This document goes through the features, history, and future of Africa. It is very useful for KS3 and GCSE. It talks in detail about past events and current situations that Africa has dealt with or is dealing with currently.
Africa
Challenges -
Every human being has originated from Africa.
Between 1 and 2 million years ago first human species appeared in Africa and had
spread around the world.
2nd largest continent by area and population
1.2 billion people
54 countries
1500 languages
rich in natural resources
Physical Landscape -
Surface on the land is made up of very old, stable, hard rocks.
The whole continent mostly lies on one big tectonic plate.
Great Rift Valley in East Africa forms due to constant tectonic activity
As there are no other plates that Africa resides on, there are few mountain belts
created with the exception of the Atlas Mountains in the North
Sahara, world hottest and largest desert dominates North Africa
Some of the longest rivers can be found on this continent.
Past Vs Present
Before 1860, Africa had a rich culture and history.
o It was divided into 1000 smaller Kingdoms with their own unique languages
and cultures
Between 1600s - 1800s, 12 to 15 million Africans were sold into slavery.
Europeans bought West Africans in exchange of goods and so a unique trade system
known as the triangular trade was established across the Atlantic Ocean.
After Slavery was abolished in 1833, Europeans found a new way to exploit Africa,
through colonisation many British explorers such as David Livingstone reported
essential findings.
As the industrial revolution developed in Europe, nations were eager to exploit natural
resources and cheap labour.
This period in which many European nations claimed different parts of Africa was
known as the ‘Scramble for Africa’.
o During Berlin conference in 1884 - 85 the nations divided the continent among
themselves
, o Gave little thought to the existing ethnic groups present and any rebellions by
the Africans were destroyed.
History of Slave trade is in History Notebook as well!
How developed are African Countries?
Aid Agency of Oxfam conducted a survey of 2,000 people across UK, half of them
had various perspectives of Africa such as - poverty, famine, hunger.
While few mentioned growth, business, education or beautiful landscapes
What Causes Poverty?
1. Location:
Without being closer to a coastline, it would be tough for a country to trade.
Mali, 5th largest country is landlocked, meaning opportunities for growth and
development are low.
Per capita are amongst the lowest in the world.
1. Climate:
In extreme climates, it can be tough to grow crops making food supply unreliable.
1978-1998, Ethiopia, suffered 15 droughts, famines, affected over 1 million people.
1. Natural Hazards:
Many countries experience earthquakes or volcanoes.
Those countries would spend time and money on rebuilding and recovering from the
damage caused making it tough to escape from poverty.
persistent flooding in Bangladesh
1. Access to Education and Healthcare:
lack of education can result in people struggling to opt for skilful jobs and is harder to
maintain higher standards of hygiene and health.
2015, 89% of malaria cases were in sub-Saharan region of Africa where 2/3 of deaths
were of children under the age of 5 years old
1. Gender Equality:
When women don’t have equal rights as men, meaning a country is not using its
complete workforce.
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