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How Africa Got Its Name.mp4
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Use the amazing resource of Google Maps to explore Africa!
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Below are videos of specific countries. If you have extra Internet and time, these are amazing videos to learn about specific countries in Africa!
Below are videos of specific countries. If you have extra Internet and time, these are amazing videos to learn about specific countries in Africa!
A region is an area of the world that is grouped together because of shared characteristics. People often divide the continent of Africa into five different regions, though not everyone agrees on the exact borders of each region.
People live diverse lifestyles across the regions of West and Central Africa! Some live in small villages and others in giant cities.
Greetings from West and Central Africa!
If you travel to different places in the world, it is important to know at least a few key phrases from the local language. Here are some ways that people in West and Central Africa say "hello!":
To say "hello" in Wolof, the most widely spoken language in Senegal, you say "Salaam aleekum!"
To say "hello" in Hausa, a language spoken by millions of people in northern Nigeria, you say "Sannu!"
To say "hello" in Sango, one of the official languages of the Central African Republic, you say "Balao!"
To say "hello" in Guinea-Bissau Creole, you could say "Bon dia!"
People live many different lifestyles in West and Central Africa. People also speak many different languages!
In West and Central Africa, often a country's official language is not the same as the language that most people in the country speak to each other. This is because most West and Central African countries used to be controlled by European empires. This system of control was called colonialism.
Why did Europeans wants to control Africa?
There were several reasons. Territories in Africa could give European companies more opportunities for trade. They could provide Europeans with important natural resources that Europe didn't have, such as copper, rubber, diamonds, and tea. European rulers also hoped that controlling more territories would make them more powerful than their rivals.
What about Liberia?
The country of Liberia was never controlled by Europeans. It was founded by a group of Americans who wanted former African American enslaved people to move there.
Many African American people didn't agree with the idea of leaving the United States. But about 13,000 African American people moved to Liberia, and they and their descendants formed a new, independent country.
Most countries in West and Central Africa gained their independence from European rulers in the mid-20th century.
How do West and Central African countries celebrate independence?
Independence day celebrations take many forms across West and Central Africa! Below are a few examples. If you celebrate United States Independence Day on the fourth of July, what traditions do you participate in?
West and Central Africa are home to diverse peoples, languages, and cultures. These regions also have diverse climates. Climate is the pattern of weather in a place over a long period of time.
Diverse species of animals have adapted to live in all the different climates of West and Central Africa. Just a few are described below. What animals have adapted to live in the environment around you?
Fennec foxes have sandy-colored fur that helps them to blend into the sandy Sahara. Their big ears are not just good for hearing; they also release body heat to keep the foxes cool in the hot desert.
Dorcas gazelles are well suited to semi-desert areas such as the Sahel. They can go their entire lives without drinking water if they have to! They get their water from the shrubs they eat, which are common across the Sahel.
West African Buffalo graze on savanna grasses but live close enough to forests to relax and keep cool in the shade and marshes. They live in herds to help protect themselves from savanna predators such as cheetahs.
African forest elephants are sometimes called "forest gardeners." When an elephant eats fruit, the seeds inside pass through its digestive system. The seeds are released in the elephant's droppings at a new location.
There are four main environments in West and Central Africa. The Sahara stretches across most of northern Africa. It is the largest hot desert in the world! The hot, dry region known as the Sahel covers the area between the Sahara and the savanna. Savanna regions receive more rainfall, although they also have a dry season. Finally, at the heart of the continent near the equator is Africa's tropical rainforest. This area has a wide variety of animals and lush, green plants.
The desert sea
Some people compare the Sahara to a sea. In medieval times, cities located in the Sahel, just south of the Sahara, were like ports to the desert sea. Port cities on the edges of actual seas or oceans often became important centers of trade, such as Genoa, Italy, or Calicut, India. Similarly, the cities that were "ports" to the Sahara Desert became the key points of trade for merchants traveling across the Sahara from around 800 CE to 1600 CE. These cities became wealthy and powerful as a result.
Can you think of any other similarities between the Sahara and an ocean?
Each environment in West and Central Africa presents unique advantages and disadvantages to the people who live there.
Nature's pharmacy
Tropical rainforests around the world are home to incredible biodiversity, meaning variety of plant and animal life. In Central Africa's tropical rainforest, there are more than 10,000 species of plants! Many of these plants have important medicinal properties. Here are just a few examples of how people from Central Africa use tropical plants for medicine:
Sap from the stem of the Costus lucanusianus plant is used to treat sore throats and coughs, while sap from the leaves can soothe irritated eyes.
In Côte d'Ivoire, some people use the leaves from young Impatiens irvingii plants to treat diseases people get from parasitic worms.
Many parts of the Voacanga africana have medicinal uses: some people make a paste from the roots to kill lice; others eat the seeds to treat high blood pressure.
Although people live in every environment in West and Central Africa, some environments have climates that are more habitable, or easier to live in, than others.
Where do the most people live?
Nigeria is the most densely populated country in all of West and Central Africa. In fact, in 2017 it had the seventh largest population in the world! Nigeria is about twice as big as California, but almost five times as many people lived there in 2017! There are many factors that contribute to the population density of Nigeria, but two big factors are the climate and the country's access to bodies of water such as rivers and the ocean.
Does anyone live in the Sahara?
Yes! The Sahara is one of the least inhabited places in the world, but some people still live there. These people mostly live in small, nomadic groups, traveling to find water to drink and patches of grass for their animals to graze on.
Regular rainfall can make it easier for humans to raise crops and animals. But rain isn't the only source of water that populations need! Around the world, the biggest cities are usually located near big bodies of water such as oceans and rivers.
All over the world, there are different natural resources, or materials found in nature that humans can use.
Petroleum: one resource, many uses
Many useful products are produced from petroleum. In fact, petroleum is so useful that it is one of the most valuable resources in the world! But it also has downsides: countries often have conflicts with each other over petroleum, and the process of getting and refining petroleum has a negative impact on the environment.
The gasoline or diesel that fuels many cars comes from petroleum.
The frozen foods you buy are often packaged with wax made from petroleum.
You might walk or drive on streets paved with asphalt, another petroleum product.
When certain countries have more of a natural resource than other countries do, they can export, or sell, that resource to other countries. Exporting resources can be a way for governments to make money.
Medieval empires of gold
Centuries ago, medieval West African empires became rich from gold found in the area that is now Mali. From around 800 CE to 1600 CE, the empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai each grew wealthy and powerful by taxing the gold trade with other societies across the Sahara. One ruler of the Mali Empire famously brought 100 camel loads of gold on a religious journey to the city of Mecca!
In 1375, a European mapmaker represented Mali on a map by drawing Mali's ruler with a gold crown and coin.
Even though West and Central African countries are home to valuable natural resources, many of these countries are not wealthy. Read the passage that explains one big reason why:
When European countries began colonizing Africa, their main goal was to control African natural resources. European governments and companies made a lot of money from African resources, but their activities often hurt the African environment and the people who lived in the places they controlled.
When African countries gained independence, newly formed African governments did not have very much money. One way for African governments to bring money into their countries was to get foreign companies to do business in their countries. Powerful foreign companies agreed to do so, but only if African governments promised not to impose many rules and restrictions on their activities. As a result, these companies were allowed to export African resources while paying very little in taxes to African governments. So, even after colonialism ended, many of the profits from African resources have still gone to foreign businesses instead of going to African countries themselves.
Pockets lined with diamonds
In addition to losing money when profits from natural resources go mostly to foreign companies, some West and Central African countries have also suffered from corrupt leaders. Corrupt leaders gain wealth and power from their country's resources without helping the people of their country.
West and Central African governments are working to overcome the economic challenges they face as a result of colonialism. One way that they have done so is by participating in the African Union.
The African Union is an international organization, or an organization that brings leaders from different countries together to find solutions to the problems they share.
How did the African Union start?
In the 1960s, as many African countries were gaining independence, some leaders of newly independent countries wanted to find a way to bring all African nations together to overcome shared challenges. They formed the Organisation of African Unity in 1963, bringing together the 32 African countries that were independent at that time.
Over the years more and more countries joined. Then in the early 2000s, leaders decided they needed a new organizational structure, so they replaced the OAU with the African Union.
The African Union, also called the AU, has taken many actions in West and Central Africa in order to work towards its goals for the African continent.
West and Central Africa are two large regions that together are made up of about 25 countries. These regions are home to hundreds of different languages and many different lifestyles and cultures.
There are also diverse climates across the regions. People live in every climate, but most people live in the fertile savanna. The savanna climate has open space and enough rain to raise crops and animals to sustain large populations.
Many valuable natural resources are located in West and Central African countries. European countries have unfairly benefited from these resources through a system called colonialism. Most countries in West and Central Africa were under colonial rule until the 1960s and '70s.
Although West and Central African countries are still negatively impacted by colonialism, they are working together to overcome shared challenges. One way they are doing so is by joining international organizations such as the African Union.
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