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Western africa
Impact of Geography on Western Africa
West Africa covers an area of over 6,140,000 kilometers squared. This is about 1/5 of Africa’s total land mass. It includes the countries of: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, and the Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire). Most of the land is covered in plains that are a lying at or below 300 meters above sea level.
The Niger River (3rd largest river in Africa at 2610 miles long) runs through western Africa and is a main source for water in many countries. The Niger River can also provide much more than just a water source. It provides food by the means of fish and water-dwelling animals, and it is a main shipping route. Having the Niger River has been a great thing for the people in West Africa, giving them a constant supply of fish as food.
There are also more diverse aspects to the geography of western Africa. The different regions in western Africa include (from north to south): desert, semi-desert, steppe, savanna, grassland, forest, and tropical rain forest. All these different regions have made the people living in this area very diverse and different. There are also many natural resources in this region, like pepper, timber, gold, cacao, coffee, peanuts, coconuts, oil (especially Nigeria), diamonds, iron ore, bauxite (used to make aluminum), and slaves. The people of this region could have become very wealthy with trading of these things, but they didn’t. The resources and people were all exploited by Europeans until next to none remained.
The Geography would have given the people in West Africa a big advantage with all their natural resources and having the Niger River, but then the Europeans came. They all their natural resources, including their people, and used them for their own personal gain. To be honest, the Europeans don’t know any better, because that is what they have been doing for years now without much retaliation.
So, West Africa has a very diverse geography which has caused them to have a very diverse population. It is one of the most diverse regions in Africa, with lots of natural resources. The difference in climates is the main reason for this, and will continue to cause diverse ways of living among peoples in the future.
Legacy of Imperialism in Western Africa
There is a great history of imperialism in western Africa, as there has been in most of Africa. There are many natural resources in this region which the Europeans were able to exploit, including slaves. A vast majority of the slaves used by Europeans came from this region, causing a serious loss of population. The Europeans immediately exploited all the available resources in this region leaving all the people devastated and with nothing to do.
First of all, the slavery caused mass depopulation. A good chunk of the population has been taken away for use of the Europeans, and a lot of the rest were killed because they were useless to the Europeans. If they weren’t strong enough or couldn’t do something, then they would usually just kill them. This was devastating to the people and now there is only a fraction left of the amount of people that once were.
Second, the Europeans also took all of the resources from the native people. There was an abundance of precious metals and food resources that were taken from them immediately by the Europeans. This is just plain wrong. The people living in West Africa could have been some of the most prosperous people in Africa if they had not had their resources stolen from them.
The effect of the European’s imperialism has influenced the people of West Africa even after they gained independence from 1957-1974, after the second World War. They still are experiencing the aftermath of the slave trade by having great depopulation among the countries. There has also been a lot of civil wars among the people due to tribal ruling and conflict. So for them, being independent was really no better than being ruled by Europeans. Nothing changed for them, since they were not ready for independence.
West Africa covers an area of over 6,140,000 kilometers squared. This is about 1/5 of Africa’s total land mass. It includes the countries of: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, and the Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire). Most of the land is covered in plains that are a lying at or below 300 meters above sea level.
The Niger River (3rd largest river in Africa at 2610 miles long) runs through western Africa and is a main source for water in many countries. The Niger River can also provide much more than just a water source. It provides food by the means of fish and water-dwelling animals, and it is a main shipping route. Having the Niger River has been a great thing for the people in West Africa, giving them a constant supply of fish as food.
There are also more diverse aspects to the geography of western Africa. The different regions in western Africa include (from north to south): desert, semi-desert, steppe, savanna, grassland, forest, and tropical rain forest. All these different regions have made the people living in this area very diverse and different. There are also many natural resources in this region, like pepper, timber, gold, cacao, coffee, peanuts, coconuts, oil (especially Nigeria), diamonds, iron ore, bauxite (used to make aluminum), and slaves. The people of this region could have become very wealthy with trading of these things, but they didn’t. The resources and people were all exploited by Europeans until next to none remained.
The Geography would have given the people in West Africa a big advantage with all their natural resources and having the Niger River, but then the Europeans came. They all their natural resources, including their people, and used them for their own personal gain. To be honest, the Europeans don’t know any better, because that is what they have been doing for years now without much retaliation.
So, West Africa has a very diverse geography which has caused them to have a very diverse population. It is one of the most diverse regions in Africa, with lots of natural resources. The difference in climates is the main reason for this, and will continue to cause diverse ways of living among peoples in the future.
Legacy of Imperialism in Western Africa
There is a great history of imperialism in western Africa, as there has been in most of Africa. There are many natural resources in this region which the Europeans were able to exploit, including slaves. A vast majority of the slaves used by Europeans came from this region, causing a serious loss of population. The Europeans immediately exploited all the available resources in this region leaving all the people devastated and with nothing to do.
First of all, the slavery caused mass depopulation. A good chunk of the population has been taken away for use of the Europeans, and a lot of the rest were killed because they were useless to the Europeans. If they weren’t strong enough or couldn’t do something, then they would usually just kill them. This was devastating to the people and now there is only a fraction left of the amount of people that once were.
Second, the Europeans also took all of the resources from the native people. There was an abundance of precious metals and food resources that were taken from them immediately by the Europeans. This is just plain wrong. The people living in West Africa could have been some of the most prosperous people in Africa if they had not had their resources stolen from them.
The effect of the European’s imperialism has influenced the people of West Africa even after they gained independence from 1957-1974, after the second World War. They still are experiencing the aftermath of the slave trade by having great depopulation among the countries. There has also been a lot of civil wars among the people due to tribal ruling and conflict. So for them, being independent was really no better than being ruled by Europeans. Nothing changed for them, since they were not ready for independence.
Works cited
http://courses.wcupa.edu/jones/his312/lectures/fren-occ.htm
http://prezi.com/vmmtlsor3z-q/west-africa-physical-geography/
http://socsci.gulfcoast.edu/rbaldwin/IMPERIALISM.htm
http://traveltips.usatoday.com/west-africa-geography-information-63266.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Africa
http://www.africanculturalcenter.org/1_3west.html
http://www.atlas-westafrica.org/history-of-the-region-colonialism.php
http://prezi.com/vmmtlsor3z-q/west-africa-physical-geography/
http://socsci.gulfcoast.edu/rbaldwin/IMPERIALISM.htm
http://traveltips.usatoday.com/west-africa-geography-information-63266.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Africa
http://www.africanculturalcenter.org/1_3west.html
http://www.atlas-westafrica.org/history-of-the-region-colonialism.php