SSA - Human Geography Lesson

Human Geography

Human Geography: Kingdoms, Empires, and the Slave Trade

West Africa was home to a number of large empires that shaped the culture and people of present-day Africa. The Ghana Empire (790-1076 CE) was responsible for one of the early consolidations of power in West Africa. After the Ghana Empire came the Mali Empire (1230-1600 CE), which held major mining operations including gold, copper, and salt. The Mali Empire expanded to include the area along the Niger River and the western Atlantic coast, incorporating many smaller provinces or kingdoms.  

The Ashanti Empire (1701-1957) was located along the Atlantic coast in an inland region of what is now Ghana and the Ivory Coast. Taking advantage of its coastal lands, this region became a trade route through which goods from northern regions crossed to make their way to the Ashanti coastal trading towns. Gold, salt, copper, and ivory were important early trading commodities. Mining and acquiring these items brought enormous wealth to the region. Slaves, soldiers captured through warfare between groups, eventually became part of the coastal trade. The Ashanti became wealthy and maintained their wealth through trade. The slave trade became profitable and spread east of the Ashanti Empire where the Kingdom of Dahomey traded slaves for rifles and other firearms that they could use in future conflicts. Both the Ashanti and the Dahomey became despised by their neighbors as a result of selling their war captives into transatlantic slavery. Millions of Africans were captured, sold into slavery, placed on ships, and sentenced to a life of slavery in the Americas. It should be noted that slavery was not always the same as the slavery practiced in the colonial United States. The slavery in some parts of Africa was not for life and was more like indentured servitude.

Empires of West Africa

The coastal region of West Africa was called the Slave Coast because of the high number of people from this area who were sold into the European slave trade and shipped to the Americas. The western coast's geographic location put it near the areas desiring slaves. This impacted the type of trade that occurred and provides an explanation of why the trades did not occur on the eastern coasts of Africa.

In the east, early kingdoms such as the Axum flourished in the region that is now Ethiopia. The struggles between Islam and Christianity divided the region and gave way to the African Transition Zone, which serves as the dividing line between the two religions. Ethiopia has retained its Christian heritage, while to the north and east Islam has prevailed. South of the equator, the ruins of Great Zimbabwe give testimony to the regional base of power that existed there in centuries past. The Zulu Empire thrived in the nineteenth century in the region that is now South Africa. Unfortunately, the empires and kingdoms of Sub-Saharan Africa ended with the arrival of the colony-forming Europeans.

Colonialism in Sub-Saharan Africa 

In 1884, Otto von Bismarck of Germany hosted the Berlin Conference, which to a great degree determined how Africa was colonized. This conference included fourteen colonial European countries and the United States, and its purpose was to divide Africa and agree on colonial boundary lines. Germany had few claims in Africa; Bismarck was hoping to benefit by playing the other countries against each other. At the time, more than 80 percent of Africa remained free of colonial control. On a large map of Africa, claims were argued over and boundary lines were drawn according to European agreements.

The Europeans, seeking profits from cheap labor and resources, did not consider the local people or culture when drawing the boundary lines. The ill-conceived colonial boundaries divided close-knit African communities into separate colonies and placed often-warring groups together in the same colony. When conflict arose, the Europeans often employed brutal measures to subdue the local people. By 1900, European colonial powers claimed most of Africa. Only the Kingdom of Ethiopia and the area of Liberia, which was established as a home for freed slaves, remained independent.

Most of the current borders in Africa are a result of the Berlin Conference, and many of the political issues that confront Africa today can be traced back to this event specifically and to colonialism in general.

During colonial times, the European countries extracted raw materials and minerals from their African colonies. Showing little concern for the people of these colonies, the European countries invested little in the education or medical care of the Africans under their rule. They also did little to develop the infrastructure of the countries. Over time, the colonies became dependent on their European colonizers and failed to develop trade relationships with the surrounding countries. Colonial powers were intent on continuing this dependence so their colonies could be controlled and dominated. In effect, European colonialism isolated African countries from their neighboring countries and severely decreased the likelihood that unity within or among African regions would occur.

European colonialism remained strong in Africa until the end of World War II, which left many European countries economically exhausted. In 1945, the United Nations (UN) was established and was given the responsibility of overseeing the decolonization of Africa. The process lasted until the 1990s when the last colony was freed. The sudden withdrawal of the colonial powers and their government structures left the African countries to establish functional, effective governments of their own. The vacuum this created allowed authoritarian dictators to assume control of some countries. Unused to their new powers to self-rule, it was common for new leaders to form alliances with the old colonial power and to adopt the language and business arrangements of their former European colonizer. This gave them an advantage over their competitors and provided a means of income gained by the support of their former European colonial business partners, which often wanted to continue to exploit their former colonies' resources for economic profits. Then, to remain in power, many of these leaders used military force or authoritarian rule funded by the profits gained from selling their country's minerals and resources. Most of the former colonies have endured civil unrest, conflict, and warfare in their pursuit of creating stable governments. Despite all the negative issues, some relatively stable governments have emerged.

European Colonies in Africa, 1884 

The current wave of globalization based on corporate colonialism continues to discourage the trading and interactions between African countries. To begin to work together and promote trade, common transportation, security, and industry, fifteen West African states came together in 1975 to create the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Since then, additional political and economic agreements have been signed by various African countries. In 2001, the more expansive African Union was created to help African states compete in the international marketplace.

Human Geography: Modern Times 

The former Belgian colony of The Congo is nearly as large as the United States east of the Mississippi River and is a challenge to govern. The population—distributed between about 250 different ethnic groups and about as many languages—was estimated at about seventy million in 2010. The country experienced authoritarian rule from political leaders such as Mobutu who pillaged the country's finances for personal gain until he was overthrown during the First Congo War (1996 to 1997) by militant forces led by rebel leader Kabila. Backed by Ugandan and Rwandan militant groups, Kabila declared himself president and changed the official title of the country from Zaire back to Democratic Republic of the Congo. This transition in political power caused a shift in the militant rebel groups, which created the conditions for the Second Congo War (1998 to 2003), which was even more brutal than the first. The assassination of President Kabila in 2001 permitted his adopted son Joseph Kabila to take power and run the country up to the present.

Soldiers in The Congo 

The Second Congo War raged through The Congo, bringing destruction to the country and the deaths of millions of people. Besides political control of the country, a main objective of the combatants was to dominate the resource-rich eastern sector of the country, where valuable reserves of zinc, diamonds, copper, and gold can be found in the eastern region. Before the war ended, the surrounding countries of Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Uganda, and Rwanda had troops fighting on one side or the other. The civil war formally ended in 2003 when rebel groups and the government worked out a shared political arrangement. Many rebel groups remained engaged in the eastern region of the Congo long after (approximately six years after) the agreement was reached.

Understanding that most wars are fought over the control of resources is a major step in comprehending the conflicts in Central Africa. The conflicts in the Congo are likely to continue because of vast caches of mineral wealth. Economic pressure to control the extraction activities of saleable raw materials is often the driving force behind rebel groups in places such as the Congo. Local factions usually sell the raw materials for prices well below market value.

The sale of precious minerals such as cobalt, coltan, gold, and diamonds has helped fund the wars in the Congo. Cobalt is a valued metal used in aircraft engines, medical implants, and high-performance batteries.

Minerals in The Congo 

Coltan is a mineral that tantalum comes from, which is highly prized for its use in capacitors for electronic circuits. Tantalum is found in most modern electronic devices in high demand worldwide, from video game systems to cell phones. Most of the coltan in the world comes from mines in the Congo in the eastern Kiva regions. The eastern region is also home to a high percentage of the world's industrial diamond reserves. Other minerals and ores are also found in abundance in the region. The sale of precious gems and rare minerals can bring huge profits, but the wealth seldom reaches the hands of those that labor in the mines in the extraction process.

Learning about the geopolitics of Central Africa is critical to developing an understanding of how colonial activity gave shape to Central African countries and why multinational corporations are now highly involved in creating the demand and markets for the resources found there. The core economic regions of the world require the raw materials and resources that are extracted from places such as the Congo to fuel their economic activities and to bring profits to their shareholders. The core economic players in the global markets are also some of the largest arms manufacturers that sell weapons to the local factions involved in the battle for control of the valuable resources. For this reason, the work of companies like Intel to use Conflict Free Minerals is very important.

 

 

 

 

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