Difference between revisions of "Sub-Saharan Africa" - New World Encyclopedia

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A political map showing national divisions in relation to the ecological break (Sub-Saharan Africa in green)

A geographical map of Africa, showing the ecological break that defines the sub-Saharan area

Sub-Saharan Africa is the term used to describe the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara Desert. Geographically, the demarcation line is the southern edge of the Sahara Desert.

Since the end of the last ice age, the north and sub-Saharan regions of Africa have been separated by the extremely harsh climate of the sparsely populated Sahara, forming an effective barrier interrupted by only the Nile River. The regions are distinct culturally as well as geographically; the dark-skinned peoples south of the Sahara developed in relative isolation from the rest of the world compared to those living north of the Sahara, who were more influenced by Arab culture and Islam.

The modern term sub-Saharan corresponds with the standard representation of north as above and south as below. Tropical Africa and Equatorial Africa are alternative modern labels, used for the distinctive ecology of the region. If strictly applied, however, these terms would exclude South Africa, most of which lies outside the Tropics.

Geography

Geology

Resources

History

The early inhabitants of Africa lived in small groups and obtained food by foraging and fishing. About twenty thousand years ago, some peoples began a more settled existence and developed agriculture.

Migration of Peoples

The Bantu migration

The Zulu expansion

Effects of Slavery

The Berlin Conference

The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 regulated European colonization and trade in Africa and is often seen as the formalization of the Scramble for Africa.

In the 1880s, European interest in Africa increased dramatically. Sub-Saharan Africa was attractive to Europe's ruling elites for both economic and racial reasons. During a time when Britain's balance of trade showed a growing deficit, with shrinking and increasingly protectionist continental markets due to the Depression from 1873-1896, Africa offered Britain, Germany, France, and other countries an open market that would garner a trade surplus.

At the Berlin Conference, Africa was divided between the main powers of Europe. One part of the agreement stated that powers could only hold colonies if they actually possessed them, in other words if they had treaties with local chiefs, flew their flag there, and established an administration in the territory. The colonial power also had to make use of the colony economically. If the colonial power did not do these things, another power could do so and take over the territory. It became important to get chiefs to sign a protectorate treaty and to have a presence sufficient to police the area.

Independence Movements

Transition to Democracy

Politics

Economies

File:GreaterMiddleEast2.png

The G8's Greater Middle East includes Sub-Saharan African countries

Generally, sub-Saharan Africa is the poorest region in the world, still suffering from the legacies of colonialism, slavery, native corruption, and inter-ethnic conflict. The region contains many of the least developed countries in the world.

Sub-Saharan Africa, especially East Africa, is regarded by some geneticists as being the birthplace of the human race (the genus Homo). Mitochondrial Eve, from whom all humans alive are descended, is thought to have lived in present-day Ethiopia or Tanzania.

The region has been the site of many empires and kingdoms, including the Axum, Wagadu (Ghana), Mali, Nok, Songhai, Kanem-Bornu, Benin, and Great Zimbabwe.

Up to and including October 2006 many governments face difficulties in implementing policies aimed at mitigating the effects of the AIDS-pandemic due to lack of technical support despite a number of mitigating measures.

The population of sub-Saharan Africa was 622 million in 1997. [1]

Demographics

Health care

In 1988, Bamako was the location of a WHO conference known as the Bamako Initiative that helped reshape the health policy of sub-Saharan Africa. The new strategy dramatically increased accessibility through community-based health care reform, resulting in more efficient and equitable provision of services.

A comprehensive approach strategy was extended to all areas of health care, with subsequent improvement in the health care indicators and improvement in health care efficiency and cost.

Nations of sub-Saharan Africa

There are 42 countries located on the sub-Saharan African mainland, in addition to six island nations (Madagascar, Seychelles, Comoros, Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe. Mauritius is generally not considered to be a sub-Saharan African island because the ethnic makeup of the country is predominantly East Indian, Chinese, and French. According to this classification scheme, the countries of sub-Saharan Africa are:

Central Africa

East Africa

Sudan
Kenya
Tanzania
Uganda
Djibouti
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Somalia (including Somaliland)

Southern Africa

West Africa

African island nations

Cape Verde (West Africa)
Comoros (Southern Africa)
Madagascar (Southern Africa)
Mauritius (Southern Africa)
São Tomé and Príncipe (West Africa)
Seychelles (East Africa)

Territories, possessions, départements

Mayotte (France)
Réunion (France)

Cultures

Most of the people living in sub-Saharan Africa speak one of about six hundred Bantu languages.

Concerns

Sources and further reading

Bohannan, Paul and Philip Curtin. 1988. Africa and Africans. 3rd ed. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press. ISBN 0881333476
Curtin, Philip et al. 1995. African History: From Earliest Times to Independence. 2nd ed. New York: Addison Wesley Longman. ISBN 0582050707
Newman, James L. 1995. The Peopling of Africa: A Geographic Interpretation. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300060033
Reader, John. 1998. Africa: A Biography of the Continent. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0679409793

External links

Political maps of Sub-Saharan Africa

Credits

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@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 [[Image:Africa satellite orthographic.jpg|thumb|249px|A geographical map of Africa, showing the ecological break that defines the sub-Saharan area]]
-'''Sub-Saharan Africa''' is the term used to describe the area of the [[Africa]]n continent which lies south of the [[Sahara Desert]]. Geographically, the demarcation line is the southern edge of the Sahara Desert.
+'''Sub-Saharan Africa''' is the term used to describe the area of the [[Africa]]n [[continent]] which lies south of the [[Sahara Desert]]. Geographically, the demarcation line is the southern edge of the Sahara Desert.
 Since the end of the last [[ice age]], the north and sub-Saharan regions of Africa have been separated by the extremely harsh climate of the sparsely populated Sahara, forming an effective barrier interrupted by only the [[Nile River]]. The regions are distinct culturally as well as geographically; the dark-skinned peoples south of the Sahara developed in relative isolation from the rest of the world compared to those living north of the Sahara, who were more influenced by [[Arab]] culture and [[Islam]].