Difference between revisions of "Western Africa" - New World Encyclopedia

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==Culture and religion==
 
==Culture and religion==
  
Despite the wide variety of cultures in West Africa, from [[Nigeria]] through to [[Senegal]], there are apparent similarities in dress, cuisine, musical genres and wealth. Many of the visual similarities lie along the lines of clothing, especially formal clothing. A typical formal attire worn in West Africa is the flowing [[Boubou (clothing)|Boubou]] (also known as ''Agbada'' and ''Babariga''), which has its origins in the clothing of nobility of various West African Empires in the 12th Century.
+
Despite the wide variety of cultures in West Africa, from [[Nigeria]] through to [[Senegal]], there are apparent similarities in dress, cuisine, musical genres and wealth. Many of the visual similarities lie along the lines of clothing, especially formal clothing. A typical formal attire commonly worn in West Africa is the flowing [[Boubou (clothing)|Boubou]] (also known as ''Agbada'' and ''Babariga''), which has its origins in the clothing of nobility of various West African Empires in the 12th Century.
  
The game [[Oware]] is quite popular in many parts of West Africa. [[Association football|Football]] is also a pastime enjoyed by many, either spectating or playing. The national teams of some West African nations, especially Nigeria, regularly qualify for the [[Football World Cup|World Cup]].
+
Throughout West Africa, many recreational activities are shared throughout the many cultures and ethnic identities that exist in the region. Like many parts of the world, soccer is extremely popular in West Africa and the national teams of some West African nations, especially Nigeria, regularly qualify for the [[Football World Cup|World Cup]]. The game [[Oware]] , called Mancala in other parts of the world, is also quite popular in many parts of West Africa.  
  
[[Mbalax]], [[Highlife]], [[Fuji music|Fuji]] and [[Afrobeat]] are all modern musical genres which enjoin listeners in this region. Traditionally, musical and oral history as conveyed over generations by [[Griots]] are typical of West African culture.  
+
West Africa also exhibits a suprisingly unified musical culture, when the sheer size of the area is considered. In contemporary West Africa [[Mbalax]], [[Highlife]], [[Fuji music|Fuji]] and [[Afrobeat]] are all popular musical genres. Traditionally the [[Djembe]] drum, was a popularly played drum among many West African ethnic groups. The origins of the drum dates back to the [[Mandinka people|Mandinka]] peoples, and the historical importance of the drum has cemented its position as a symbol of the entire West African region. Other symbols of the region include: the highly intricate woven [[Kente]] cloth of the [[Akan]] peoples of Ghana and the distinct [[Sudano-Sahelian]] architectural style seen in the many mosques of the region.
 
 
 
 
 
 
The [[Djembe]] drum, whose origins lie with the [[Mandinka people|Mandinka]] peoples, is now a popularly played drum among many West African ethnic groups. The Djembe, along with the highly intricate woven [[Kente]] cloth of the [[Akan]] peoples of Ghana and the distinct [[Sudano-Sahelian]] architectural style seen in the many mosques of the region (see [[Djenné]]), are the primary symbolic icons of West African culture.
 
 
 
[[Family]] is an important aspect as well, being a main priority.
 
  
 
Most religions in West Africa feature a prominent supreme diety that can be reached through subordinate spiritual powers. While this basic idea took root throughout West Africa, many religious variations formed among individual cultures. For example, some relgions that emerged established different overreaching views on morality to govern everyday life. Modern permutations of traditional West African religions are found in the proliferation of Islam throughout the region. As the second most prominent religion in West Africa, Christianity has taken hold in the coastal regions Nigeria, Ghana, and Cote d'Ivoire. However, elements of indigenous religions are still practiced throughout the entire West African region. Judaism, while though boasting a much smaller population, has also existed in the region dating back to the heyday of the Mali and Songhai Empires. Jewish communities continue to be active in Ghana, Nigeria, and Mali.
 
Most religions in West Africa feature a prominent supreme diety that can be reached through subordinate spiritual powers. While this basic idea took root throughout West Africa, many religious variations formed among individual cultures. For example, some relgions that emerged established different overreaching views on morality to govern everyday life. Modern permutations of traditional West African religions are found in the proliferation of Islam throughout the region. As the second most prominent religion in West Africa, Christianity has taken hold in the coastal regions Nigeria, Ghana, and Cote d'Ivoire. However, elements of indigenous religions are still practiced throughout the entire West African region. Judaism, while though boasting a much smaller population, has also existed in the region dating back to the heyday of the Mali and Songhai Empires. Jewish communities continue to be active in Ghana, Nigeria, and Mali.
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
{{main|History of West Africa}}
 
  
The history of West Africa can be divided into five major periods: first, its prehistory, in which the first human settlers arrived, agriculture developed, and contact made with the Mediterranean civilizations to the north; the second, the Iron Age empires that consolidated trade and developed centralized states; third, the slave-trading kingdoms, jihads, and colonial invaders of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; fourth, the colonial period, in which France and Great Britain controlled nearly the whole of the region; fifth, the post-independence era, in which the current nations were formed.
+
first, its prehistory, in which the first human settlers arrived, agriculture developed, and contact made with the Mediterranean civilizations to the north; the second, the Iron Age empires that consolidated trade and developed centralized states; third, the slave-trading kingdoms, jihads, and colonial invaders of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; fourth, the colonial period, in which France and Great Britain controlled nearly the whole of the region; fifth, the post-independence era, in which the current nations were formed.
  
 
===Prehistory===
 
===Prehistory===
Early [[human]] settlers, probably related to the Pygmies, arrived in West Africa around 12,000 BC. Sedentary farming began around the fifth millennium B.C.E., as well as the domestication of cattle. By 400 B.C.E., ironworking technology allowed an expansion of agricultural productivity, and the first city-states formed. The domestication of the [[camel]] allowed the development of a cross-Saharan trade with [[Mediterranean]] cultures, including [[Carthage]] and the [[Berber people|Berbers]]; major exports included  [[gold]], cotton cloth, metal ornaments and leather goods, which were then exchanged for [[salt]], [[horse]]s, and textiles.
+
 
 +
Prehistory, which is commonly defined as the time when the first human settlers arrived , began in West Africa around 12,000 B.C. The  first settlers are thought to be the Pygmies, who began settling in the region in the 13th century B.C.E. They began developing different forms of agriulture and making contact with the Mediterranean civilizations to the north. Sedentary farming began around the fifth millennium B.C.E., and was coupled with domestication of cattle.  
 +
 
 +
By 400 B.C.E., iron working technology allowed an expansion of agricultural productivity, and as a consequence the first city-states formed. Development of city-states was aided by the domestication of camels, a fact that allowed West Afica to take its place in the cross-Saharan trade. By utilizing the unique ability of the camel to cross the Sahara, West Africa was able to make contact with [[Carthage]] in the north and the [[Berber people]] of the Sahara. Major exports from West Africa included: major exports included  [[gold]], cotton cloth, metal ornaments and leather goods, which were then exchanged for [[salt]], [[horse]]s, and textiles.
  
 
===Empires===
 
===Empires===
The development of the region's economy allowed more centralized states to form, beginning with the [[Ghana Empire]] in the [[eighth century]] AD. Based around the city of [[Kumbi Saleh]] in modern-day Mauritania, the empire came to dominate much the region until its defeat by [[Almoravid]] invaders in [[1052]]. The [[Sosso Empire]] sought to fill the void, but was defeated (c. [[1240]]) by the [[Mandinka people|Mandinka]] forces of [[Sundiata Keita]], founder of the new [[Mali Empire]]. The [[Mali Empire]] continued to flourish for several centuries (most particularly under Sundiata's grandnephew), [[Mansa Musa|Kankan Musa I]] before a succession of weak rulers led to its collapse under [[Mossi]], [[Tuareg]] and [[Songhai]] invadersIn the [[fifteenth century]], the Songhai would form a new dominant state based around [[Gao]], in the [[Songhai Empire]], under the leadership of [[Sonni Ali]] and [[Askia Mohammed]].  Meanwhile, south of the Sudan, strong city states arose in [[Ife]], [[Bono Manso|Bono]], and [[Benin]] around the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Further east, [[Oyo]] arose as the dominant [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] state and the [[Aro Confederacy]] as a dominant [[Igbo people|Igbo]] state in modern-day Nigeria.
+
 
 +
Beginning with the eighth century, agricultural and economic advances combined to create an environment favorable to political expansion. The first empire to develop was the Ghana Empire, which was based in the city of Kumbi Saleh and came to dominate the region until the middle of the eleventh century. The power vacuum was filled by the Sosso Empire, but it met defeat in 1240 C.E.. at the hands of the Mandinka forces led by Sundiata Keita. Keita would later form the Mali Empire and subdue the bulk of West Africa under his political authority. The [[Mali Empire]] continued to flourish for several centuries (most particularly under Sundiata's grandnephew), [[Mansa Musa|Kankan Musa I]] before a succession of weak rulers led to its collapse. The next hegemonic power to emerge in West Africa was the Songhai Empire in the fifteenth century. This empire was based in Gao and established itself as the main power in the region. Militarism also took hold of West Africa with the rise of the Songhai empire, and strong militaristic states also arose in [[Ife]], [[Bono Manso|Bono]], and [[Benin]] around the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Further east, [[Oyo]] arose as the dominant [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] state and the [[Aro Confederacy]] as a dominant [[Igbo people|Igbo]] state in modern-day Nigeria.
  
 
===Slavery and European contact===
 
===Slavery and European contact===
 +
 
[[Image:ManillaOkhapos.JPG|thumb|left|<center>Two slightly differing Okpoho manillas as used by Europeans to purchase slaves.</center>]]
 
[[Image:ManillaOkhapos.JPG|thumb|left|<center>Two slightly differing Okpoho manillas as used by Europeans to purchase slaves.</center>]]
Following the 1591 destruction of the Songhai capital by [[Morocco|Moroccan]] invaders, a number of smaller states arose across West Africa, including the [[Bambara Empire]] of [[Ségou]], the [[Bambara]] kingdom of [[Kaarta]], the [[Fula people|Peul]]/[[Malinké]] kingdom of [[Khasso]], and the [[Kénédougou Empire]] of [[Sikasso]]. Portuguese traders began establishing settlements along the coast in 1445, followed by the French and English; the [[African slave trade]] began not long after, which over the following centuries would debilitate the region's economy and population. The slave trade also encouraged the formation of states such as the Bambara Empire and [[Dahomey]], whose economies largely depended on exchanging slaves for [[Europe]]an [[firearm]]s, which were then used to capture more slaves.
 
  
The expanding [[Atlantic slave trade]] produced significant populations of West Africans living in the [[New World]], recently colonized by Europeans. The oldest known remains of African slaves in the Americas were found in [[Mexico]] in early 2006; they are thought to date from the late 16th century and the mid-17th century.<ref>[http://www.livescience.com/history/060131_first_slaves.html "Skeletons Discovered: First African Slaves in New World"]. January 31, 2006. LiveScience.com. Accessed September 27, 2006.</ref> European and American governments passed legislation prohibiting the Atlantic slave trade in the 19th century, though slavery in the Americas persisted in some capacity through the century in the Americas; the last country to abolish the institution was [[Brazil]] in 1888. Descendants of West Africans make up large and important segments of the population in Brazil, the [[Caribbean]], the [[United States]], and throughout the New World.
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The fall of the Songhai empire in the late sixteenth century ushered in an era of smaller West African states that drew on European trading contacts to survive. A major trading power among the newly emerged West African states was the Portuguese, who began establishing settlements along the coast in 1445 C.E. Other major European trading interests include the French and the English, who played major roles in dramatically increasing the exports of slaves from the region. The trans-Atlantic slave produced states such as the Bambara Empire and [[Dahomey]], whose economies largely depended on providing slaves for the European traders in exchange for firearms and other valuable goods.
 +
 
 +
In the nineteenth century, European and American governments outlawed the Atlantic slave trade and made it illegal to import slaves from Africa. The last country to outlaw to importation of African slaves was Brazil, who made the slave trade illegal in 1888.
  
 
===Colonialism===
 
===Colonialism===

Revision as of 18:59, 9 July 2007


██ Western Africa (UN subregion) ██ Maghreb[1]

West Africa or Western Africa is the 5 million square mile area located in the westernmost region of the African continent that is considered a geographic entity based on shared cultural and linguistic traits throughout the region. Geographically, the United Nations defines the term West Africa as consisting of the following 16 countries, who all are members of Economic Community of West African States, except for Mauritania:

Background

The inhabitants of West Africa have been linked throughout history through a dense system of trade routes that have existed in the area since ancient time. While the intircate system of trade routes served to unify the area based on economics, the area also developed a distinct cultural identity based on linguistic similarities. The langauge variations found throughout the region can be traced to either the West Atlantic or Mande langauge family, a fact which solidified cultural ties throughout the region.

Spanning over 5 million square miles, West Africa is bordered in the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean, in the north by the Sahara desert, and in the east by the 10° longitude line. The borders of West Africa have always been contentious, particularly when it comes to defining the northern border of the territory. Due to the mutable borders of the Sahara, West Africa must be defined more through its cultural identity than perpetually changing artificial boundaries. In the same vein, the eastern border of West Africa has proven controversial, with many scholars disagreeing as to whether to place the dividing line at Benue Trough or at the line running from Mount Cameroon to Lake Chad.

The vast majority of West Africa consists of low lying plains that are less than 300 meters above sea level. The wide plains are punctuated by isolated high points along the southern shore that exist in numerous countries. The low lying terrain in the north is defined as the Sahel, a semi-arid landscape that separates the Sahara from the savanna in the western Sudan. Forests form a third geographic zone, lying between the savannahs and the southern coast and ranging from 160 km to 240 km in width.

Culture and religion

Despite the wide variety of cultures in West Africa, from Nigeria through to Senegal, there are apparent similarities in dress, cuisine, musical genres and wealth. Many of the visual similarities lie along the lines of clothing, especially formal clothing. A typical formal attire commonly worn in West Africa is the flowing Boubou (also known as Agbada and Babariga), which has its origins in the clothing of nobility of various West African Empires in the 12th Century.

Throughout West Africa, many recreational activities are shared throughout the many cultures and ethnic identities that exist in the region. Like many parts of the world, soccer is extremely popular in West Africa and the national teams of some West African nations, especially Nigeria, regularly qualify for the World Cup. The game Oware , called Mancala in other parts of the world, is also quite popular in many parts of West Africa.

West Africa also exhibits a suprisingly unified musical culture, when the sheer size of the area is considered. In contemporary West Africa Mbalax, Highlife, Fuji and Afrobeat are all popular musical genres. Traditionally the Djembe drum, was a popularly played drum among many West African ethnic groups. The origins of the drum dates back to the Mandinka peoples, and the historical importance of the drum has cemented its position as a symbol of the entire West African region. Other symbols of the region include: the highly intricate woven Kente cloth of the Akan peoples of Ghana and the distinct Sudano-Sahelian architectural style seen in the many mosques of the region.

Most religions in West Africa feature a prominent supreme diety that can be reached through subordinate spiritual powers. While this basic idea took root throughout West Africa, many religious variations formed among individual cultures. For example, some relgions that emerged established different overreaching views on morality to govern everyday life. Modern permutations of traditional West African religions are found in the proliferation of Islam throughout the region. As the second most prominent religion in West Africa, Christianity has taken hold in the coastal regions Nigeria, Ghana, and Cote d'Ivoire. However, elements of indigenous religions are still practiced throughout the entire West African region. Judaism, while though boasting a much smaller population, has also existed in the region dating back to the heyday of the Mali and Songhai Empires. Jewish communities continue to be active in Ghana, Nigeria, and Mali.

History

first, its prehistory, in which the first human settlers arrived, agriculture developed, and contact made with the Mediterranean civilizations to the north; the second, the Iron Age empires that consolidated trade and developed centralized states; third, the slave-trading kingdoms, jihads, and colonial invaders of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; fourth, the colonial period, in which France and Great Britain controlled nearly the whole of the region; fifth, the post-independence era, in which the current nations were formed.

Prehistory

Prehistory, which is commonly defined as the time when the first human settlers arrived , began in West Africa around 12,000 B.C.E. The first settlers are thought to be the Pygmies, who began settling in the region in the 13th century B.C.E. They began developing different forms of agriulture and making contact with the Mediterranean civilizations to the north. Sedentary farming began around the fifth millennium B.C.E., and was coupled with domestication of cattle.

By 400 B.C.E., iron working technology allowed an expansion of agricultural productivity, and as a consequence the first city-states formed. Development of city-states was aided by the domestication of camels, a fact that allowed West Afica to take its place in the cross-Saharan trade. By utilizing the unique ability of the camel to cross the Sahara, West Africa was able to make contact with Carthage in the north and the Berber people of the Sahara. Major exports from West Africa included: major exports included gold, cotton cloth, metal ornaments and leather goods, which were then exchanged for salt, horses, and textiles.

Empires

Beginning with the eighth century, agricultural and economic advances combined to create an environment favorable to political expansion. The first empire to develop was the Ghana Empire, which was based in the city of Kumbi Saleh and came to dominate the region until the middle of the eleventh century. The power vacuum was filled by the Sosso Empire, but it met defeat in 1240 C.E. at the hands of the Mandinka forces led by Sundiata Keita. Keita would later form the Mali Empire and subdue the bulk of West Africa under his political authority. The Mali Empire continued to flourish for several centuries (most particularly under Sundiata's grandnephew), Kankan Musa I before a succession of weak rulers led to its collapse. The next hegemonic power to emerge in West Africa was the Songhai Empire in the fifteenth century. This empire was based in Gao and established itself as the main power in the region. Militarism also took hold of West Africa with the rise of the Songhai empire, and strong militaristic states also arose in Ife, Bono, and Benin around the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Further east, Oyo arose as the dominant Yoruba state and the Aro Confederacy as a dominant Igbo state in modern-day Nigeria.

Slavery and European contact

Two slightly differing Okpoho manillas as used by Europeans to purchase slaves.

The fall of the Songhai empire in the late sixteenth century ushered in an era of smaller West African states that drew on European trading contacts to survive. A major trading power among the newly emerged West African states was the Portuguese, who began establishing settlements along the coast in 1445 C.E. Other major European trading interests include the French and the English, who played major roles in dramatically increasing the exports of slaves from the region. The trans-Atlantic slave produced states such as the Bambara Empire and Dahomey, whose economies largely depended on providing slaves for the European traders in exchange for firearms and other valuable goods.

In the nineteenth century, European and American governments outlawed the Atlantic slave trade and made it illegal to import slaves from Africa. The last country to outlaw to importation of African slaves was Brazil, who made the slave trade illegal in 1888.

Colonialism

In the early nineteenth century, a series of Fulani reformist jihads swept across the Western Sudan. The most notable include Usman dan Fodio's Fulani Empire, which replaced the Hausa city-states, Seku Amadu's Massina Empire, which defeated the Bambara, and El Hadj Umar Tall's Toucouleur Empire, which briefly conquered much of modern-day Mali. However, the French and British continued to advance in the Scramble for Africa, subjugating kingdom after kingdom. With the fall of Samory Ture's new-founded Wassoulou Empire in 1898 and the Ashanti queen Yaa Asantewaa in 1902, West African military resistance to colonial rule came to an effective end.

Britain controlled The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Nigeria throughout the colonial era, while France unified Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire and Niger into French West Africa. Portugal founded the colony of Guinea-Bissau, while Germany claimed Togoland, but was forced to divide it between France and Britain following First World War. Only Liberia retained its independence, at the price of major territorial concessions.

Postcolonial era

Following Second World War, nationalist movements arose across West Africa. In 1957, Ghana, under Kwame Nkrumah, became the first sub-Saharan colony to achieve its independence, followed the next year by France's colonies; by 1974, West Africa's nations were entirely autonomous. Since independence, many West African nations have been plagued by corruption and instability, with notable civil wars in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d'Ivoire, and a succession of military coups in Ghana and Burkina Faso. Many states have failed to develop their economies despite enviable natural resources (see: Petroleum in Nigeria), and political instability is often accompanied by undemocratic government. AIDS is also a growing problem for the region, particularly in Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, and Nigeria. Famine has been a problem in parts of northern Mali and Niger, the latter of which is currently undergoing a food crisis.

Regional organizations

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), founded by the 1975 Treaty of Lagos, is an organization of West African states which aims to promote the region's economy. The West African Monetary Union (or UEMOA from its name in French, Union économique et monétaire ouest-africaine) is limited to the eight, mostly Francophone countries that employ the CFA franc as their common currency. The Liptako-Gourma Authority of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso seeks to jointly develop the contiguous areas of the three countries.

See also

Notes

  1. The Maghreb, an Arabic word meaning "western", is a region in northwestern Africa comprised of Morocco (including Western Sahara), Algeria, Tunisia, and (sometimes) Libya (see Northern Africa).
  2. Cape Verde is sometimes included due to its membership in ECOWAS

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Davidson, Basil. Africa in History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995.
  • Davidson, Basil. West Africa Before the Colonial Era: A History to 1850. Essex: Pearson Education Limited, 1998. ISBN 0582318521
  • Brooks, George E. Eurafricans in Western Europe. Ohio: Ohio University Press, 2003. ISBN 0821414852
  • Lewis, Brenda Ralph, ed. Great Civilizations. Bath: Parragon Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0752561413

External links


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