1. Chapter 20

2.  Most of today’s independent African
nations are dealing with economic,
health, educational, and political
problems.

3.  Despite all of Africa’s wealthy
resources, Africa is the poorest
continent on Earth.
 Over 300 million people in
Africa live on less than $1 a
day.
 Those same 300 million do not
have access to clean water.
 1/3 of the population is
malnourished.
 Less than half the population
has access to hospitals or
doctors.
 What can be done?

4.  Africa is rich in natural
resources, yet most countries
do little manufacturing
 They sell raw materials to
industrialized countries
 This has limited Africa’s
economic growth, political
stability.
 Other countries get rich while
few in Africa do.
 In fact, most African
countries are worse off today
than in 1960!
 average incomes have decreased

5.  African countries
lack crucial
infrastructure such
as roads, airports,
railroads, ports.
 Many people have
little access to
computers or high
technology.

6.  Newly independent
countries borrowed
money to build
economies
 total debt of sub-
Saharan governments
was $227 billion by
1997
 many Western
leaders push to
forgive Africa’s debts

7.  “One-commodity”
countries rely on export of
one or two commodities
 commodity —agricultural or
mining product that can be
sold
 value varies daily based on
worldwide supply and demand
 this makes “one-commodity”
nations’ economies unstable
 Economists want Africans to
diversify — create variety
in economies

8.  Ethiopia is one of
the largest
producers of coffee
in the world.
 What would happen
if there was a severe
drought or famine?
 What if war broke
out?
 What if…

9.  Uneducated populace is a
large barrier to economic
development.
 Half the children in Africa
are enrolled in school and
less than 1/3 of them ever
completes school.
 Average schooling time for
women in Africa is 1.2 years
in last 40 years.
 In Angola and Somalia, civil
wars have destroyed school
systems.

10.  Many of Africa’s
best and brightest
end up migrating
to western
nations.
 This is known as
“brain drain”.
 Many urge them to
return and help
out their nations.

12.  Epidemic diseases are killing Africa’s
people in huge numbers.
 African nations and countries around the
world are using a variety of methods,
including education, to eradicate disease.

13.  Cholera —sometimes fatal infection
 spread by poor sanitation, lack of clean water
 Malaria —often-fatal infectious disease marked
by chills, fever
 carried by mosquitoes; resistant to drugs due to
overuse
 Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)
—caused by HIV virus
 70% of adult, 80% of child AIDS cases are in Africa
 often paired with tuberculosis—infectious respiratory
infection

17.  AIDS has become a pandemic in Africa.
A pandemic is an uncontrollable outbreak of a
disease, affecting a large population over a wide
geographic area.
 Of all 40 million people worldwide living with
HIV/AIDS, 26 million cases are in Africa
 3 million died from AIDS worldwide in 2000
 2.4 million lived in sub-Saharan Africa
 In Swaziland, 3 of 4 deaths were from AIDS
 life expectancy has fallen from 58 years to 39

19.  Many countries are trying
to fight disease epidemics
in their countries
 Educating the masses on
the problems
 Outside agencies have
funded immunization and
treatment
 In some areas this has
helped, but the struggle
continues.

21.  In the 1800’s, the British
had established
themselves as the
dominant culture in South
Africa by defeating the
Zulu tribe in war.
 The descendants of these
people highly advocated
the separation of races
within the territory.
 This racial separation is
known as apartheid.

22.  Even though the
population of people
was 75% black and only
15% white, social
contact between
blacks and whites was
banned and they
established segregated
schools, hospitals, and
neighborhoods.
 Whites received the
best land.

26.  In 1912, the African
National Congress
(ANC) is organized.
 A young man named
Nelson Mandela
emerged as one of
the leader of the ANC
in 1949.
 Mandela led the
struggle to end
apartheid.

27.  Nelson Mandela was
arrested in 1962 and
sentenced to life in
prison for conspiracy to
overthrow the
government.
 He spent 27 years in
prison and was released
in 1990.
 He then went on to
become South Africa’s
president from 1994-
1999!

28.  The 2009 science-fiction film
District 9 takes place in South
Africa.
 In the film, aliens land on Earth
and are immediately segregated
from the human population.
 Shot in “documentary style”,
the title and premise of
District 9 is an allegory and
inspired by events that took
place in the real Sixth
Congressional District (District 6) ,
in Cape Town, South Africa
during the apartheid era.

30.  Before the 19th century, Africa was home
to great empires, rich cultures
 By the end of the 19th century, Africa
was a place of poverty and violence
 Many of Africa’s problems stem from
European colonialism.

31.  Portuguese first established
coastal trading stations in the
1400’s.
 By the mid-1800s, Europeans
seek Africa’s rich natural
resources
 need raw materials for industrial
economies, markets to sell goods
 Berlin Conference (1884-85)
sets rules for dividing up Africa
amongst powerful European
nations.
 This was called the Scramble
for Africa.

33.  European colonizers
exploited Africa’s
resources, people
 This concept, which
took place in the
1800’s through
modern times, is
known as
colonialism.
 Millions sold into
slavery or died from
harsh working
conditions
 Land was mined,
drilled; environment
was ignored

34.  European control
begins to fade in 20th
century
 mostcountries gain
independence in 1960s
 Despite leaving, there
is long-term damage
to cultural and ethnic
boundaries, economy

35.  Europeans put so much emphasis on
resources such as gold and diamonds,
that wars erupt over control of the
trade.
 When these valuable minerals fall into
the hands of warlords or corrupt
governments, the money is usually used
to finance continued war efforts and not
back into the local economy to benefit
the people.
 Often times, these warlords kill or maim
people that stand in their way.
 They also kidnap and take slaves to
work in the mines. This includes

36.  A 2006 film starring
Leonardo DiCaprio.
 The title refers to
blood diamonds,
which are diamonds
mined in African war
zones and sold to
finance conflicts, and
thereby profit
warlords and diamond
companies across the
world.

37.  In addition to war over the
diamonds, colonialism caused
many territorial and ethnic
disputes amongst the natives.
 While under European rule,
territories of the people were
ignored.
 When the Europeans left,
wars immediately broke out
to take back territory or re-
establish ethnic boundaries
that had existed prior to
European arrival.

38.  In 1994, for about 100
days, around one
million people were
slaughtered as a result
of ethnic genocide in
the small country of
Rwanda.
 The roots of this
conflict were due to
colonialism which had
built up ethnic tension
in the country.

39.  The Belgians, who had
colonized Rwanda
maintained a divide
between the two main
ethnic groups, the Hutus
and the Tutsis.
 The Hutus
 were the majority, 84%
 Short, darker skin, broad noses
 traditional African looking
 The Tutsis
 minority group, 15%
 tall and fair skinned
 “Europeanlike” features

40.  The Belgians maintained
distinction between the two by
issuing two separate ID cards for
the different races.
 The Tutsis were generally
treated better than the Hutus.
 In fact, when the Belgians ended
their rule, they gave most land
and power to Tutsi people.
 This left the Hutus to take up
positions as poor laborers.
 Tensions rapidly began to build
between the two groups.

41.  In April of 1994, a plane carrying
the Rwandan president (a Hutu)
was shot down killing everyone
on board.
 There was no evidence to show
who perpetrated the crime, but
it was almost immediately
blamed on Tutsis. Juvénal Habyarimana
 The UN immediately sent
aid to the country for fear of
war but the talks of peace
were useless.

42.  Hutu military groups then
systematically set out to
murder all the Tutsis they could
reach, regardless of age or sex.
 Hutu civilians were told to kill
their Tutsi neighbors or face
being killed themselves.
 They were even told that they
could have the Tutsi land if
they killed them.
 Killings quickly took place
throughout most of the country.

44.  When the violence was finished, it
was estimated anywhere from
800,000-over 1 million were dead.
 Women were raped, children left
without parents and many people
fled the country.
 Efforts have been made for peace,
but the conflict spilt over into
other countries and the region
remains unstable as further wars
have broken out since.

45.  A 2004 film starring Don
Cheadle based on the
true events during 1994
Rwanda.
 Cheadle plays hotelier
Paul Rusesabagina, who
attempts to save his
fellow citizens from the
ravages of the Rwandan
Genocide.
 The film has been
compared to an “African
Schindler’s List”.