West Africa

West Africa

By ROBERT GONZALES

Overview

West Africa includes the southern half of the bulge of the African continent that extends west into the Atlantic Ocean. West African countries include Benin, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

Subject | Subject

Background knowledge

Poll

What do you know about West Africa?

• Not much

• A little

• Some

• A lot

​Open the History of the Akosombo Dam on Youtube

​Over 17% of electricity is generated by hydroelectric power

​

The importance of water

Both an inland delta in Mali and a delta that flows into the Atlantic

Third longest river in Africa​. Important for commercial shipping

​

Niger River

Multiple Choice

The lagoons and _____________ swamps are important parts of the coastal ecosystem of West Africa because they provide food and shelter for fish, shellfish, mollusks, wildfowl, and marine mammals.

• cypress

• mangrove

• freshwater

• bamboo

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is a human-made lake that was created by damming a river and displacing 80,000 people?

• Lake Volta

• Lake Malawi

• Lake Chad

• Lake Victoria

Multiple Choice

Which is NOT a climate in West Africa?

• Savanna

• Desert

• Tundra

• Tropic Forest

Blood Diamonds

Conflict diamonds are diamonds that are mined in a war zone. Often the money from the sale of diamonds in these areas is used to finance war. For example, during the conflict in Sierra Leone in the 1990s, rebels used forced labor to mine diamonds. These diamonds were then sold in neighboring countries and then in European markets. The money earned from these sales was used to finance the civil war in Sierra Leone. As people around the world became aware of conflict diamonds, often referred to as blood diamonds, efforts were made to prevent their purchase.

History

​Three important	​empires of WA
​Empire	​Years
​Ghana Empire	​300 AD- 1200's
​Grew based on availability to trade	​Muslim traders brought Islamic beliefs
​Mali Empire	​1200s -1600s
​Timbuktu was made the capital	​Important for trade and scholarship
​Kingdom of Benin	​Late 1400s - 1800s
​Present day Nigeria	​Infighting led to weakening of kingdom

Fill in the Blanks

Which country will have experienced the most urbanization as a percentage of the population by 2025?

​Lagos: Vibrant City in Nigeria Video

​The Griot tradition of West Africa | TEDxSydney Video

Multiple Choice

Review: At the Berlin Conference of 1884 and 1885,

• Liberia was granted independence

• European countries established colonial boundaries in Africa

• Germany was forced to give up its colonial claims in Africa

• They had a party and had a wild time

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is an important cash crop - native to Central America and South America - that was introduced to West Africa during the colonial period?

• sugarcane

• taro

• bananas

• cacao

Multiple Choice

Another term for conflict diamonds is _____ diamonds

• rebel

• war

• blood

• strife

Multiple Choice

The _____________ River is the main river of West Africa and an important commercial shipping route.

• Benue

• Niger

• Zambezi

• Nile

Multiple Choice

What is the largest city in Africa?

• Cairo, Eygpt

• Nairobi, Kenya

• Lagos, Nigeria

• Accra, Ghana

Multiple Choice

As part of the early empire of Mali, _________ became an important center of trade and scholarship

• Songhai

• Djenne

• Lagos

• Timbuktu

Poll

What do you know about West Africa?

• More than before

• A little

• Some

• A lot