A.3+Explain+how+the+following+five+factors+have+influenced+settlement+and+the+economies+of+major+African+regions+and+countries.+(G,+E)

Ancient Africa
In the ancient world, the Pharaohs of Egypt and kings and queens of Nubia reigned over advanced civilizations in the rich Nile River valley of north-eastern Africa. Later, Somali traders on the Indian Ocean coast did business with China and other Asian and African nations. The African people on the east coast of the continent were well-off and well-educated. Arab peoples in northern and western Africa developed some of the world’s first universities and libraries.

Settlement of ancient Africa followed typical patterns of people living near rivers and other water sources. Settlement of modern Africa is concentrated in cities, with the highest density in Cairo. The majority of the continent’s nations expect a population gain between 2004 and 2050, with only Botswana and South Africa anticipating a population decline. Most African nations expect a population rise over 125%. [Source: //Oxford// //Atlas of the World//, 2005, p. 24-25]

"Cons" of abundant natural resources
One important thing to think about in the context of Africa and its natural resources is how geography and an abundance of natural resources can harm a region as well as help it. In brief: if Africa had not been (and still is) so rich in natural resources, would it have been colonized, occupied, and thoroughly abused by outsiders as it was (and still is)? For example, if the Congolese forests had not been so rich in natural rubber, would King Leopold of Belgium taken over the country for his own personal enrichment and glory during the Industrial Revolution, when demand for rubber was high? To use a far-out example: would Europe have divvied up Greenland, Antarctica, and Siberia, if it was ice that was so coveted, and not rubber or diamonds or oil? It is not only Africa that has been affected by the search and hunger for natural resources; in fact, the entire world has been affected by this in one way or another, in particular, North America, South America, the Caribbean, and Africa. Greenland was settled by Scandinavians and its native peoples displaced somewhat, but not nearly on the scale as happened in the Americas and Africa. This is largely due to Greenland’s lack of natural resources—a deficit that, strangely, actually protected its people and land.

Currently, many African nations have regained sovereignty over their natural resources, but this is not entirely the case. For example, insurgents and militia in the Democratic Republic of Congo are stealing tin out of mines there by force [Nov. 14, 2008, //New York Times// article by Lydia Polgreen]. Also, there is a war brewing in Niger over who should have control over the uranium buried deep under that nation’s desert sands. A December 14, 2008 //New York Times// article, also by Lydia Polgreen, says in part: “Uranium could infuse Niger with enough cash to catapult it out of the kind of poverty that causes one in five Niger children to die before turning 5. “Or it could end in a calamitous war that leaves Niger more destitute than ever. Mineral wealth has fueled conflict across Africa for decades, a series of bloody, smash-and-grab rebellions that shattered nations. The misery wrought has left many Africans to conclude that mineral wealth is a curse.”

sources and resources
December 2008 New York Times piece on the battle for control of uranium in the desert of Niger; includes maps, and an interactive feature called “The Paradox of Plenty.” http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/15/world/africa/15niger.html?_r=1&hp

Go see lessons on Africa compared to the rest of the globe: How Big is Africa? http://www.bu.edu/africa/outreach/materials/handouts/howbig.html