Africa's Borders and Cultures

Africa's Borders and Cultures

​European powers created new colonial borders that ignored the exisiting borders of traditional African cultures.

-About 2/3 of African's live in rural villages

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-​Varied customs and languages

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-​About 1000 languages spoken

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​Africa's Culture Today

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Before European influence, borders between cultural groups were often formed by natural physical features or conflicts between groups.

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The Impact of Colonialism

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When Europeans arrived they ignored the cultural boundaries and created boundary lines that met their own resource needs. Many groups were divided or forced to share territory with rivals.

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Merging Different Cultures

Multiple Choice

How did Europeans decide where to put the borders of their colonies?

• They used Africa's natural features, such as rivers.

• They divided Africa to meet their own resource needs.

• They asked Africans to identify their cultural borders.

• They researched the borders of ancient African empires.

Once countries gained independence, they kept the colonial borders. ​The conflicts between the different cultures sharing territory have led to many civil wars.

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Civil Wars