Everything+Africa

= =

=Introduction =

Human Origins
 * === It is a common view of many scientists that origin of human life can be traced back to the continent of Africa . ===
 * === Homo sapiens, a scientific term for human beings, then spread to Europe and Asia, and eventually the Americas. ===
 * === Human life most likely started in central East Africa around 200,000 years ago. ===
 * === The earliest homo sapiens are believed to have lived in what is now Ethiopia . ===



Geography ** 
 * 

=== It is surrounded by the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and it is also surrounded by the Red Sea , and the Mediterranean Sea seperates Africa from Europe ===

Climate:

 * === Tropical climate in the rainforests ===
 * === The three largest rivers in Africa are the Nile River, the Congo River , and the Niger River ===

The two major deserts in Africa are:

 * === The <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Sahara Desert, which is the largest desert in the world ===
 * === The <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Kalahari Desert ===

Africa also has a smooth coastline with few natural harbors, and this hinders trade
= = =<span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(3,10,252); font-size: 200%;">Ancient Civilizations =




 * <span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(255,5,5); font-size: 150%;">Egypt **



<span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-size: 21px; line-height: 21px;">
 * The Nile had predictable flooding.
 * ** In <span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">July the Nile <span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">floods.<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 21px; line-height: 21px; font-weight: normal;"> **
 * <span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">** in <span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">October the Nile River <span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">recedes **
 * <span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">** The Nile leaves behind a rich deposit of fertile black mud called <span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">silt . **


 * === The Nile River flows <span style="font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 32px; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">north . ===

<span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 32px;"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 32px;">
 * The river area in the south is called <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Upper Egypt
 * To the north, near the Mediterranean Sea, is <span style="font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 32px; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Lower Egypt


 * === Around 3000 B.C. a king named <span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Narmer united Upper and Lower Egypt. ===


 * Narmer created his capital, <span style="font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 32px; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Memphis, near the spot where Upper and Lower Egypt met.


 * === In Egypt, the kings were considered gods. The Egyptian god-kings were known as <span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">pharaohs . ===


 * === The Egyptians' government was a <span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">theocracy, which is a government where rule is base on religious authority. ===


 * ** A period of time lasting from 2660 to 2180 B.C. is known as the <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Old Kingdom . **
 * The resting place for the kings of the Old Kingdom was an extraordinary structure called a <span style="font-size: 21px; line-height: 32px; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">pyramid.
 * === The Egyptians were <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">polytheistic, and the most important gods were Re, the sun god, and Osiris, god of the dead. ===
 * === They also believed in <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">after-life, and they believed that they would be judged for their deeds when they died. ===
 * ** Egyptians’ bodies were preserved by <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">mummification . **
 * Mummification involves <span style="font-size: 21px; line-height: 32px; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">embalming and drying the corpse to prevent the body from decaying.
 * === The social class structure was not very rigid: lower and middle-class Egyptians could gain higher status through marriage or success in their jobs. ===

> <span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-size: 21px; line-height: 21px;">
 * === The Egyptians had a flexible writing system called <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">hieroglyphics . ===
 * === They invented a writing surface called <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">papyrus . ===
 * ** An Egyptian accomplishment was their <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">calendar **
 * The Egyptians developed a calendar to keep track of the time between floods.


 * Egyptians were also advanced in the field of <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">medicine.


 * ** Egyptian doctors also used <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">surgery to treat some conditions. **
 * === The power of the pharaohs declined at about <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">2180 B.C., marking the end of the Old Kingdom. ===

media type="youtube" key="5deWh4W7Nl0" height="505" width="640"
 * <span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(255,15,15); font-size: 150%;">Nubia **
 * === Nubia was a hotspot of the <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Neolithic Revolution ===
 * === New technologies from the Neolithic Revolution helped the progression of culture in Nubia ===
 * === By <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">2300 BC, Nubia was ruled by a group of small kingdoms. There was no central Nubian kingdom at the time ===
 * === Nubia was critical in the development of <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Northeastern-African economy, trading <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">gold and <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">ivory with Egypt. ===
 * === Egyptians were fascinated by the black skin and <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">negroid features of the Nubians. ===


 * Egyptian interests in Nubia resulted in occupation of many parts of Nubia
 * By 1070 BC, a new kingdom of <span style="font-size: 21px; line-height: 32px; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Kush was established, and was sustained its decline around the year 450 AD
 * === The Kush kingdom is famous for its architecture ===


 * <span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(255,15,15); font-size: 150%;">Aksum **


 * === Located in Northeastern Africa, The <span style="font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-weight: normal;">Asksum Empire was established around 100 A.D. ===
 * === Aksum was the first empire to convert to <span style="font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-weight: normal;">Christianity, previously practicing polytheism ===
 * === Regional tradition states that located in Aksum is the <span style="font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-weight: normal;">Ark of the Covenent ===
 * === The Aksum Kingdom was also known as " <span style="font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-weight: normal;">Ethiopia ," a name still used today ===
 * === The Aksum Empire fell around the year <span style="font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-weight: normal;">960 ===




 * <span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(255,15,15); font-size: 150%;">Ghana **


 * === By 200 A.D., trade across the Sahara was infrequent because of all the harsh desert conditions ===
 * ===<span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Traders began to use the <span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">camel <span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">, and the camel could travel more than ten days without water. ===
 * ** These new trade routes crossed through the region farmed by the <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Soninke People. **
 * The Soninke people called their rulers “ <span style="font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 32px; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Ghanas ,” which became the name of the empire


 * The <span style="font-size: 21px; line-height: 32px; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">gold-salt trade was a major part of the Ghana Empire.
 * Gold came from a forest region between the <span style="line-height: 32px; font-size: 21px; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Senegal and <span style="line-height: 32px; font-size: 21px; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Niger rivers
 * === There was <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Islamic influence in Ghana, which spread throughout the Ghana Empire through trade. ===
 * The Ghana Empire was eventually conquered by the Muslim <span style="font-size: 21px; line-height: 32px; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Almoravids of North Africa.
 * in 1240 it was completely taken over by the <span style="font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 32px; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Mali Empire.


 * <span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(255,15,15); font-size: 150%;">Mali **
 * === Also, major trade routes shifted eastward because miners found new <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">gold deposits farther east. ===


 * === This allowed the people of Mali to become very wealthy, and it also made it possible for them to gain power in <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">1235 . ===


 * ===<span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Sundiata was Mali’s first great leader who took power from getting rid of the despised leader before him. ===


 * === Sundiata became Mali’s Musa, or ruler. ===


 * === Sundiata also established the capital <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Niani ===


 * === After Sundiata died in 1255, Mansa Musa rose to power. ===




 * Mansa Musa was emperor from <span style="font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 32px; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">1312 to 1332.
 * A great military leader, and he kept Mali well protected and enhanced the gold-salt trade


 * === Mansa Musa went on a <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">hajj to <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Mecca in 1324. When he came back in 1325, he conducted the building of many mosques in the trading cities of Timbuktu and Gao. ===
 * === Timbuktu ended up becoming one of the most popular trading cities of Mali ===
 * ===<span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Ibn Battuta, a famous traveler and historian, went to Mali in 1352. Mali’s justice system and lack of crime impressed him tremendously. ===
 * === In the 1400s the Mali Empire declined because successors of Mansa Musa did not govern well. ===


 * <span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(255,15,15); font-size: 150%;">Songhai **


 * === Songhai was located in East Africa from around the year <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">1340 to 1592 ===
 * === One of the largest African empires in history, Songhai was named for its prominent ethnic group, the Songhai ===
 * === A <span style="font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 32px; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">civil war in the 1590s, in addition to European aggression, marked the end of the Songhai Empire ===

//<span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(0,128,0); font-size: 110%;">A Brief Overview of Songhai: // media type="youtube" key="4lMnIf0neZc" height="433" width="547" = = =<span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(0,9,219); font-size: 200%;">Culture in Africa =


 * <span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(255,15,15); font-size: 150%;">Animism **<span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(255,15,15); font-size: 150%;">
 * ===<span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Animism is the belief in which there are spirits in animals, plants, and other natural forces. ===
 * === Many Animists make offerings to their dead relatives, and they hope that the spirits of their ancestors will bring them good fortune. ===
 * === Animists also go to <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Shamans (medicine men) and witch doctors because Animists believe that they have a special understanding of the spirit world. ===




 * <span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(255,15,15); font-size: 150%;">The Nok People **
 * === Located around <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Nigeria from 500 BC to 200 AD, the Nok were a fascinating and advanced people. ===
 * === The Nok are commonly known for their advanced sculptures, called <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">terracotta : ===


 * === The terracota were commonly based upon people. The Nok used iron to sculpt them. ===
 * === The Nok terracota were discovered in 1928 by the British while tin mining in Nigeria. ===


 * <span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(255,15,15); font-size: 150%;">Bantu **
 * === The small groups of people that spread their language and culture while moving south throughout Africa are referred to as the <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Bantu-speaking peoples. ===
 * === Historians believe that they were related to the Nok peoples. ===
 * === From about 3000 B.C. - A.D. 1100, there were many Bantu migrations, during which the Bantu-speaking peoples spread their skill of iron-working. ===

The causes of the Bantu migrations were:

 * === Once they developed agriculture they were able to produce more food than they obtained before with hunting and gathering. This led to an increase in population of West Africa. ===
 * === Since there was a larger population, more food was required, and more food requires more land. ===
 * === Since the northern Africa was too populated, the Bantu migrated to the south. ===

The effects of the Bantu migration were:
=<span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(1,0,184); font-size: 200%;">The Atlantic Slave Trade =
 * === When the Bantu speakers went into hunter-gatherers’ lands, territorial wars broke out. ===
 * === The Bantu people easily won because they had iron-tipped spears, opposed to only stone weapons. ===
 * === The Bantu people influenced the cultures around them by showing the other cultures new farming techniques, and they brought iron technology with them as well. ===



<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 150%;">
 * <span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(255,15,15); font-size: 150%;">Causes **
 * ===<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal;">When the Europeans colonized the Americas they used a Native Americans " <span style="font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-weight: normal;">encomienda <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal;">" system for cheap labor. ===
 * ===<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal;">In the Americas the Europeans brought diseases such as <span style="font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-weight: normal;">smallpox <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal;"> and the <span style="color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal;">measles <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal;"> with them. ===
 * ===<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal;">When too many Natives were dying, there was a large demand for more workers for plantations in the Americas. ===

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal;">There were many advantages that the Europeans saw in the Africans. These advantages were:
<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 150%;">

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 150%;">
 * ===<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal;">There was a very low chance that the Africans would run away and escape from the plantations, as Africans did not know the area. ===
 * ===<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal;">Many Africans built up immunity towards European diseases because many of the Africans were already exposed to them ===
 * ===<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal;">Many Africans already had experience in farming ===


 * <span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(255,15,15); font-size: 150%;">Slavery Throughout the World **<span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">

<span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(255,15,15); font-size: 150%;">
 * === The transatlantic slave trade was beneficial to nations all over the world. ===
 * === Portugal was the first to legalize slavery, doing so in 1444. By 1552 Black Africans made up 10% of Portugal’s population. This has had significant impact on Portugal’s diverse population. ===
 * === Slavery was legal and commonly practiced in England and all 13 of its American colonies, influencing American history ===


 * <span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(255,15,15); font-size: 150%;">Consequences **


 * === The number of Africans in Portugal has had significant impact on Portugal’s diverse population. ===
 * === African slaves freed from the Americas settled in the American colony of <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Liberia, soon declaring independence as a nation. ===
 * === European slave-traders in Rwanda diversified the community into <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Hutus and <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Tutsis, setting the stage for segregation and genocide into the 20th century. ===
 * === African slaves were faced with European diseases like <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">smallpox, which they could sometimes not fend off. ===

media type="youtube" key="dLaYAkM5KD8" height="505" width="640" =<span style="color: rgb(19,1,249); font-size: 200%;">Scramble for Afr<span style="color: rgb(19, 1, 249); font-size: 36px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 54px;">**ica: Imperialism in Africa** =


 * <span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(255,15,15); font-size: 150%;">Great Britain **


 * In 1869 the French finished the <span style="font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Suez Canal in Egypt, quick route to India.
 * In 1882 the British took complete control of Egypt to hold onto Indian intrests
 * === Great Britain also took over South Africa in 1877. The British did this because <span style="font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-weight: normal;">Cape Town was a crucial stop on the way to India. ===
 * === Great Britain also annexed other areas of Africa like areas around the Niger River. ===


 * <span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(255,15,15); font-size: 150%;">France **


 * === In 1830, France set an expedition to attack pirates in Algiers. ===
 * === France quickly became involved in imperialism in North Africa. ===
 * === By the 1880s, France had gained control of all of Algeria, and in 1882 took over Tunisia to prevent it from falling to Italy ===
 * === In addition, France took over <span style="font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">West Africa, the <span style="font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Congo , and <span style="font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Madagascar . ===




 * <span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(255,15,15); font-size: 150%;">Germany **


 * === Otto von Bismark of Germany pursued an imperial policy, which was quite different from his traditional political motives. ===
 * === In 1884, Germany declared empires in Southwest Africa ( <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Namibia ), Togoland the Cameroons, and East Africa ( <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">Tanazia ). ===
 * === None of these German imperialist areas were of great worth or strategically important ===
 * === Bismark merely used these colonies to protect Germany's location in Europe ===
 * === Colonies were used chiefly to improve <span style="font-size: 150%; font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 128, 128);">diplomatic relations in Europe. ===




 * <span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(255,15,15); font-size: 150%;">Belgium **


 * === In 1871 <span style="font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-weight: normal;">Henry Stanley found David Livingstone in Africa after Livingstone went missing. ===


 * === Stanley then traveled Africa himself and traced the course of the Congo. ===




 * ===<span style="font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-weight: normal;">King Leopold II from Belgium was very interested in conquering the Congo and he hired Stanley to help him. ===
 * === From 1979 to 1882, Stanley and he signed treaties with local chiefs. ===
 * === Leopold had companies in the Congo that would seriously <span style="font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-weight: normal;">abuse the Africans. ===
 * ===<span style="font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal;">These companies brutally <span style="font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-weight: normal;">exploited <span style="font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal;"> the African by forcing them to collect sap from rubber plants. ===
 * === At least <span style="font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 128, 128); font-weight: normal;">10 million Congolese died from the terrible abuse brought upon them during Leopold’s rule. ===

<span style="text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(255,15,15); font-size: 150%;">Berlin Conference

The key players at this conference were:
<span style="display: block; text-align: center; font-size: 150%; color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Britain <span style="font-size: 21px; color: rgb(20, 3, 196); text-align: center; display: block;"> France Spain Portugal Italy Germany Belgium


 * === Whatever there was left of the slave trade would be destroyed ===
 * === The Congo and Niger rivers were international waterways ===
 * === Christianity should be brought upon all of the Africans ===
 * === Traders and missionaries have access to the interior parts of Africa ===


 * 1) === Make a public announcement of claim ===
 * 2) === Effectively occupy the territory ===
 * 3) === Extend control of the territory from the coast to the interior ===
 * 4) === Negotiate a treaty with the local peoples of the territory, which would constitute a claim to sovereignty. ===