How Did Geography Affect The Development Of Africa?

Imperialism is the act of a strong nation overtaking a smaller, weaker nation. There are many reasons why imperialism occurs, including motives from an economic standpoint, as well as just a way to show and achieve power. There were both positive and negative effects to imperialism, with the loss of many original citizens, but gaining different ways of life through cultural diffusion. For instance, many European methods of education were adopted, and the studies of liberty and democracy led to the Enlightment, as well as many political revolutions.

Africa, like many other continents, was a very tremendous and a very diverse civilization that is very complicated to introduce due to all its wonderful but also diverse features and beliefs. From the differences between its society and language to its religion and politics, Africa always had the reputation that its empires, cities, and kingdoms never progressed in the developments and achievements for their civilization. Many people believed that the Europeans were actually the cause of Africa’s achievements and advanced developments for their civilizations. However, this is further than the whole truth. Before the arrival of the Europeans between the 15th and 16th century, African kingdoms, empires, and cities had many achievements and accomplishments

Like many other continents in the world Africa has a lot of differences in itself for example there are differences in geography ,language, politics, religion and other things in life due to Africa’s lack of political government over an extended period of time.

“West African societies were shaped by competition for wealth and the search for independence from more powerful kingdoms” (History 2011). Most of Africa’s oldest kingdoms originated from West Africa. These old kingdoms contributed to the development and growth of Africa in many ways, especially trade and economic growth. As the new kingdoms replaced the old ones, they experienced a vast change. Conquest and warfare along caused these transformations to occur. It was also influenced by the patterns of trade. The earliest civilizations were in West Africa south of the Sahara desert. These civilisations grew at a time when most of the outside countries were experiencing The Dark Age. “After the fall of the Western half of the Roman Empire around

Geography plays a big part in the history of Africa because it has made the continent the cradle of human kind wherein the discovery of human kind and the origin of many civilizations and cultures happens here.

People of the early African kingdoms were able to create successful trade routes with Europe and Asia, become very wealthy from conquering and gaining land, and were able to have a strong central government. All of this was done before the Europeans had reached Africa. Trade flourished on the East African coast, especially when trading was established with India and Arabia. African kingdoms were prosperous, because of their success with not only trading but also with their ability to conquer land. A governmental structure is key to allowing any kingdom to thrive, and the African people were able to achieve this.

During the years of 3500 BC to 2500 BC, the geography of a land often impacted a civilizations development in great measures. Depending on the resources available or the detriments present due to certain topographical characteristics like rivers or deserts, a civilization could flourish or collapse. By studying the geographic features of growing societies like the Nile, Euphrates, and Tigris Rivers as well as the Mediterranean Sea of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the link between developing cultures and geography will be examined through sources, including Egypt: Ancient Culture, Modern Land edited by Jaromir Malek and Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization by Paul Kriwaczek. To determine the extent

Neolithic people that had lived in Egypt began to travel toward the northern corner of the continent of Africa. Records and writing show the ruins of the early civilizations, and the setting of Sub- Saharan Africa had a great impact on human growth. Kingdoms thrived through this time because of the natural resources that the geography of Africa provided. The ancient Kingdoms of Africa were Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. They are located in the western region of Africa. The kingdoms became very prosperous and their achievements impacted the following world that grew in the later years.

One reason that the geography helped the development of the kingdom of Ghana was because of trade. According to Document A, there were gold and salt mines surrounding Taghaza and Timbuktu. This shows that those cities were very likely to be involved in trade and that it would have been an effective trade, as one city wanted salt and the other city wanted gold. According to Document B, “The Arab traders of this region wanted gold as much as the Wangara wanted salt…” This shows that trade

Africa was once abundant with many resources that were highly valued by the people around them. All of this lead to Africa being able to trade for lots of materials they didn't have access too. This allowed many to grow rich but in the end slavery permanently damaged the african society. Africa was part of a system of both regional and international trade however trade affected people's lives in different parts positive and negative.

The enviromnet plays a huge role in the way they live in Africa. Where a region is located has a very big impact on the activities that are able to take place there. If a place is too hot or too cold, certain plants are not able to grow there. Also, too much rainfall or not enough rainfall can help or prevent certain plants from growing. In Africa your specific location in regards to elevation, and the equator, the climate and the natural resources all play a role in Africa's economy.

Geography and the environment play a monumental role in the establishment and success of a nearly every civilization. For example, rivers bring water and allow for agricultural development, while mountains or deserts provide for protection and create a barrier. Many things, such as the aforementioned deserts and mountains, can offer both positive and negative influences on the society in question. The climate and amount of rainfall is directly related to the success or failure of crop growing, and thus related to the amount of time spent on simply surviving. Civilizations that are able to spend less time on subsistence farming are able to redirect that energy towards the establishment of arts, culture, religion, and science. Where a

Although some may think of Africa as being of a single climate and terrain description, in reality a wide variety of land types can be found throughout Africa. How does this wide variety of climates and physical terrains affect human life and settlement patterns on the African continent? Different terrains and climates allowed for different lifestyles for Africans in different regions. Those close to the sea were susceptible to invasion, but had the advantage of maritime trade. Those living more in land were isolated but protected by the diseases visitors would contract that did not affect the locals. Due to the fact that Africa is so massive, it has many

Africa was always a savage place with no civilizations or so the white man thought. When the British first came to Africa to colonize it, the British writers wrote about how it was a savage land and had no makings of a civilization. That was completely wrong. A group of people cannot survive for thousands of years without some aspects of civilization. The novel Things Fall Apart (by Chinua Achebe) talks about and shows examples of all seven elements that make a civilization. Things Fall Apart shows some aspects of civilization such as religion, government, and social structure. In the novel, Achebe shows the Igbo culture is a fully functioning civilization.

Geographical location: Ancient Africa is nearly 5,000 miles from north to south, Africa that lies south of the Sahara desert is the second-largest continent and was the home of some of the earliest and most advanced cultures of the ancient world. Most of the rivers and streams in the Sahara are seasonal or intermittent, the chief exception being the Nile River, which from its origins in central Africa, crosses the desert underground before emptying into the Mediterranean.