas to live.

They migrated across Africa.

They adapted to many climates and developed a diversity of cultures:

Nomadic cattle herders.

Farmers of grain and root crops.

Great empires in farming regions.Slide8

North Africa

Early civilizations had strong ties to the Mediterranean world. One of the most powerful was Carthage.

Carthage- gained its power and wealth from trade.

It was founded by Phoenician traders and developed a large empire with

outposts

( distant military stations in France and England) Slide9

Roman Rule

Territorial and trade rivalries

developed between Carthage

and the Roman Empire.

Rome crushed Carthage in

the Punic Wars.

Roman achievements:

*Built aqueducts, roads,

bridges and cities across North Africa. *Developed farmland.

*Imported exotic wildlife for gladiator matches.*Used North Africans as Roman soldiers.

*Spread Christianity Slide10

Arabs in North Africa

Arab Armies brought

Islam to North Africa.

At first they occupied cities and battled the Berbers in the desert.

Later they joined forces

and conquered Spain.

Islam replaced Christianity, and Arabic replaced Latin.

North Africa continued to be a global trade center and Muslim culture spread.Slide11

West Africa

By 100 AD, people had migrated from North Africa and settled in villages along the Senegal and Niger Rivers around Lake Chad.

A trade network developed, linking the savanna to forest lands in the south across the Sahara to Mediterranean.

Salt as well as gold were important

commodities

, or valuable products, dominated trade. Salt was considered valuable because people who didn’t have it, needed it to

survive.Slide12

Ghana “Land of Gold”

Ghana, between the Senegal and Niger Rivers, controlled the gold-salt trade.

Muslim merchants brought Islamic faith to Ghana as well as military technology, ideas about government, written language, coinage, business methods, and style of architecture.Slide13

Mali

In 1312, Mansa Musa came into power, expanding Mali’s borders and conquering cities in the north.

He worked to insure peace and order throughout the empire.

He converted to Islam, and made a pilgrimage to Mecca. He showered his wealth on cities he passed through .

He traveled with a caravan of more than 500 slaves and 100 camels laden with gold. As a result of his travels, cultural diffusion occurred.

The city of Timbuktu became a leading center of learning .Slide14

Songhai

Sonni

Ali founded and ruled the empire called Songhai, which emerged when Mali fell apart.

After he died,

Askia

Muhammad set up a Muslim dynasty, improved the government, and made a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Civil war and the invasion of Moroccan armies using gunpowder weapons, caused the downfall of the Songhai empire, which then splintered into many smaller kingdoms.Slide15

Other Kingdoms of West Africa: Hausa

Founded in the fertile northern lands of modern-day

Nigeria.

They probably

migrated to this region when the Sahara dried

out and became farmers

and

traders.

They developed independent city-states which became thriving commercial centers. Slide16

Kano

Most prosperous of Hausa

city-states was Kano.

It had a 14

mile circumference,

and more

than 30,000

people.

Islam was the main religion.They Developed own written language based on

Arabic.Many leaders were women.

Slide17

Benin

Benin arose south of the

savanna in the rain

forest off of Guinea

coast.

Farming

villages appeared and they

traded

pepper, ivory, and later slaves.An oba, or

king, was the chief political and religious leader.They were known for decorated and

elaborate brass and bronze plaques and sculptures.Slide18

Trade Routes of East Africa: Axum

Axum’s people were descendants

of

farmers

and traders who

brought

Jewish religious

traditions

through Arabia.Its two main cities were Adulis on the Red Sea, and the capital city of Axum.Their location

commanded a triangular trade network that connected Africa to India through

the Arabian Sea to the Mediterranean world.They developed a unique written and spoken

language.Slide19

Spread of Christianity

Through cultural diffusion goods and ideas

spread.

Christianity took hold through Axum, North

Africa,

and Mediterranean

world.

Most of the continent at that time followed

Islam.As Islam spread, Christian Axum became isolated from

the trade network, and civil war and economic decline weakened the kingdom.Slide20

Ethiopia

Descendants of Axumites

were able

to maintain

their independence in part due to the unifying power of their Coptic Christian faith.

Axum saw itself as

a

Christian outpost

for centuries in protected mountain territories.Christians maintained close ties with the Holy Land, while adapting traditional East African drum music and dances that became part of their ceremoniesSlide21

East African City-States

Trading cities rose along the coast of East

Africa.

Arab and Persian merchants established trading

communities.

Slaves captured inland were traded to Persian

traders.

A new

language emerged- Swahili, a mixture of Arabic, Bantu, and African.