SUB-SAHARA AFRICA

GLOBAL STUDIES

HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Slave Trade
African Diaspora: refers to

communities throughout the

world that are descended
from the historical
movements of Africa.
example: African-

Americans & Afro-Cubans

caused mainly through

the Atlantic Slave

Trade / Triangular Trade

HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Slave Trade
Most slaves in Africa were war captives.
By the time Europeans arrived in Africa in the 1400 and

1500s, the slave trade was a well-established feature in

African society.

As disease reduced the native populations in Spanish

conquered territories, the Spanish began relying on

imported slaves from Africa

By the 1520s, the Spanish had introduced slaves to

Mexico, Peru, and Central America where they worked

as cultivators and miners

HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Slave Trade
Captured slaves were brought to castles or forts on the

coast.

They were kept in dungeons to break their spirit and

to prepare them for the sail to the New World.

Each dungeon held hundreds of slaves.

They ate, slept and defecated in the same place.
Cape Coast and Elmina Castle (Ghana)
Door of No Return

Name___________________
Global Studies
Directions: Color each African country using the color that corresponds with its colonial ruler. If an African country
was colonized by two colonial rulers, then color it in stripes, using the colors for all colonial rulers related to your
country. Example: If a country was colonized by the United Kingdom and France, then color half the country dark green
and half the country dark red.
African Country
1. Algeria
2. Angola
3. Benin
4. Botswana
5. Burkina Faso
6. Burundi
7. Cameroon
8. Central African Republic
9. Chad
10. Democratic Republic of the Congo
11. Republic of the Congo
12. Cote dIvoire (Ivory Coast)
13. Djibouti
14. Egypt
15. Equatorial Guinea
16. Eritrea
17. Ethiopia
18. Gabon
19. Ghana
20. Guinea
21. Guinea-Bissau
22. Kenya
23. Lesotho
24. Liberia
25. Libya
26. Madagascar
27. Malawi
28. Mali
29. Mauritania
30. Morocco
31. Mozambique
32. Namibia
33. Niger
34. Nigeria
35. Rwanda
36. Senegal
37. Sierra Leone
38. Somalia
39. South Africa
40. Sudan
41. Swaziland
42. Tanzania
43. Togo
44. Tunisia
45. Uganda
46. Western Sahara
47. Zambia
48. Zimbabwe

Colonial Ruler
1. France
2. Portugal
3. France
4. United Kingdom, Germany, The Netherlands
5. United Kingdom, France
6. Germany, Belgium
7. United Kingdom, France
8. France
9. France
10. Belgium
11. France
12. France
13. France
14. United Kingdom
15. Spain
16. United Kingdom, Italy
17. Never colonized
18. France
19. United Kingdom
20. France
21. United Kingdom
22. United Kingdom , Germany
23. United Kingdom, Germany, The Netherlands
24. Never colonized (founded by United States)
25. Italy
26. France
27. United Kingdom
28. France
29. France
30. France, Spain
31. Portugal
32. Germany, South Africa
33. France
34. United Kingdom
35. Belgium
36. France
37. United Kingdom
38. United Kingdom, Italy
39. United Kingdom, Germany, The Netherlands
40. United Kingdom
41. United Kingdom
42. United Kingdom
43. Germany, France
44. France, Italy
45. United Kingdom
46. France
47. United Kingdom
48. United Kingdom

MAPPING
COLONIAL AFRICA

Episode One

Name___________________
Global Studies

What were the Motivations Behind 19th century Imperialism?

Directions: Examine each of the following documents about the reasons for 19th century imperialism, then answer the
questions that accompany them.
Part A: What were the economic motivations for 19th century imperialism?
Industrial
Revolution
and the Birth
of Capitalism

The Industrial Revolution was the period in which the production of goods shifted from hand
production methods to complex machines. During the Industrial Revolution, capitalism, an
economic system with the goal of generating profit and wealth took root. Industrialized nations
sought to increase their profit, wealth and power.
In order to continue industrializing and turning a profit, industrialized European nations needed
many things, but two main needs were located outside of Europe. The first need was for raw
materials. Raw materials are the basic material that is used to produce goods such as coal, cotton,
iron, oil, rubber, or metals. Without these raw materials, factories cannot produce goods and
cannot turn a profit. Many of these raw materials are not available in European nations.
Industrialized nations began to look to other regions for the raw materials that were not available
at home. The second need created by the Industrial Revolution was the need for reliable markets.
A market is an area or arena where goods can be bought and sold. Many factory producers were
producing a lot of goods, however, they were producing so many goods that there were more
goods than people to buy them. Their markets were oversaturated. In this case, consumer demand
slowed and this led to economic depressions. Industrialized European nations sought other
markets to absorb or buy the excess supply of their goods.

M O T I V AT I O N S O F
IMPERIALISM
WORKSHEET

How might the Industrial

Revolution and the birth
of capitalism motivate
countries to dominate
other countries or
regions?

Part B: What ideas motivated 19th century imperialism?

Nationalism

Nationalism is a strong feeling of pride in ones country. During the 19th century, this sense of
pride often came from believing that ones nations far surpassed other nations in economic
success and political might.

How might feelings of

nationalism motivate
countries to dominate
other countries or
regions?

HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Imperialism
The Opening up of Africa
Economic Needs: A need for raw materials that were not domestically

available and those raw materials were abundant in Africa.

Social Darwinism: Only the strongest nations survive and only the

strongest nations have colonies in Africa.

Adventure: Inspired by stories of Dr. Livingstone, people wanted the

excitement of adventure.

The white mans burden: Europeans felt that they needed to civilize

the rest of the world and convert everyone in Africa to Christianity.

"Take up the

White Man's burden

Send forth the best ye breed

Go, bind your sons to exile

To serve your captives' need;

To wait, in heavy harness,

On fluttered folk and wild

Your new-caught sullen peoples,

Half

devil and half child."

HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS
King Leopold II & Congo
In the early 1880s, King Leopold II of

Belgium paid for expeditions to the the

Congo in the center of the African continent.
He claimed that, millions of men still

plunged in barbarism will be at the dawn

of a better era.
More interested in Congos copper,

rubber and ivory.

He forced the locals to work for almost

nothing and had them killed and

tortured if they complained or
disobeyed.

A village which refused to provide rubber would be

completely swept clean. As a young man, I saw a
soldier, then guarding the village of Boyeka, take a
big net, put ten arrested natives in it, attach big
stones to the net, and make it tumble into the
river.... Rubber caused these torments; that's why we
no longer want to hear its name spoken. Soldiers
made young men kill or rape their own mothers and
sisters.
several children had laughed in the presence of a
white man, who then ordered that all the servant
boys in town be given fifty lashes. The second
installment of twenty-five lashes was due at six
o'clock the next morning. Lefranc managed to get
these stopped, but was told not to make any more
protests that interfered with discipline.

HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Berlin Conference (1884)
European countries met in Berlin, Germany

to negotiate the conquering of Africa.

No African country was present.

Ethnic lines were ignored- African

History was ignored.

the result of the Conference was a

method of dividing the continent of

Africa between the European powers.
By 1914, Europeans controlled 90% of

Africa

We have been engaged in drawing lines upon

maps where no white mans foot has ever trod.
We have been giving away mountains and rivers
and lakes to each other, only hindered by the small
impediment that we never knew exactly where the
mountains and rivers were.

HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Effects of Imperialism

2. Cultural Diffusion (+/-)

1. Breakdown of African
traditional values

3. Infrastructure

2. Loss of culture

4. Religion

3. No attention to ethnic
boundaries

1. Opened up the continent

5. Medicine
6. Technology

4. Disputes over land claims

7. New Markets for goods/

products

5. Dependence on Europe
6. Racism

HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS
The first new nation in Africa south of the Sahara was the

Gold Coast, which became Ghana in 1957.

Led by a socialist Kwame Nkrumah
used non-violent strategies (positive action) towards

independency.
In 1960, Nkrumah declared Ghana a republic and himself

president for life in 1964.

Pan-Africanist
He was deposed in 1966 by a military coup. He later died

in exile in Romania in 1972.

HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS
In East Africa, Kenya gained independence after an

armed rebellion.
A group called Mau Mau, began attacking white

settlers
The British jailed Kikuyu spokesman Jomo Kenyatta,

who had long called for nonviolent resistance.

Violence continued on both sides.
In 1963, Kenya achieved independence.
Kenyatta became the first president of Kenya.

HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Nigeria, the most populous nation in Africa,

gained independence in 1960.

Discovery of oil in 1963 gave hope for a

better future

The nation has faced military coups and

ethnic rivalries.

Today, the Islamic Fundamentalist group

Boko Haram has been responsible for

Church bombings, executions, and tortures
throughout Northern Nigeria.
Boko Haram advocates creating a

Nigerian theocracy and separate state in

the North

Why have conflicts plagued

some African countries?

National unity was hard to achieve for

many African nations. Most included
diverse ethnic groups, languages, and
religions. At times one ethnic group
dominated a nations government and
economy at the expense of other groups.

HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS
American Civil Rights Movement
Inspired by African Independence Movements
Varied political ideologies some advocated the use of

violence (Malcolm X), while others were nonviolent (Martin

Luther King)

Overall movement saw blacks linked in a global struggle for

rights and self-determination

Marcus Garvey, urged American Blacks to be proud of their

race and preached their return to their ancestral homeland,

Africa.
Pan-Africanist

 this double-consciousness, this sense of always

looking at ones self through the eyes of others, of
measuring ones soul by the tape of a world that
looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever
feels his two-ness,an American, a Negro; two
souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings;
two warring ideals in one dark body, whose
dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn
asunder..
W. E . B . D U B O I S ( S O U L O F B L A C K F O L K )

Roots vs Routes
Where one is from

How one got there

In the case of African-Americans, when

identifying black identity, WHICH is more
important?
How would Marcus Garvey view this debate?

Roots vs Routes
Where one is from

How one got there

Therefore, Marcus Garvey envisions an imagined

homeland in which COULD reject him.
*Marcus Garvey never actually went to Africa!

HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS
The struggle for freedom

in South Africa was

different than elsewhere.
South Africa gained its

independence in 1910
as a white-ruled nation.
In 1948, the existing

racial segregation was

expanded into the
system of apartheid.

Under apartheid, a strict set of laws existed.

Everyone
was registered
by race.

Blacks were treated

like foreigners in their
own country.

Black

White
Colored (mixed ancestry)

Asian

Needed permission to travel

Received low wages and inferior

schooling

Could not own land in most areas

HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS
It was claimed that
apartheid allowed each
race to develop its own
culture.

In reality, blacks
were kept uneducated,
segregated, and in
poverty.

The real purpose of apartheid was to keep control and wealth

for the white citizens, who made up just 20 percent of the
population.

HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Opposition to apartheid was led by the

African National Congress (ANC).

The ANC organized peaceful marches,

boycotts, and strikes.

In 1960, police fired on a peaceful

protest in Sharpeville, killing 69

people.

After Sharpeville, the ANC began

armed opposition

ANC leader Nelson Mandela was

imprisoned.

HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS
World opinion turned against apartheid.
Many nations, including the U.S.,

imposed economic sanctions on

South Africa to pressure the
government to end apartheid.
South Africa was banned from the

Olympic games and many

entertainers refused to perform there.
Black South African bishop Desmond
Be nice to whites, they need you to
rediscover their humanity.

Tutu received the 1984 Nobel Peace

Prize for his nonviolent opposition.

HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS
In 1990, South African president F.

W. de Klerk agreed to end

apartheid.
In 1994, Mandela was freed from

prison and elected president in

the nations first multiracial
election.
He peacefully worked with old

enemies.
Expectations were high, but

progress toward economic

equality has been slow.

Name_____________________
Global Studies

Nobel Peace Prize Speech

Nelson Mandela
December 10, 1993
Oslo, Norway

A N A LY Z I N G
MANDELA
WORKSHEET

I am indeed truly humbled to be standing here today to receive this year`s Nobel Peace Prize.
I extend my heartfelt thanks to the Norwegian Nobel Committee for elevating us to the status of a Nobel Peace Prize
winner.
I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate my compatriot and fellow laureate, State President F.W. de
Klerk, on his receipt of this high honour.
Together, we join two distinguished South Africans, the late Chief Albert Luthuli and His Grace Archbishop Desmond
Tutu, to whose seminal contributions to the peaceful struggle against the evil system of apartheid you paid well-deserved
tribute by awarding them the Nobel Peace Prize.
It will not be presumptuous of us if we also add, among our predecessors, the name of another outstanding Nobel Peace
Prize winner, the late African-American statesman and internationalist, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
He, too, grappled with and died in the effort to make a contribution to the just solution of the same great issues of the day
which we have had to face as South Africans.
We speak here of the challenge of the dichotomies of war and peace, violence and non-violence, racism and human
dignity, oppression and repression and liberty and human rights, poverty and freedom from want.
We stand here today as nothing more than a representative of the millions of our people who dared to rise up against a
social system whose very essence is war, violence, racism, oppression, repression and the impoverishment of an entire
people.
I am also here today as a representative of the millions of people across the globe, the anti-apartheid movement, the
governments and organisations that joined with us, not to fight against South Africa as a country or any of its peoples, but
to oppose an inhuman system and sue for a speedy end to the apartheid crime against humanity.

82% POPULATION LAND OWNERSHIP 87%

Nonwhite

White

White

Nonwhite

13%
18%
STUDENT TO
T E A C H E R R AT I O
60:1

22:1

NONWHITES

WHITES

APARTHEID

1948
SOUTH
$ 696

$ Spent per
student

AFRICA

$ 45
Nonwhites

NONWHITES

WHITE

20
% of WEALTH

80

82%
Nonwhite

POPULATION
White

18%

APARTHEID

1948
SOUTH AFRICA

LAND OWNERSHIP

Nonwhite

13%

White

87%

APARTHEID

1948
SOUTH AFRICA

20
% of WEALTH

80

APARTHEID

1948
SOUTH AFRICA

$ 696

$ Spent per student

$ 45
Nonwhites

NONWHITES

WHITE

APARTHEID

1948

SOUTH AFRICA

STUDENT TO TEACHER
R AT I O

60:1

NONWHITES

22:1

WHITES

Emancipate yourself from mental slavery.

MARCUS GARVEY & BOB MARLEY

HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS

geno- -cide
(race, class)

(killing)

*Greek*

*Greek*

HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Historic resentments and unjust governments fed

ethnic violence in several African nations.

Rwanda had two rival groups, the Hutus and

the Tutsis.

Tensions worsened until 1994 when Hutu

officials urged people to murder their Tutsi

neighbors.
typically murdered their victims by hacking

them with machetes

The victims were often hiding in churches

and school buildings

At least 800,000 Tutsis and moderate

Hutus were slaughtered.

HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Darfur
The largest country in Africa,

Sudan has been in near

constant conflict since its
independence.
Sudans borders

encompass many ethnic

and religious groups
North: Arab, Muslim
South: African, Christian

HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Darfur
rebel groups began fighting the

government of Sudan, which

they accused of oppressing
Darfur's non-Arab population.
the government responded

to attacks by carrying out a

campaign of ethnic cleansing
against Darfur's non-Arabs
350,000-400,000 people had

been killed either from violence,

malnutrition, and disease.

HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS

In the afternoon we returned from school and saw the planesThen they
began the bombing. The first bomb [landed] in our garden, then four
bombs at once in the garden. The bombs killed six people, including a
young boy.
-Taha, age 13 or 14

ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS
Resources
Africa is rich in mineral resources such as gold

(Ghanas previous name: Gold Coast), diamonds,

and alloys.

Timber is limited to countries with tropical

rainforests.

Countries on the coast have fish.

Some countries have large amounts of arable land.

ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS
Resources
Diamonds
Blood diamonds (also called

conflict diamonds) is a term used

for a diamond mined in a war zone
and sold to finance an insurgency.

Some countries in Sub-Saharan

Africa export oil such as Nigeria,

Gabon, and Angola.
Nigeria is a member of OPEC, the

Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries.

ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS
Plantation Farming
Sub-Saharan Africa does

have plantation farming,

which are large farms that
employ many people.
These farms grow cash
crops such as:
Tea, Cocoa, Palm Oil

ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS
Somalian Piracy
Piracy off the coast of Somalia started with fisherman

defending their territory

After the Somali government collapsed in 1991 other

nations started fishing and dumping toxic waste in

Somali waters

The local fisherman would board the foreign vessels

and demand a fee

Now, piracy is Somalias biggest source of income

bringing in nearly $200 million annually

ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS
Large semi-industrial cities with limited infrastructure.
Tro-tros
Taxis
Busses

Name_______________________
Global Studies

Exploring Africa
Directions: You and your partner have been chosen to explore and represent a region of the continent of Africa. After you
learn about the cultural universals of your region, you will find a creative way to share them with your classmates. When
youre finished, youll get to take a tour of the other regions of Africa!
To begin exploring, go to www.pbs.org/wnet/africa/explore/index_flash.html and click on the name of your
region. Use the chart below to keep track of the information you find while you are exploring:

Name of region:

Countries in the region:

Exploring
Africa
Worksheet

Climate & Geography:

Religions & Belief Systems:

Science, Technology, &

Communication:

Economics:

Daily Life:

Art & Music:

Architecture:

Government & Social

Structure:

C U LT U R A L C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S
In Africa the three major

religions are Traditional

Beliefs, Christianity, and
Islam.

Traditional beliefs may

include worship of
ancestors, spirits, gods,
animals, land, inanimate
objects, and/or natural
phenomena.

C U LT U R A L C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S
Arabic culture was first

spread in the Middle East

beginning in the 2nd
century as ethnically Arab
Christians began migrating
into the Northern Arabian
desert.

The Arabic language gained

greater prominence with the

rise of Islam in the 600s

C U LT U R A L C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S
Ashanti, or Asante, are a major ethnic group in

Ghana.
Prior to European colonization, the Ashanti

people developed a large and influential empire

in West Africa.
Today Ashanti number close to 7 million people

(roughly 30% of the Ghanaian population.)

C U LT U R A L C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S

Bantu is the name of a large

category of African languages

across Central Africa.
These peoples share a

common language family

sub-group, the Bantu
languages,

C U LT U R A L C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S
Swahili is the first language of

the Swahili people.

Although only 5-10 million

people speak it as their native

language, Swahili is the official
working language of the African
Union.

The language evolved through

contact between Arabic-speaking

traders and many different Bantuspeaking peoples.

C U LT U R A L C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S
Diseases
Tropical climate creates

incubator for disease

Poverty spreads disease:

polluted water, open sewers,

bathing in parasite infected
water, & poor medical care
Ebola, Guinea worm, Aids,

Malaria

C U LT U R A L C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S
Traditional music in much of the continent is passed down

orally.

Dance and Music extremely important to most of Sub-

Saharan Africa

Kplanago (traditional) ; Azonoto (modern)

Masks and wood carvings are common throughout most of

West Africa
Festivals

Kente Cloth

C U LT U R A L C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S
Foods
Often eaten with hands
Spicy, with lots of

vegetables

Meats are for the wealthy

or guests and are

considered extremely
important

Nkate Stew w/ mo

Fufuo

Red Red (kk)

Fried Eggs & Vegtables w/

Plantain

Bofrot / PuffPuff

Fried Plantain

FanIce

Water Vender