West Africa

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West Africa

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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

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Mangrove Swamps
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Congo Basin Rain Forest
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Tsetse Fly
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Savanna
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Sahara Desert
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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
  

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Cacao Beans
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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

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Sahel Countries

• Niger
• Chad
• Mali
• Burkino Faso
• Mauritania

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The Sahel
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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

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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

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Mansa Musa
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Great Mosque at Timbuktu
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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
  

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African Salt Trade
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Salt Caravan
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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

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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
  

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Sunni Ali Expanded Independent Songhai
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Muhammad Ture Ruled Songhai At Its Height
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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

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Coastal Countries of West Africa

• Gambia
• Senegal
• Guinea
• Guinea Bissau
• Cape Verde
• Liberia
• Sierra Leone
• Cote dIvoire
• Ghana
• Togo Benin

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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/

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Rubber Plantations
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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.

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Portuguese Fort in Mombasa
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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
  

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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

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Lake Volta
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Ivory Trade
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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
  

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Slave Trade
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Atlantic Slave Trade