12/30/2009

SUBSAHARAN AFRICA II
(CHAPTER 6: 304- 337)

Regions of Subsaharan Africa

Southern Africa
•10 countries:
Northern and
Southern Tiers

•6 landlocked
states

•Northern zone
marks limit of
Congo basin

•Plateau country

•Rich in natural
resources

•Agricultural
diversity

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South Africa

Johannesburg
On Location
Videos -
Cape Town
Durban

East Africa

•Lies astride the

equator
•Mainly highlands
•Cooler and
generally drier
conditions prevail
•Ethnic diversity

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• Dominant state in
region East Africa - Kenya
• Capitalist approach
to development
• Economy: coffee,
tea, flowers and
vegetables for
Europe, tourism
revenues
• Swahili is the lingua
franca
• Muslim ‘front’ along
the coast
People and Places Videos -
Kenya: Culture and Place

A. WinklerPrins

Nairobi (3.2 million)

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Equatorial Africa

•Astride the equator

•Mainly lowland
country
•Vast areas of
rainforest
•Environment is a
mixed blessing?

Equatorial Africa
• Delineated from
Nigeria by
physiographic as
well as cultural
breaks
• The Adamawa
Highlands
coincides with
the border
between British-
influenced
Nigeria and
French-
acculturated
Cameroon

Equatorial Africa • Dominated by Congo River

and Basin
– Equatorial rainforest
– Impeded in transportation
and communication
• French is predominant in
most states except São
Tome and Principe
(Portuguese)
• The most underdeveloped
region in this realm
• Extensive resources
– Copper (Democratic
Republic of Congo)
– Timber, oil (Gabon,
Cameroon)
– Gold, manganese and
uranium

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West Africa

West Africa
• Numerous small countries
• Differing colonial legacies
• Frequent north-south or
west-east differences
– Islamic ‘front’

Nigeria

• At independence, Nigeria was composed of

three regions (based on regional tribal bases
of the Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Ibo).

Hausa-Fulani Muslim
dominated
Yoruba
Colonial
Ibo Densely populated
development
rural areas

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• In 1967 interregional
rivalries led to civil
war when the eastern
region tried to
succeed as Biafra
• Regions were
subdivided and
rearranged to ensure
a civil war did not
occur again
• Currently - a federal
state under a military Nigeria
government
• Capital city moved
from Lagos to Abuja
– Forward Capital

African Transition
Zone

The Horn
of Africa

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SUBSAHARAN AFRICA II
(CHAPTER 6: 304- 337)