What do you really know What do you really know about this mysterious about this mysterious

continent?continent?

Satellite Satellite ImageImageof Africaof Africa

Online Africa Map Gameshttp://www.ilike2learn.com/ilike2learn/africa.html

http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/afrquiz.html

http://www.maps.com/games/africa.html

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/African_Geography.htm

What might Africa bring to What might Africa bring to mind?mind?

The Africa of The Africa of HollywoodHollywood

Many common Many common but incorrect but incorrect ideas about ideas about Africa have Africa have come from come from popular films popular films such as the such as the Tarzan Tarzan movies.movies.

Tarzan on TVTarzan on TV

Africa is the 2nd largest continent in the world, next to Asia.

Africa is HUGE!Africa is HUGE!

Africa is about 4 times the size of the United States.Africa is almost an island.

Egypt connects to Asia.There are 53 countries on the continent of Africa.

Mt. Kilimanjaro is the Highest Peak in Africa

The SaharaThe Sahara

The Nile, World’s Longest The Nile, World’s Longest RiverRiver

There are about There are about 900 million 900 million people living in people living in Africa.Africa.

These people These people are from many are from many different ethnic different ethnic groups.groups.

The SanThe San

The San are the bushmen of Africa

Pygmies of the Ituri Forest in Congo

The The WatusiWatusi– World’s World’s

Tallest Tallest PeoplePeople

– Can be over Can be over 7 feet tall7 feet tall

– Well-known Well-known for dancingfor dancing

The Malgache (or Malagasy The Malgache (or Malagasy People) of MadagascarPeople) of Madagascar

The Malagasy People are a Mix of Asian, Arab and African

Let’s take a look at the Let’s take a look at the children in Africa.children in Africa.

They like to play...

dress up…and read!

Just like you!

Here are some of the books Here are some of the books they read. they read.

They are all written in a language called Afrikaans.

Afrikaans is one of many languages spoken in Africa.

Look at this school in Africa!Look at this school in Africa!

These students go to school in a mud & stick hut.

Not all children go to such Not all children go to such schools! Look at these kids.schools! Look at these kids.

This boy is working at his desk.These boys have to wear uniforms to school.

Children in Africa are even Children in Africa are even involved in other activities.involved in other activities.

This is a group of children singing in a choir.

Children in Africa love to play Children in Africa love to play sports just as much as you do!sports just as much as you do!

Boy’s football

Girls’ Football

Some Some children children have to have to

make their make their own balls.own balls.

This ball is being made with paper and string.

Homemade balls are just as fun!

The Great Rift ValleyThe Great Rift ValleyGreat Rift Valley Great Rift Valley

photophotoVolcanic eruptions caused the earth to sink into a flat plain

creating the Great Rift Valley. It is one of

Kenya’s characteristic features and divides the country in half, from north to south,

with stunning panoramas and

beautiful escarpment backdrops.

Northern Northern Section of Section of the Great the Great Rift Rift ValleyValley

Who’s in the Great Rift?Who’s in the Great Rift?

Click Picture for video

The MasaiThe Masai

Cattlemen of the Great Rift Valley

Tending their cattle

The Masai believe the voice is the best instrument.

Was the Great Rift the “Cradle Was the Great Rift the “Cradle of Man” ????of Man” ????

Mary Leakey was the archeaologist who found “Lucy” , a the nearly 40% complete skeleton of an Australopithecus afarensis specimen discovered in 1974. Lucy is believed have lived 3.2 million years ago. In 1994, a new hominid, Ardi, was found, pushing back the earliest known hominid date to 4.4 million years ago, although details of this discovery were not published until October 2009.[6]

Reconstruction of “Lucy”

Powerful AfricanKingdoms existed until the 19th Century.

Some Powerful African Kingdoms

The Songhai Kingdom was the Most Powerful Kingdom in West Africa by 1492

AFRICAN KINGDOMS In Africa, towns soon became part of an important trade network. Gold and salt were the most important products traded. People needed salt in their diets to prevent dehydration. There was plenty of salt in the Sahara but there was little in the savanna. The people of the Savanna traded the plentiful gold of their region to obtain salt from the Sahara. Strong African leaders created powerful kingdoms by gaining control over most of the profitable trade routes. Three trading kingdoms of West Africa were Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. The trading kingdom Axum thrived in East Africa. Over time, Islam became an important social and religious force, particularly in North Africa and West Africa.

3 Powerful West African

Trading Kingdoms:

GhanaMali

Sonhai

Ghana Around 800 AD the rulers of many farming villages united to create the kingdom of Ghana.

Ghana had a powerful king who ruled over a splendid court in his capital of Kumbi Saleh. Income from the gold trade allowed him to maintain a large army of foot soldiers and cavalry. The army helped the king to control and expand his kingdom.

Muslim merchants brought their religion when they settled in the kingdom of Ghana.

The king had Muslim officials and was influenced by Muslim military technology and ideas about government.

Ghana also absorbed Arabic writing and Muslim styles of architecture.

Women in Ghana had high status and played an active role in the economic life of the empire.

Ghana lays between the Sahara to the North and deep forests that spread out to the South.

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This location put these people in a

good position to trade in the region’s two main resources – gold

and salt.

SALT

GOLD

The exchange of gold and salt

sometimes followed a specific process call Silent Barter.

SILENT BARTER – a process in which people exchange goods without contacting each other directly.

Salt traders left slabs of salt on a riverbank, in exchange, gold miners

left what they thought was a fair amount of gold.

By 800, Ghana was in control of West Africa’s trade routes.

Nearly ALL

trade between northern

and southern

Africa passed through Ghana.

Expansion of the Expansion of the EmpireEmpire

Ghana’s kings used their great wealth to build a powerful Ghana’s kings used their great wealth to build a powerful army and conquered many of their neighbors, especially army and conquered many of their neighbors, especially ones that had centers of trade.ones that had centers of trade.

To keep order in the empire, conquered kings were To keep order in the empire, conquered kings were allowed to keep much of their power. They acted as allowed to keep much of their power. They acted as governors of their territories.governors of their territories.

The empire of Ghana reached its peak under The empire of Ghana reached its peak under Tunka Tunka ManinManin..

Tunka ManinKing of Ghana who ruled about 1068

All we know about Tunka Manin comes from the writings of a Muslim geographer who wrote

about Ghana.Tunka Manin was the nephew of the previous king, a man named Basi. Kingship and property in Ghana did not

pass from father to son, but from uncle to nephew. Only the king’s sister’s son could inherit the throne. Once he

did become king, Tunka Manin surrounded

himself with finery and many luxuries.

Main Idea 3:Main Idea 3: Ghana’s decline was caused by Ghana’s decline was caused by

attacking invaders, overgrazing, and attacking invaders, overgrazing, and the loss of trade.the loss of trade.

InvasionInvasion

– A Muslim group called the Almoravids cut off many A Muslim group called the Almoravids cut off many trade routes, without which Ghana could not support its trade routes, without which Ghana could not support its empire.empire.

OvergrazingOvergrazing

– When the Almoravids moved, they brought herds of When the Almoravids moved, they brought herds of animals with them.animals with them.

– These animals ate all the grass, leaving the land These animals ate all the grass, leaving the land worthless for farming.worthless for farming.

Internal rebellionInternal rebellion

– The people Ghana conquered rose up in rebellion and The people Ghana conquered rose up in rebellion and took over the entire empire.took over the entire empire.

Main Idea 1:Main Idea 1: The empire of Mali reached its height under the The empire of Mali reached its height under the ruler Mansa Musa, but the empire fell to invaders ruler Mansa Musa, but the empire fell to invaders

in the 1400s.in the 1400s.

Mali was located along the upper Niger River. The fertile soil Mali was located along the upper Niger River. The fertile soil helped Mali grow and control river trade.helped Mali grow and control river trade.

SundiataSundiata, Mali’s first strong leader, built up a strong army and , Mali’s first strong leader, built up a strong army and won back his country’s independence.won back his country’s independence.

He conquered Ghana and took over the salt and gold trades.He conquered Ghana and took over the salt and gold trades. He had new farmlands cleared for crops of beans, onions, and He had new farmlands cleared for crops of beans, onions, and

rice. He also introduced cotton as a new crop.rice. He also introduced cotton as a new crop. To protect his authority, he took power away from others and To protect his authority, he took power away from others and

adopted the title adopted the title mansamansa. .

Legend says – Mali’s rise to power began under the rule of Sundiata.

Sundiata was one of twelve brothers who were the children of a Mandinka

warrior. Samanguru was an especially cruel ruler,  who

ruled the small state of Kaniaga, but he managed to conquer a great deal of West Africa. His taxes were high, and he failed to maintain law

and order along the trade routes that once prospered in

ancient Ghana. Anyway, Samanguru killed eleven of

his brothers, but spared Sundiata because he

believed the boy would soon die anyway.

The griots of West Africa still tell the 700 year old story…..

Samanguru

That mistake would lead to Samanguru’s downfall. The ill child boy recovered and eventually

assembled an army to confront Samanguru. Sundiata’s forces killed Samanguru and destroyed

his forces in the Battle of Kirina in 1235.

Sundiata then became mansa, or king, of a new empire that we know today as Mali. Mali means “where the (grouchy) king resides. SUNDIATA

Sundiata proved himself a great warrior, but he was less interested in

power than in once again making West Africa a

safe place to travel and trade. He converted to

Islam, but only as a gesture of goodwill to the merchants and traders.

To his own people, Sundiata was a champion of traditional West African

religion.

Mali Mali was ruled by powerful kings called mansas.

Under Mansa Musa, the most powerful ruler, Mali extended its borders and dominated West Africa. Mansa Musa’s large army kept order in the empire and protected it from attack.

Although warriors were in an elite class in Mali, most of its people were farmers and herders.

Mansa Musa ran an efficient government, appointing governors to rule particular areas. He based his system of justice on the Qur’an, the Muslim Holy Book. He also made the city of Timbuktu a center of Muslim learning.

The empire declined in the 1400s when the people could not agree on a ruler.

Timbuktu

• He was Mali’s most famous leader, and he ruled from 1312 to 1337.

• Mali reached the height of its wealth, power, and fame in the 1300s.

• He added important trade cities to its empire, including Timbuktu.

• Islam was important to Musa, so he made a pilgrimage to Mecca.

• He influenced the spread of Islam through a large part of West Africa and had mosques built throughout his empire.

Mansa MusaMansa Musa• He stressed the

importance of education and learning to read the Arabic language.

• He sent scholars to study in Morocco. They came back and set up schools in Mali.

When Mansa Musa died there were no kings as powerful as he was to follow. The great kingdom of Mali weakened. Eventually a group of people known as Berbers came into the area and other people came up from the south to claim territory that was once part of the kingdom. Although Mali fell, another advanced African kingdom took its place, the kingdom of Songhay.

In 1324 Mansa Musa made a pilgrimage ( a journey to a holy place) to Mecca, which is a holy city in Arabia, with 60,000 servants and followers and 80 camels carrying more than 4,000 pounds of gold to be distributed among the poor. Of the 12,000 servants 500 carried a staff of pure gold. This showed his power and wealth to the other people he visited.

Mansa Musa was a Muslim, meaning he followed the religion of Islam. He built many beautiful mosques or Islamic temples in western Africa.

Perhaps the greatest king of Mali was Mansa Musa (1312-1337). He developed the gold and salt trade of Mali and his kingdom became very powerful and rich.

Mansa Musa: Greatest King of Mali

The Fall of The Fall of MaliMali

Weak rulers such as Maghan could not stop raiders, leading to the empire’s gradual decline.

Raiders from the southeast poured into Mali and set fire to Timbuktu’s great schools and mosques.

Invaders took almost all the lands of the Mali Empire by 1500.

Songhai (or Songhay) Like Ghana and Mali, Songhai depended on a strong army to control trade routes.

The emperor Sunni Ali built Songhai into the largest state that had ever existed in West Africa. He established an efficient bureaucracy to govern the kingdom. Trade spread to Europe and Asia.

Songhai prospered until the late 1500s when civil war broke out and caused the downfall of the kingdom.

Sunni Ali

Sunni Ali died in 1492 CE. His son took over the rule of Songhai but he did not accept Islam as a religion. Islam was accepted as a religion by many people in northern Africa. One of Sunni Ali’s generals, named Muhammad Ture, overthrew the new king and made himself king of Songhai. Ture was a follower of Islam (Muslim) and so he made Islam the religion of his kingdom.Songhai remained a rich and strong kingdom under Muhammad Ture’s rule. It had a complex government centered in the city of Gao, and great centers of learning. But later rulers were not as powerful. In the late 1500s, Morocco invaded Songhai to take its rich trade routes. Moroccans had a new weapon, the gun, and the army of Songhai did not. This led to the fall of Songhai.

Songhai

Ghana (800-1000) Mali (1200-1450) Songhai (1450-1600)Controlled trade in gold and salt across West Africa

Conquered kingdom of Ghana

Grew into largest West African state.

Women worked in business and government

Mansa Musa (1312-1337) became the greatest emperor

Controlled important trade routes

King had Muslim advisors

Mali controlled gold trade routes

Emperor set up Muslim dynasty

Timbuktu became a great trading city and center of learning

A powerful king named Sundiata ruled 1230-1255 AD. He led the people in conquering and expanding his kingdom

Mansa Musa

All three kingdoms of West Africa relied on trade for their strength and wealth

Timbuktu Gao

Jenne

Gold, Ivory, Wood, Slaves

Silk, Ceramics, Beads, Islam from Europe and Asia

Coming into West Africa

Coming from Africa and going to Europe and Asia

Salt

ORAL HISTORY A spoken

record of past events.

The task of remembering and telling West African’s history was entrusted to storytellers.

The storytellers of early West Africa were called a griot.

http://www.listenall.com/dembo_jobarteh.html

Griots helped keep this history alive for each new generation.

However, some griots confused names and event in their heads. When this happened, the facts of some historical events became

distorted.

Map showing European claimants to the African continent in 1913

Colonization of AfricaColonization of Africa

Literacy Around the WorldLiteracy Around the World

Percentage of Percentage of adults who are adults who are literateliterate

      83 to 100

      66 to 82

      48 to 65

      30 to 47

      10 to 29

Map of Map of LiteracyLiteracy in Africa in Africa

by by CountryCountry

Adult literacy by five-year age group

Disease in AfricaDisease in Africa

EbolaEbola MalariaMalaria

OnchoOncho

MalariaMalariaWest Nile VirusWest Nile Virus

Adult Adult HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS rates in rates in AfricaAfrica

Hunger in AfricaHunger in Africa