South Africa

1
South Africa
2
The Land

• South Africas mainland Botswana, Lesotho,
  Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Zambia,
  Angola, Malawi.
• South Africas islands Madagascar, Seychelles,
  Comoros, Mauritius
• Varied terrain. Forests, Kalahari and Namib
  deserts, grasslands on large plateau
• Platinum, uranium, gold, iron, diamonds
• The Kimberley Diamond Mine

3
The Land 2

• Zambezi (Victoria Falls) main river
• Prevailing winds blow off shore. Keep Namibia
  coast dry.
• Moist air from Indian Ocean blows west. Gives
  eastern South Africa humid subtropical climate
• Drakensburg Mts. create rain shadow for Kalahari

4
Cultures

• Long history of migration creates diversity
• 75 of South Africans are black
• Whites are Dutch (Afrikaners), German, British,
  French
• Blacks are Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi, Ndebele, Temba,
  Pondo
• Mostly Christians. Some Islam, Hindu, animism
• Most widely spoken language of whites is
  Afrikaans.

5
Economy

• Most are subsistence farmers
• Raise sorghum, cassava, corn
• Manufacturing 2nd largest employer
• South Africa richest country, most industrial
• Produce cars, buses for Africa
• Ecotourism creates jobs

Cassava
Sorghum
6
Early History

• Khoisan first inhabitants, then Bantu farmers
  from West Africa 2,000 years ago with iron tools
• Shona built Great Zimbabwe, stone-walled capital,
  in late 1,000s. Traded gold.
• 1400s Europeans looked for route to Asia
• Portuguese found Cape of Good Hope
• 1652 Dutch built Cape Town, started slavery.
• British, French, German also settled. Descendants
  known as Boers
• Afrikaans language combined European, Khoisan,
  Bantu tongues

7
Later History

• 1800s Great Britain took over. Forced Boers
  inland
• Zulu dominated inland but British won battle
• British empire outlawed slavery so traded ivory
  tusks, gold, diamonds

8
Apartheid

• Early 1900s South Africa government made
  apartheid the law. (Next image click video)
• Blacks, Coloreds, Asians lived in poor homelands,
  travel restricted.
• Those working in city formed township slums
• Opposed by African National Congress 1912
• Apartheid outlawed 1992. Nelson Mandela
  president. (Next image click video)

9
Culture

• Hundreds of ethnic groups
• Many languages. Most related to Khoisan (clicking
  sounds) or Bantu
• English official language in Namibia, Zimbabwe.
  Portuguese in Mozambique
• Religion is Christian, traditional beliefs

Tswana of Botswana
10
Todays Issues

• Many infected with HIV/AIDS. 1 million Zambians.
  Life expectancy is 40 (Next image click video)
• Poverty, unemployment due to droughts
• South Africas 3,000 GDP highest in region, but
  still black-white gap
• Zimbabwe in economic collapse. Dictator Robert
  Mugabe took land from whites
• Wildlife tourism growing

11
Madagascar Physical Geography

• 4th largest island in the world
• Separated from mainland Africa millions of years
  ago
• 12,000 plant species. 80 percent of wildlife
  native only to Madagascar, such as the lemur.
  (Click next image video)
• Coastal plain rises to interior mountains
• Only 5 percent of land is farmed sugar cane,
  vanilla, cassava, beans, bananas, cloves, coffee
• Logging is deforesting the country

12
Madagascar Political Geography

• Indonesians came on outriggers around 700 A.D.
  and mixed with Bantus from East Africa.
• French controlled it 1890-1960. Now have republic
  with power-sharing government
• Once called Malagasy Republic
• Malagasy Mythology and Christianity main
  religions
• Not wealthy country. Coffee exports and tourism
  have dropped.

13
South Africa Physical Geography

• 3 times the size of Texas
• Vast plateau in center. Drakensburg Mountains
  east, Kalahari north, Namib to west, Great
  Escarpment (cliffs) south.
• Highveld (coarse grassland) occupies most of
  plateau. Mining, wheat, corn
• Top gold and diamond exporter in world. Has 80
  worlds platinum.

14
South Africa Political Geography

• Iron-working tribes from Central Africa moved
  here in 1500s. (Khoi, San)
• 1652 Dutch established trading post at Cape of
  Good Hope.
• British invaded 1815 and drove Dutch inland where
  they fought with British and native Zulus. Black
  South Africans lost all land and independence by
  late 1800s.
• 1910 Union of South African states and apartheid
  became law
• 1991 end of apartheid. 1994 Nelson Mandela first
  black president.

15
Zimbabwe Physical Geography

• Lies on high plateau, tropical with mild climate
• Landlocked
• Slightly larger than Japan or Montana
• Victoria Falls straddles the border with Zambia.
  Borders South Africa.

16
Zimbabwe Political Geography

• Walled city of Great Zimbabwe settled around 1000
  A.D.
• 1888 natives gave mining rights to English
• English crushed Shona and Ndebele and became
  British colony of South Rhodesia in 1923
• Independence as Rhodesia 1965 but world
  sanctioned because blacks had no power
• Free elections 1979 brought president (dictator)
  Robert Mugabe to power. Land redistribution to
  blacks ruined the economy. Now one of poorest
  nations on earth with lowest life expectancy
• (Picture with chickens to follow will
  automatically begin a video)