Nov 4 Lecture PDF

“The Map of Africa” GEOG 3350 September 11, 2020 Dr. C. Conrad Jonathan Swift (early 18th Century) “So geographers in Afric maps With savage pictures fill their gaps, And o’er uninhabitable downs Place elephants for want of to...

“The Map of Africa” GEOG 3350 September 11, 2020 Dr. C. Conrad Jonathan Swift (early 18th Century) “So geographers in Afric maps With savage pictures fill their gaps, And o’er uninhabitable downs Place elephants for want of towns”” 18th Century… Africa remained the “darkest continent” 1807 map of Africa: Arrowsmith Today…. Africa remains the least- known continent And…is much larger than people actually think. The Political Map Contemporary political map bears little resemblance to that of 120 years ago. Africa’s landlocked States Most share a common legacy of colonial indifference and neglect. Exception: Uganda, described by Winston Churchill as the “pearl of Africa” and Zambia and Zimbabwe (formerly Northern and Southern Rhodesia) which were prosperous mining and agricultural regions. Levels of development “Africa is not a country” campaign Regional and Political Groupings “West Africa” The Sahel Horn of Africa East Africa West Central Africa Southern Africa Spot the Africa Imagining Africa: roots of western perceptions of the continent “The power of ideas”: ideas about Africa have become deeply embedded in Western society. Where do such ideas come from and why do they persist? Not only do deeply embedded assumptions and stereotypes about Africa stand in the way of effective learning about the continent, but they also have been the basis for ill-conceived academic research and development policies. Learning often starts with “unlearning”. “Orientalism” “The traveller’s gaze” The Rise of Tourism: Turn of 20th Century: first tourists began to arrive. Safari Tourism Theodore Roosevelt Modern/contemporary tourism: “…what is promoted in contemporary tourist literature is often a caricature of African culture.” Tourism… For most Europeans and Americans, tourism in Africa is synonymous with wildlife safari. African society fades into obscurity National Geographic Pictures Africa The majority of North Americans and Europeans are unlikely to take a trip to Africa for a holiday. Nevertheless, there is widespread fascination with the continent and its attractions. For more than a century, since the age of European exploration, National Geographic magazine has played a major role in bringing pictures of Africa to the world, and has been instrumental in shaping public perceptions about the continent.  Photographs: have the aura of objectivity, of showing the world as it is. However, this appearance of objectivity is misleading. Every aspect of presentation in National Geographic – from the selection and modification of photographs, to their arrangement and the writing of captions – is undertaken with utmost care to convey a desired message. The images reproduce and subtly reinforce traditional gender divisions of labour and racial hierarchies of dominance.  Modern Africa is hardly seen. Contrast this with African Business Magazine, for example: Kigali National Geographic’s Africa 2000-2001 September, 1999, conservationist J. Michael Fay embarked on a 15-month journey through 1900 km of dense forest from the northern Congo to the coast in Gabon. He travelled by foot, accompanied by a small group of African porters and guides. The stated purpose of the trip was to record the ecology of this large, almost uninhabited, and little-explored region of forest that was increasingly threatened by logging.  Fay’s journey was reported in astonishing detail, in three stories with a total length of 96 pages. What is most remarkable about these articles is their portrayal of this part of Africa and its people. Images portray the African landscape and forest as a place where danger lurks everywhere. The White man’s burden The “white man’s burden” to spread European civilizations to all regions. Missionaries Hollywood’s Africa Perspectives of different countries from 1950s through 1990s…) The African Queen Tarzan Cry, the Beloved Country Out of Africa Gorillas in the Mist Cry Freedom  Other films have been criticized for unsympathetic, if not racist, portrayals of Africans: Dogs of War The Lion King Other films have recurring themes of chaos and violence: The Last King of Scotland Hotel Rwanda Blood Diamonds The Western Media’s Tragic Continent Africa has not been well served by the Western press. Famine has been a recurring theme. Political, religious and ethnic violence Underlying these stories is the recurring suggestion that Africa is a tragic continent. Africa’s success stories have generated little media interest. Development Under Colonialism Colonial policies with respect to Africa – particularly before the 1940s – were influenced by assumptions about the continent’s limited potential for full-scale development. Influence of environmental determinism: development potential linked to the attributes of the physical environment. Africa’s tropical climates, ecologies, and soils were held to be reasons for low levels of development. Race-based theories of development. Investments based on the interests of colonizers. No single, agreed-upon vision for the development of Africa. What is Development? The dawn of the modern age of development is frequently traced to a speech by U.S. President Harry Truman to the UN in 1947. Truman called for a concerted effort to bring the benefits of modern development to what were referred to as the “backward countries” of the world. Explosion of development work; government; academic; NGO…through 1950s to present. At the same time, many have come to question the core assumptions of development thinking, and have argued that development efforts have generally failed. Political Dynamics of Development Who wields power over whom? Political ecology (how relations of power and dominance are reflected in development decisions about environmental resources, and how these decisions affect local communities of farmers, fishers, and pastoralists that have long depended on resources for their sustenance). Escaping from Development In rediscovering the power of their own talents and indigenous knowledge, communities discover the possibility of becoming more self-reliant and more confident. There have been a few examples from Africa of resistance by groups disaffected by modern changes that had not benefited them, and indeed had left them worse off. In parts of northern Nigeria, there has been a recurring pattern of resistance by certain groups claiming that modern development had undermined Islamic values. The so-called Maitatsine movement in the early 1980s was violently suppressed by the Nigerian state, but a similar antidevelopment movement know as boko haram (meaning “Western education is sinful”) reemerged in the early 2000s. Such groups provide a potent reminder that development has not brought tangible benefits to all Africans, nor has it been embraced by all. What happened to Africa? Available archeological evidence, together with recent genetic and linguistic research, points to Africa as the very cradle of humanity. The Agricultural Revolution Agricultural innovations occurred independently in several “cultural hearths” located south of the Sahara. The most important centers of innovation were located on the Ethiopian Plateau, in the West African savanna and West African forest regions, and along the forest-savanna boundary in west central Africa. Within these regions, various crops were domesticated, and methods of cultivation suited to the local environment were developed. From these foci, crops and agriculture diffused to adjoining areas. Plants domesticated in Africa include: Cereals (teff, millet, bulrush millet, sorghum, African rice) Roots and tubers: yams Pulses: Bambara groundnuts, cowpeas Oil crops: oil palm, castor oil, shea butter Starch and sugar plants: enset Vegetables: okra, garden eggs (African eggplant) Fruits: watermelons, tamarind Stimulants: coffee, kola Fiber plants: cotton Bantu Migrations The Bantu peoples, who speak some 450 distinct but closely related languages, occupy the great majority of African south and east of the Cameroon-Nigeria border. African Empires The story of the empires in Africa south of the Sahara extends almost 3000 years, beginning with the establishment of the empire of Kush. Other empires later developed in Ethiopia and West Africa. At the time of colonial conquest, each of the major regions of the continent had several examples of advanced kingdoms or empires. (textbook p. 171 map) Eastern Africa The Nile River has a long history as a corridor for the movement of peoples, ideas, and trade goods between Egypt and Africa south of the Sahara. About 1000 B.C., the state of Kush in the Nile Valley of present- day Sudan was able to assert its independence from Egypt. The sophistication of Kush was reflected in its impressive stone architecture, irrigation systems, a large iron industry, its own script, and a well-developed sense of nationhood.  Its collapse about A.D. 300 seems to have been precipitated by the decline of its agricultural base owing to soil exhaustion, and of its iron industry owing to the overexploitation of forests for charcoal. Axum Northern Ethiopian highlands Emerged in the 1st century A.D. through its control of the ivory trade from Africa to Arabia. Axum was predecessor to the Ethiopian or Abyssinian Empire, which for centuries was based at Gondar.  In spite of constant pressure from neighbouring states and many centuries of isolation from other Christians, the Ethiopian Empire survived until 1974, when Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed in a military coup. Haile Selassie: The Pillar of a Modern Ethiopia Further info on East African historical development: read page 172 in text. Western Africa Between the 9th and 19th centuries, a series of Islamic empires rose to prominence in the savanna of West Africa; the most important of them were Ghana, Mail, Songhai, Kanem-Borno, the Hausa states, and Sokoto. All had agricultural economies, but their control of one or more of the major trade routes across the Sahara provided the main source of wealth. Slaves, gold, cloth, and ostrich feathers were sent to North Africa in significant quantities; weaponry, coins and sloth were imported in return.  Empire of Ghana Smallest and lasted the longest: about 800 years beginning approximately in the 8th century Survived on double taxation based on wealth of gold Importance of the Niger River Importance of the camel from approximately the 4th century onwards, transforming the economy of the Sahara and enabling large-scale trade 10th century Iranian Geographer Ibn Al-Faqih  Empire of Mali The 14th century geographer Al Omari provides us with a graphic description of the empire of Mali (p.175) as well as the visit of Emperor Mansa Musa (The Richest Man in the History of the World) to Cairo in A.D. 1324 while travelling on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Universities were established in the Malian cities of Jenne and Timbuktu well before any existed in Europe. Large quantities of books were imported, and scholars from Greece, Egypt and Arabia were employed.  The decline of Mali during the 15th century coincided with the emergence of Songhai, centered at Gao at the bend in the Niger River. Their wealth was based on trade-principally the sale of kola nuts, ivory, and gold to the savanna states. Songhai Empire Largest and lasted the shortest amount of time The largest Empire in African history Dominated in the 15th and 16th centuries Sunni Ali: One of the most controversial individuals in African history  Ali had a hatred for intellects and scholars Captured Timbuktu: 1468 destroyed books, schools and executed any scholars who remained behind In conflict with Askia Mohammed, a warrior who ruled the mountainous area that borders Mali and Burkina Faso (the Bandia Gara Escarpment); full of bandits and one of the most highly militarized borders in the African Empire; deadly mix for Ali Ali died in 1492 possibly drowning in a flash flood  Under Askia Mohammed, the Songhai Empire was one that was united, diplomatic, and organized and ushered in an age of unprecedented peace and prosperity But this golden age soon came to an end with Askia’s death and his son’s seizure of the throne The empire soon erupted in civil war and wealth began to run dry Trans-Saharan slave trade increased in volume to pay for constant wars So when the Portuguese came to the trading posts for the first time during this period, they found a market in people: the beginning of the Trans- Atlantic Slave Trade African Air… Mount Kenya