O Area about 20 million km² O Population 650 million. O The main field of activity is agriculture. O Tropical Africa is the most backward part of the entire developing world. O A member of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) - Nigeria.
Problems of tropical Africa. O The most backward part of the entire developing world (29 countries) O Subsistence and subsistence agriculture (droughts, tse-tse fly). O The equatorial forests are dominated by hunting, fishing, and gathering. O Monocultural specialization of countries - cocoa, tea, coffee, peanuts, hevea, sisal, spices, oil palm (plantation or farm). O Least industrialized region in the world (only one major mining area, the Copper Belt in DR Congo and Zambia). O Backward transport network. O The least urbanized region of Africa in the world (only 8 cities of millionaires, such as Kinshasa in DR Congo, Dakar in Senegal). O Deteriorating ecology (desertification, deforestation).
South Africa O Developed mining industry: gold, platinum, diamonds, uranium, iron ores, chromium ores, manganese ores, coal. O Developed manufacturing industry: ferrous metallurgy, mechanical engineering, chemical industry. O High level of agriculture: cereals, subtropical crops, fine wool sheep breeding, cattle (European part - farms, African - hoe farming).
South Africa A country with a dual economy: There are features of both developing and economically developed countries. Homework: prepare for the final test on Africa - textbook page
The division of Africa into sub-regions: two main ones.
The economic zoning of Africa has not yet taken shape. In educational and scientific literature, it is usually divided into two large natural and cultural-historical subregions: North Africa and Tropical Africa (or “Sub-Saharan Africa”). As part of Tropical Africa, in turn, it is customary to distinguish Western, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa(but without South Africa).
North Africa: the image of the territory.
The total area of North Africa is about 10 million km 2, the population is about 200 million people. The position of the sub-region is primarily determined by its Mediterranean "facade", thanks to which North Africa actually neighbors with Southern Europe and South-West Asia and gets access to the main sea route from Europe to Asia. The “rear” of the region is formed by the sparsely inhabited spaces of the Sahara.
North Africa is the cradle of ancient Egyptian civilization, whose contribution to world culture you already know. In ancient times, Mediterranean Africa was considered the granary of Rome; traces of underground drainage galleries and other structures can still be found among the lifeless sea of sand and stone. Many coastal towns trace their origins to ancient Roman and Carthaginian settlements. The Arab colonization of the 6th-12th centuries had a huge impact on the ethnic composition of the population, its culture, religion and way of life. Northern Africa is still called Arab today: almost all of its population speaks Arabic and professes Islam.
The economic life of North Africa is concentrated in the coastal zone. Here are the main centers of the manufacturing industry, the main areas of subtropical agriculture, including those on irrigated lands. Naturally, almost the entire population of the region is concentrated in this zone. The countryside is dominated by adobe houses with flat roofs and earthen floors.
Cities also have a very characteristic appearance. Therefore, geographers and ethnographers distinguish a special, arabic city, which, like other eastern cities, is characterized by a division into two parts - the old and the new.
The core of the old part of the city is usually a kasbah - a fortification (citadel) located on an elevated place. Kasbah is surrounded by a close ring of other quarters of the old city, built up with low houses with flat roofs and blank fences of yards. Their main attraction is the colorful oriental bazaars. This whole old city, often surrounded by protective walls, is called medina, which in Arabic means "city" (see figure 78). Already outside the medina is a new, modern part of the city.
All these contrasts are most pronounced in the largest cities, the appearance of which acquires not only national, but also cosmopolitan features. Probably, first of all, this applies to Cairo - the capital and largest city of Egypt, an important political, cultural and religious center of the entire Arab world. Cairo is exceptionally well located at the point where the narrow Nile valley merges into the fertile Delta, the premier cotton-growing region where the world's finest long-staple cotton is grown. This area was called delta by Herodotus, who noticed that in configuration it resembles the ancient Greek letter "delta" (see the map in the atlas). In 1969, Cairo celebrated its 1000th anniversary.
The southern part of the subregion is very sparsely populated. The agricultural population is concentrated in the oases, where the main consumer and commercial crop is the date palm. On the rest of the territory, and even then not on the whole, only nomadic camel breeders live. and in the Algerian and Libyan parts of Saxara there are oil and gas fields.
Only along the Nile Valley does a narrow "band of life" wedged into the kingdom of the desert far to the south. Of great importance for the development of the entire upper Egypt was the construction, with the economic and technical assistance of the USSR, of the Asyyan hydroelectric complex on the Nile. . (Task 7.)
Exercise 1.
Using Table 1 in the "Appendices", plot the countries of Africa that gained political independence after the Second World War on a contour map. Indicate the dates of independence and compare in this respect the countries of North and Tropical Africa.
Using the "visiting card" on the flyleaf of the textbook, select the appropriate "pairs" of countries in Africa and foreign Europe, approximately equal in size to the territory.
Task 2.
Using the maps of the atlas and tables 3-5 of the "Appendices", classify the countries of Africa according to the degree of their wealth in minerals. Make a table in the following form:
Draw conclusions about the provision of these countries with raw materials and fuel for the development of heavy industry
Additional task (difficult).
Using the same sources, determine the main territorial combinations of minerals. Oxapacterize the composition of the fossils in each of them; try to connect it with the tectonic structure of the territory. Plot combinations of minerals on a contour map.
Task 3.
Using figures 7, 8 and 9, tables 6, 7 and 8 in the "Appendices" and maps of the atlas, specify and complete the characteristics of land, water and agro-climatic resources of Africa contained in the text of the textbook.
Task 4.
Using Table 3, quantify the "urban explosion" in Africa. What conclusions can be drawn from these calculations?
Task 5.
Analyze figure 77. Using the economic map of Africa in the atlas, indicate specifically which ore, non-metallic minerals, food products and types of agricultural raw materials determine the monocultural specialization of each of the countries indicated in the graph.
Task 6.
According to the physical and economic maps of Africa in the atlas, determine: 1) the main areas of the mining industry in Africa and their specialization, 2) the main areas of commercial agriculture and their specialization, 3) the trans-African transport routes. Also use the drawings of topic 5 of the textbook.
Additional task (creative!).
Using the atlas maps, make a table in your notebook "Zone specialization of export and consumer crops in Africa" in the following form:
Draw all possible conclusions from the analysis of this table.
Task 7 (creative!).
Using the text of the textbook and the plan of Cairo in the atlas, prepare a message on the topic "Cairo - the Arab city of North Africa." Use additional sources of information as well.
Additional task (for fun).
Imagine that you have taken a journey down the Nile from Aswan to the mouth. Describe your trip in a letter to a friend. Try to create a colorful image of this area.
Task 8 (creative!).
What do you think should be done to prevent a recurrence of the "Sahel tragedy" in the future? Give a rationale for your "project".
Additional task (for fun).
In his novel Five Weeks in a Balloon, Jules Verne recounted a journey through Africa in a hot air balloon. "Repeat" the route of this trip. In what countries are and what are the areas of Africa described by the writer today?
Task 9 (final).
1. (Work in a notebook.) Compare the countries of North, Tropical Africa and South Africa according to some indicators characterizing their population and economy. Determine the similarities and differences. Arrange the necessary data in the form of a table.
2. Compare the major extractive industries in North Africa and Southwest Asia. What conclusion can be drawn from this comparison?
3. Compare the main export crops of Tropical Africa and South Asia. What conclusion can be drawn from this comparison?
4. For class demonstration, prepare a small album entitled “Geography of Africa on Postage Stamps.”
Block of self-control and mutual control
Answer the questions:
1. Why is the shift of the population to the coasts of the oceans and seas in Africa less pronounced than in overseas Asia?
2. Why is the Congo River not used for the export of industrial products from the Common Belt?
3. Why is Cairo called "the diamond button that fastens the delta"?
4. Why is Senegal called the "Peanut Republic"?
Are the following statements correct:
1. Most African countries achieved independence in the second half of the 20th century.
2. Africa is the region with the highest birth rate and the highest death rate in the world.
3. African countries are characterized by high rates of urbanization.
4. Nigeria's main mineral is bauxite.
Choose the correct answer:
1. The largest country in Africa by population ... (Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa).
2. The most important types of minerals in North Africa are ... (coal, iron ore, bauxite, oil, natural gas, phosphorites).
3. The least developed countries in Africa include ... (Algeria, Ethiopia, Chad, Niger, Somalia, South Africa).
4. The main export crops of Tropical Africa are ... (wheat, millet, cotton, citrus fruits, peanuts, coffee, cocoa, natural rubber, sisal).
Can you:
1. Put the following countries, mentioned in the text and on text maps, on the contour map of the world from memory: Libya, Algeria, Sudan, Ghana, Congo, Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique, Madagascar?
2. Show on the map the following cities mentioned in the text and on maps: Cairo, Kinshasa, Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Lagos, Dakar, Luanda, Johannesburg?
3. Explain the meaning of the following concepts and terms: monoculture, subsistence economy, apartheid?
4. Indicate which of the following countries are the main producers and exporters of cocoa: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, Angola?
Identify the countries to which the following statements apply:
1. A country located on an island with an area of 600 thousand km 2.
2. Countries located "inside" the territory of South Africa.
3. A country lying on the middle course of the Niger River and not having access to the seas.
4. Country whose capital is the city of Nairobi.
5. A country where 98% of the population is concentrated in a territory that occupies less than 4% of its total area.
Fill in the gaps in the following phrases:
1. The copper belt stretches from Zambia to the southeastern part ....
2. ... - the largest producer and exporter of oil in Africa, a member of OPEC
3. South Africa produces... all of Africa's manufacturing products.
Methodical keys to topic 8
What needs to be remembered
1. The political map and the peoples of Africa. (Geography, grade 7.)
2. Features of the physical and geographical position, relief, minerals, climate, waters, soils and vegetation of Africa, natural zones within it.
(Geography, grade 7.)
3. Ancient Egypt. (History, grade 5.)
4. The main content of the national liberation struggle of the peoples of Africa in the late XIX - early XX century. (History, grade 8.)
5. Material of part 1 of this textbook.
6. Concepts and terms: colony, bantustan, platform, desert, savannah, equatorial forest, kimberlite pipe, national park.
What you need to know
Topic Leading Ideas 8.
The transformation of the socio-economic structure of Africa requires great efforts on the part of both the African peoples and the entire world community.
Main scientific knowledge of topic 8:
1. Characteristic features of the economic and geographical position, geography of natural conditions and resources, population, industry, agriculture, environmental problems of Africa.
2. The concept of monoculture.
3. The image of the territory of North Africa.
4. The image of the territory of Tropical Africa.
5. Brief overview of South Africa.
6. Keywords of the theme: 1) colonial type of sectoral structure of the economy, 2) monoculture, 3) Arab city type.
What you need to know
1. Using a textbook and an atlas, independently obtain the necessary knowledge for characterization.
2. To carry out a comparative description of industries, regions and cities.
3. Prepare a summary of the report on a given topic.
Maksakovskiy V.P., Geography. Economic and social geography of the world 10 cells. : studies. for general education institutions
Sub-regions of North and Tropical Africa. South Africa
New story. Tropical Africa
Until the end of the XIX century. Africa served as a source of supply of slaves to the slave markets of America and the West Indies (see). The local African states in the coastal areas increasingly played the role of intermediaries in the international trade in slaves. The growth of the slave trade in Africa led to huge human losses and the desolation of entire regions. In some areas not directly affected by the slave trade, its consequences were indirect: there was a reorientation of the main trade routes across the Sahara towards the Atlantic coast to the detriment of the former trans-Saharan trade. Slave hunting and the importation of firearms by Europeans destabilized the political situation in a number of areas.
Among the states of the Sudanese zone until the XIX century. the most significant role was played by Bagirmi and Vadai. In Western Sudan, political fragmentation reigned, which was intensified by the beginning of about the middle of the 17th century. migration to the south of several groups of Tuareg of the Sahara. At the end of the XVII century. nomads inflicted heavy damage on the state of Born. XVIII-XIX centuries were the time of the assertion of the hegemony of the Fulani in a significant part of Western Sudan. At the end of the 70s. 18th century Fulbe created a Muslim theocratic state. The movement of the Fulban and Hausan lower classes that began in 1804 under the leadership of the Muslim preacher Osman dan Fodio, who proclaimed a “holy war” (jihad) against the “pagan” aristocracy of the Hausa city-states, ended with the creation by the 20s of the 20th century. 19th century Caliphate of Sokoto. Since the end of the 30s. 19th century this state actually broke up into several emirates, headed by the Fulba emirs (or "lamido"). Part of the emirates corresponded to the former states of the Hausa - Kano, Katsina, etc., part was created anew, like, for example, all the lamidates on the territory of modern Cameroon - Iola, etc. In the first half of the 19th century. another Fulbe state - - began to play a prominent role in Western Sudan. In the 60s. most of Masina came under the rule of the Tukuler ruler Hajj Omar, who also subjugated the states of the Bamana (Bambara) people in the interfluve of the Niger and Senegal rivers - Kaartu and. However, with the death of Hajj Omar in 1864, his state fell apart. The political fragmentation and weakness of most states in the Sudanese zone facilitated the conquest of this part of Africa by the French and British colonialists.
East Africa in the 17th century. was characterized by a sharp struggle of the population of the coastal cities with the Portuguese invaders. XVIII-XIX centuries marked by a gradual increase in power on the African coast of the Indian Ocean of the Omani sultans. After the expulsion of the Portuguese at the beginning of the XVIII century. coastal cities were in the hands of many petty emirs, who only nominally recognized the power of the Omani rulers. Beginning in 1822, the coastal regions and part of the interior of the territory of modern Tanzania and Kenya fell under the rule of Zanzibar. In the interior regions of Tanzania, east of Lake Tanganyika, from the end of the 18th century. early political associations of the peoples of the Nyamwezi group began to take shape. Throughout the 19th century some of such associations, such as, for example, the state of Mirambo, which subjugated the entire territory of the Nyamwezi by 1870, arose as a result of the Arab-Swahili slave trade (the entire economy of Zanzibar and Oman was based on the use of slave labor) and as a means of counteracting it.
Another important factor in the history of East Africa was the migration of the Bantu-speaking peoples of the Nguni group. Started in the second quarter of the 19th century, they covered a significant part of the territory of modern Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi. Nguni defeated or subjugated the previously existing state formations on the territory of Zimbabwe and in the upper reaches of the river. Zambezi. The state of Barotse in the west of modern Zambia, created by the peoples of the Lozi group in the 18th century, was conquered by the Makololo people; however, in 1873 the power of the Makololo was overthrown, and Barotse was restored.
period from the end of the 17th century. characterized by the rapid rise of a number of states of the Guinean coast; they were all associated with trade between coastal and inland areas. At the same time, the states of the eastern part of the region - Oyo, Dahomey, Benin, and others - served as the most important intermediaries in the slave trade for export to America. In the western part of the Guinean coast, gold occupied the main place in trade (for example, in the export of the Ashanti state with its capital in Kumasi). Ashanti by the beginning of the 19th century. became the most powerful power in this part of Africa. Participation in the slave trade and the growing demand for palm oil from European merchants stimulated the expansion of the use of slave labor in the economy of most countries in the region; in its eastern part, oil palm plantations appeared and constantly grew, on which slave labor was used. Relatively little is known about the nature of social relations within the coastal states. Some researchers believe that in Ashanti, in the Yoruba city-states, the development of feudal relations began among the Bariba people in the northern part of modern Benin. At the same time, many remnants of more ancient forms of social organization remained, the main of which was the ubiquitous extended family community.
African societies of the river basin. Congo since the end of the 17th century. still lagged behind West Africa; the state of the Congo broke up into a number of small principalities and by the beginning of the 19th century. actually ceased to exist. Luba and Lund during the 18th century. expanded their borders in the south and east. At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries. Lub's army made a number of campaigns against the state of Cuba. To the southeast of Lund, the state of Kazembe was formed. As in the previous period, the Portuguese slave trade played a significant role in strengthening these states, in which Lunda and Luba acted as the most important intermediaries, the export of slaves to Brazil from the ports of the Angolan coast continued until the end of the 70s. 19th century
Arab-Swahili traders penetrated into the East African Interlake region in the middle of the 19th century. Trade accelerated the formation of a class society, especially in the state of Buganda, which by the second half of the 19th century. became a political and military hegemon in the northern part of the Mezhozerye. The strengthening of Buganda led to the weakening of its main rivals - Unyoro and Karagwe. In Buganda itself, the despotic power of the kabaka increased. In the southern part of the Mezhozerye, the rivalry between Burundi and Rwanda continued, which at the beginning of the 19th century. finally decided in favor of Rwanda. A society with a peculiar class-caste stratification has developed here (see Twa, Hutu, Tutsi). At the same time, in contrast to Buganda, in the southern part of the Mezhozero region, the use of slave labor has not received any noticeable distribution.
Ethiopia after exile in the middle of the 17th century. the Portuguese for several centuries was almost isolated from the outside world by Turkish possessions. Centrifugal tendencies prevailed in the country, and by the beginning of the 19th century. it actually broke up into independent principalities. Only in the middle of the XIX century. The territory of Ethiopia was reunited by Emperor Tewodros II, which was facilitated by the need to deal with the threat of foreign invasion. The strengthening of the centralized Ethiopian state was a major event that largely predetermined the success of the struggle against the intrigues of the European powers. The states of Eastern Sudan Sennar and the Darfur Sultanate, on the contrary, during the XIX - early XX centuries. lost their independence, becoming the object of Turkish-Egyptian occupation and foreign exploitation. In Madagascar in the XVIII-XIX centuries. there was a distribution of the power of the state of Imerina to most of the territory of the island, and also starting from the 40s. 19th century contacts with European countries have significantly expanded.
L. E. Kubbel.
European expansion in Tropical Africa intensified. In addition to the Portuguese, the Dutch, British, and French were strengthening on the African shores. In the 17th century the Dutch for some time captured the main Portuguese settlements of the Guinean coast, and in East Africa the Portuguese were pressed out by the Arabs from Oman. In the XVIII century. the positions of Great Britain and France were noticeably strengthened. The achievements of the industrial revolution, expressed, in particular, in the improvement of military-technical means on land and at sea, made it possible to maintain the superiority of the capitalist states of Europe over the rest of the world. The efficiency of European merchant fleets grew, in particular in the 19th century. after the appearance of heavy and high-speed clippers. Thus, the possibilities of world trade were expanding, for which the ocean routes were becoming increasingly important.
At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries. Great Britain seized important positions on the coasts of West Africa (the colonies of Sierra Leone and the Gambia), on routes in East Africa (Cape Town), and in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius Island). In the 20s. 19th century The British settled on the Gold Coast. In 1841 they sent a consul to Zanzibar, where they had previously enjoyed influence by virtue of an agreement with the Sultan of Oman. In the 50s. "consular jurisdiction" was established over Lagos. Freetown in Sierra Leone and Bathurst (modern Banjul) in the Gambia, Lagos, Zanzibar became the centers from which a number of geographical expeditions were sent into the depths of Africa, paving the way for further European expansion (see the History of geographical discoveries and research section).
The French have become noticeably more active in West Africa since the 1940s. XIX century: expanded their possessions along the river. Senegal (where they settled in the 17th century) placed garrisons at several points along the Guinean coast as far as Gabon. As a result, serious clashes broke out between them and the leaders of the Tukuler, Wolof, and other states. The Portuguese kept several settlements in Upper Guinea, as well as the coastal regions of modern Angola and Mozambique, constantly organizing expeditions against the local population, especially in the basin of the river. Zambezi.
Participation in anti-colonial wars left an imprint on the history of a number of peoples in coastal areas. External danger stimulated the strengthening of local institutions of power, for example, in Ashanti and Dahomey. However, in most cases, the spread of European influence contributed to political instability, entailed wars to capture slaves for sale on the ocean coast. From a technical and economic point of view, trade contacts with Europeans had significant consequences. Since the time of the Great Geographical Discoveries, new food crops have spread, primarily corn and cassava, imported by Europeans from America, which increased the potential of agriculture. At the same time, there was a process of degradation of various aspects of economic activity: a reduction in the range of food products (many of them were replaced by new cultures), the decline of crafts under the influence of European competition.
From the 70s. 19th century Africa has become an arena for a broad colonial expansion of the European powers, which have entered the imperialist phase of their development. The desire to annex African countries was determined by both economic (search for markets and sources of raw materials) and political (military-strategic, prestigious, etc.) reasons. “The non-economic superstructure growing on the basis of finance capital, its policy, its ideology intensify the desire for colonial conquest,” wrote V. I. Lenin (Poln. sobr. sobr., vol. 27, p. 382). Thus, Great Britain envisaged the creation of an uninterrupted chain of possessions between South and North Africa along the Cape Town-Cairo line. To implement this plan, the British in 1887 took from Zanzibar a part of its continental possessions - the coast of modern Kenya - in a "concession". According to the Anglo-German Treaty of Heligoland in 1890, Zanzibar fell into the sphere of British rule. In 1889, she received a royal charter to govern the territories where Southern and Northern Rhodesia were formed. In the 90s. 19th century Great Britain imposed its "protection" on Buganda and other states that later became part of the English protectorate of Uganda. In 1895, the territory of Kenya was declared a British East African protectorate (in 1902, the eastern part of Uganda also became part of it). In 1891, the British "patronage" was accepted by Barotse, who managed to negotiate for her state the status of an autonomous administrative unit within the English possessions.
In Sudan, in 1896, the British launched large-scale military operations against the Mahdist state. In 1898, the capital of the Mahdists was captured and plundered, their army was defeated. The new colony of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was declared a condominium of Great Britain and Egypt, although the British were in fact in charge of it. In West Africa, the British fought wars in what is now Nigeria and Ghana. Especially stubborn resistance was put up by the Ashanti (see). In 1873-74 they inflicted heavy losses on the enemy and forced Great Britain to temporarily abandon the establishment of a protectorate over their country. The capital of the state of Ashanti Kumasi was captured in 1896, but in 1900 a powerful uprising broke out in the country, caused, in particular, by the fact that the British imposed a large indemnity on the population. The Ashanti besieged the capital for 4 months. Only after fierce battles, which cost the British heavy losses, the uprising was crushed. After a fierce struggle with the troops of the Sultan of Sokoto, by 1904 the British had completed the establishment of de facto control over most of the territory of modern Nigeria.
In opposition to Great Britain, France hatched a project to create a continuous strip of its possessions from Senegal to Somalia. South of the Sahara, it captured vast but relatively sparsely populated territories of Western and Equatorial Africa, forming here the colonies of the French Congo (from 1910 - ) and (formed in 1895). The selfless struggle against the French troops advancing in the 80-90s. from Senegal into the depths of the Sudanese savannas, they led Wolof, malinke, tukulers. Samory, who united under his rule a number of small Malinke states, led the resistance to the French for 16 years. France's attempts to expand its possessions in Equatorial Africa in an easterly direction, capturing the Upper Nile Valley, were unsuccessful. The French detachment that had captured Fashoda was forced to leave it in 1898 due to the opposition of Great Britain (see Fashoda Crisis). In 1896, France declared a protectorate over the island of Madagascar.
The division of Africa proceeded in the conditions of sharp rivalry between the imperialist powers. They seized any territory, including those that promised benefits only in the distant future. Sometimes small military detachments were sent to the hinterland just to prevent the expansion of the possessions of rivals. Disputes that flared up were usually resolved by bilateral and multilateral agreements of the European powers (see the Brussels Conferences of 1876 and 1889-90, the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885).
The most extensive and economically important regions (most of West Africa, Eastern Sudan) were captured by Great Britain and France, which had powerful industrial and military potential, as well as experience in colonial policy.
Germany joined the struggle for colonial conquests in Africa in 1884, declaring that it would take under its "protection" the Angra-Pekena (modern Lüderitz) region in South-West Africa, and starting the conquest of the territories of Togo and Cameroon and suppressing the armed resistance of the Baquiri, Bas and Bakogo, Poppy, Nzem, etc. These seizures contributed to the further aggravation of relations between Great Britain, France and Germany. In 1885, having imposed a number of treaties on the leaders of African tribes by force of arms, Germany began annexations on the east coast of Africa (see).
The Italians, who in 1869 bought a section of the coast near Assab Bay, began to prepare for the capture of Ethiopia. In the battles near Saati (1887), the Ethiopians destroyed one of the detachments of the Italians. However, according to the Treaty of Uchchal, Italy received part of the territory of modern Ethiopia. In 1890, Italy united all its possessions on the Red Sea into the colony of Eritrea, and in 1894 launched a war against Ethiopia. In the Battle of 1896, the Ethiopians defeated the Italian troops. Italy was forced to abandon encroachments on the independence of Ethiopia. Along with Great Britain and France, Italy participated in the division of the Somali Peninsula, capturing its southeastern part (see,).
Since 1879, the Belgians began to capture in the basin of the river. Congo. International agreements of 1884-85 secured the transformation of this territory into, which was in the possession of Leopold II. In 1908, Leopold II handed over the Congo to Belgian control for a large compensation; Congo officially became a Belgian colony (). Portugal at the beginning of the 20th century owned such large colonies as Angola and Mozambique, as well as Portuguese Guinea and the Cape Verde Islands. Spain captured part of Morocco () and the western coast of the Sahara (). These European states retained their possessions in Africa, taking advantage of the fact that the struggle for spheres of influence did not stop between the large European countries. At the same time, Belgium and Portugal were forced to make various concessions to their big competitors. Portugal provided Britain with ample opportunities for commercial expansion in Angola and Mozambique; Belgium in 1885 agreed to create a tai called the Convention Basin of the Congo, within which uniform customs duties were established for all countries.
The African Republic of Liberia was in fact in complete economic dependence on European countries and the United States. Great Britain provided loans to Liberia at usurious interest, France expanded its possessions at the expense of the territory of Liberia.
The capture of the most developed African countries required special efforts from the colonial powers. Operating mainly in small expeditions, the colonialists kept 20-30 thousand troops in West and Equatorial Africa in the 1990s, that is, during the period of the most intensive operations. In 1896, the Italians concentrated 50,000 soldiers and officers in Ethiopia and Eritrea and still lost the war.
Where resistance was stronger (Ethiopia, Western and Eastern Sudan), the colonialists cooperated with the local nobility, and the forms of this cooperation (direct or indirect control, see the article Colonial Administration Systems) were dictated, on the one hand, by the peculiarities of colonial policy European powers, and on the other hand, the peculiarities of the liberation struggle in various regions. In particular, in German East Africa, indirect control was widely used in the areas of settlement of the hehe people, who strongly resisted the Germans in 1891-92. The peoples who stood at a lower stage of development and offered less resistance (the Congo basin) were colonized in the most barbaric forms that were destructive to their way of life.
By 1900, 9/10 of the African continent was in the hands of the colonial invaders. The colonies were turned into agricultural and raw material appendages of the metropolises. The foundations were laid for the specialization of agriculture in the production of export crops (cotton in the Sudan, peanuts in Senegal, cocoa and palm oil in Nigeria, etc.). The involvement of Tropical Africa in the world capitalist market was carried out through the merciless exploitation of its natural and human resources, through political and social discrimination against the indigenous population. To ensure its profits, capitalist Europe has repeatedly turned to the methods of exploitation characteristic of the times of slavery and feudalism and the Africans who brought innumerable disasters.
Colonial societies in Tropical Africa were multiform structures that occupied a subordinate position within the framework of imperial structures. Pre-capitalist natural structures prevailed. Small-scale production developed primarily in the coastal regions, which were most affected by colonization. Capitalism, with the exception of areas where European settlers lived (Kenya, Rhodesia), was represented by individual elements in the cities. The beginnings of a working class, exploited mainly by foreigners, appeared there, and the position of local commercial capital was strengthened. The main producers of colonial societies were communal peasants.
Colonial oppression provoked resistance from the Africans. In Nigeria and Cameroon, the uprisings did not stop until the 1st World War. In Somalia, defensive wars continued throughout the pre-war and war periods. In French West Africa, major uprisings took place in Guinea, Dahomey, and the Ivory Coast. A number of uprisings took place in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. The most significant in their scale were: the Herero and Hottentot uprising of 1904-1906 in South-West Africa, 1905-07 in German East Africa, the Zulu uprising of 1906. 05). In the Belgian possessions, where the most severe system of forced labor was introduced, which ensured the export of raw materials, mainly rubber, uprisings broke out one after another. Since the beginning of the 90s. the Belgian "Independent State of the Congo" was shaken by uprisings of kusu, tetel and other peoples (see). In Angola in the 80s and 90s. there were constant clashes between the local population and the Portuguese colonialists. Along with the uprisings that united various segments of the population, at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries, especially in the most developed colonies of Great Britain and France, the first independent actions of the masses of the city, the emerging intelligentsia, were noted. Nationalist organizations appeared on the Gold Coast, in Senegal (Young Senegalese), Togo and other countries.
During World War I, Africa was the source of the human and material resources of the metropolises. In the French army, there were over a quarter of a million soldiers - natives of the colonies of Tropical Africa and Madagascar. There were more than 60 thousand African soldiers in the armed forces of the British Empire. There were about 20 thousand African soldiers in the German troops, including up to 15 thousand in East Africa. Colonial military units participated in battles in Western Europe and Africa. From their possessions in Tropical Africa, Great Britain and France during the war years exported animal products, vegetable oils, and mineral raw materials. Hundreds of thousands of indigenous people were mobilized to build roads and carry goods for the armies. The hardships caused by military operations (in Togo, Cameroon, German East Africa, German South-West Africa), requisitions, recruitment of labor, mobilization into the army, served as the reason for the strengthening of the anti-colonial movement. The uprisings took place in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Nyasaland. Marka, Senufo, Tuareg rose in French West Africa. The suppression of the uprisings was accompanied by cruel repressions and harsh requisitions.
As a result of hostilities between Germany and the countries of the Entente, the German colonies were occupied, and after the war they were turned into mandated territories by the decisions of the League of Nations.
V. A. Subbotin.
States and peoples on the territory of East Africa on the eve of the colonial partition.
The states of the Lower Niger basin in the first half of the 19th century.
The struggle of the peoples of Africa against colonial aggression in the 19th - early 20th centuries.
State formations in Central Sudan, Central and South Africa in the 16th - mid-19th centuries.
The colonial division of Africa in the XIX - early XX centuries.
Second half of the 17th century
Capital of Benin.
Engraving of the 17th century.
If you have corrections or suggestions for this lesson, write to us.
Includes an area (about 10 million square kilometers with a population of 170 million people) adjacent to the Mediterranean, populated mainly by Muslim Arabs. The countries located on this territory (, Western Sahara,), due to their geographical location (coastal, neighboring in relation to the countries and) and a higher (in comparison with the states of Tropical Africa) level of economic and industrial development, are more involved in ( export of oil, gas, phosphorites, etc.).
The economic life of North Africa is concentrated in the coastal zone. Almost the entire population of the region is concentrated in the same band.
Tropical Africa includes a territory located south of, within which, in turn, they distinguish, and. The overwhelming majority located on their territory belongs to the equatorial (Negroid) race. It is distinguished by great diversity (there are more than 200 peoples), multinational states predominate.
The main area of activity of the population is agriculture (with the exception of the countries of South Africa, in whose economy industry and the service sector play a decisive role). Tropical Africa is the most economically backward, least industrialized and least urbanized part of the developing world. Of the 49 countries within its borders, 32 belong to the group of "least developed countries in the world". Per capita GNP in the countries of East, West and Central Africa is several times (5-7 or more times) less than in the countries of North and South Africa.
Among the countries located south of the Sahara, it occupies a special place.
Firstly, by its geographical position, it no longer belongs to Tropical Africa.
Secondly, in terms of socio-economic development, it does not belong to developing countries. This is a country of “settlement capitalism”. It accounts for: 5.5% of the territory, 7% but 2/3 of its GDP, more than 50% of the manufacturing industry and the car park.
In Africa, the largest industrial region of the Witwatersrand has formed with a center in, which plays the role of the "economic capital" of the country.
In the MGRT, the face of South Africa is represented by the mining industry (gold, platinum, diamonds, uranium, iron, manganese ore, coal), some manufacturing industries (as well as the production of certain types of agricultural products (cereals, subtropical crops, fine-wool sheep breeding, cattle cattle).
South Africa has the most dense transport network on the continent, large seaports.
However, the effects of the apartheid policy are still being felt in the country's economy. There are big differences between "whites" on one side and "blacks" and "coloreds" on the other. Therefore, South Africa is often called a country with a dual economy. It has features of economically developed and developing states.
We advise you to read
Lawyer Garifulin Dmitry Vladimirovich Devil's Advocate; lawyer for transactions with interest; extraordinary deals devil's advocate expression meaning
Underground river system of the Neglinka
The heavenly hierarchy and the names of the highest angels The ranks of the heavenly forces
The most romantic anime couples Anime art couples hugging
