HISTORY OF

SUB-SAHARAN
AFRICA
21 March 2017
Objectives:Students
will
Describe the political and economic
systems of human civilizations in Sub-
Saharan Africa over time.
Bellwork:
1. Turn in your homework from last night
at the front (black inbox).
2. Take out notebook paper and writing
utensils for history notes.
History of Sub-Saharan
Africa Early History
Earliest human remains found here
humans spread throughout the region
Hunter-gatherers = people moving
from place to place to hunt and
gather food
C. 3000 BCE migration of the Bantu
people from mod. Nigeria west and
south
Early History

C. 800 BCE Kush civilization (mod.

Sudan) wealthy due to trade of ivory,
gold, and iron with Egyptians and SW
Asia
C. 300 CE The Kush are defeated by
the Axum people, who take Christianity
as their religion
600s CE Arab Muslims gain control of
the region; Axum Christian population
becomes isolated in a Muslim region
Early History

Trading Empires
(800s 1500s) Ghana trade
between the Sahara and West Africa
(1000s -1400s) Mali replaced
Ghana empire (gold and salt trade);
Muslim leaders; Timbuktu is the
trade and Islamic cultural center city
(1400s 1600) Songhai replaced
Mali empire, but still Islamic
European Contact
1400s- 1500s European countries begin to
explore and trade with Sub-Saharan Africa
Slave Trade between 1500 and the late
1800s, Europeans traded 12 million Africans
as slave to the Americas
1800s as the slave trade slowed,
European countries began to colonize Africa
Natural resources (gold, timber, hides, palm
oil)
Military bases on coasts for naval use
Missionaries converting Africans to
Christianity
By 1914, most of Africa was controlled by
Independence

In the early 1900s, African peoples began

nationalistic movements in bids for freedom
Nationalism pride in ones country; desire
of a people to have independent rule
WWII weakened European powers, making
the independent movements more effective
By the end of the 1960s, most African
territories had gained freedom from
European control
Independence
Gaining control caused conflict in most
countries
Most countries kept the political
borders from the colonial period
Some countries had civil wars
Civil wars caused refugees (people
fleeing from a country to escape
mistreatment or disaster) to migrate in
the region
The UN sent peacekeeping troops to
help restore and maintain peace
Apartheid
South Africa the British had been in
control; when it gained independence,
the government remained controlled by
white South Africans
White South Africans strengthened their
hold over the country with the Apartheid
system
Apartheid = apartness, segregation
Separated the ethnic groups (blacks,
colored people = mixed heritage,
whites)
Blacks lived in the homelands
Apartheid Video
How were blacks treated in South Africa?
What kinds of discriminatory laws were
there?
How did Apartheid break down?
When did South Africa hold its first all-
race election?

Video Clip:
http://www.nbcnews.com/video/icue/33398522#3
3398522
End of Class
Objectives: Students will
Describe the political and economic
systems of human civilizations in Sub-
Saharan Africa over time.
Bellwork: Turn in your homework from
last night at the front (black inbox).
Take out notebook paper and writing
utensils for history notes.

Homework: Study for your Political Map

part 1 quiz.