Feed back - Imperialism positives and negatives

The positive effects of Imperialism where:

- European education was introduced to the population which allowed Africa after independence to develop greatly and was the first building block to a successful continent.
- It brought new technology and ways of doing things which helped natives in their day to day tasks especially in the area of agriculture with new concepts of crop rotation being introduced.
- In many occasions the colonizers destroyed the worst extremes of the excess leaders.
-They set up a stable government which in a sense decreased blood spread between neighbouring tribes.
- The built extensive infrastructure which after independence was vital to the economy.
- The introduced new crops which today are the largest exports in many countries of Africa.
- They introduced a new religion and form of God.

The Negative effects of Imperialism where:

- On many occasions they violated human rights in the form of slavery and women being taken advantage of.
- They destroyed native tribes and killed leaders if they were not willing to step down from their positions as ruler.
- They destroyed the culture in many sense not allowing the natives to do typical day to day tasks.
- They brought disease.
- They destroyed native religions and forced them into Christianity.
- They took their natural resources.

Region of West Africa

The people and government in West Africa is largely based upon the conflict between ethnic groups and there natural resources. Different place in West Africa are more wealthy and this is largely based upon whether the government is stable as well as the natural resources they have to sell and the conditions of the land which allows farmers to grow crops to supplement the need of the growing population. Nigera was caught in a civil war in 1960 after the Igbo ethnic group tried to sucede from the country which lead to the capital being changed to a less populated area with less different ethnic groups. Nigera natural resources is oil which brings in large amounts of money. Senegal and Gambia's main resources are peanuts and tourisum both countries are relatively poor. Guinea, Guinea Bissau are both relatively poor with there main resources being bauxite or undeveloped. Cape Verde is the most stable government and largely relies on tourisum. Liberia and Sierra Leone are both traditional dumping spots of slaves which caused conflict between slave arrivals and the natives who traidtionally lived there this lead to a civil war. Both countries main resources is diamond and at this time both countries are trying to slowly rebuild their economies. Togo and Benin main resources are palm products, cacao and coffee. They both have unstable governments and for long periods of time have been run by the miliatary. Sahel has had large problems with providing food for its people with the expanding desert. Mauritanis, Niger, Chad also are having problems with the expaning Sahara causing farmers to have to travel further to gather crops. There has been alot of tension between africans and arabs living in the area which has lead to famine. Mali, Burkina Faso like many other countries located around this area have a food shortage and are poor. There main resources is cotton and tourisum. Many farmers not making enouggh income have come to the cities and have moved to other countries to try and find work to supplement there families back home. All in all large parts of West Africa has been effected by Civil war between ethnic groups or the new and the old.

Current Events Africa 3

This artical is about the sudden death of General Gnassingbe who had ruled Togo for 38 years and the uprising his death caused. During his funeral his military co-office workers announced his succesor as his son Faure Gnassingbe. This was followed by such an out cry by the local people as well as by people oversees that they had to back down and follow the rules for a government enstalled by democracy. The elections were held 60 days later as it was stated in the law but during the voting, boothes were stormed by armed officers and votes were stolen and so a large amount of votes were not able to be counted. At the end of the election period Faure Gnassingbe was elected president but many people believe the election was fraud as a large amount of the opposing voters votes were not counted.

This artical is news worthy because it shows how money can corrupt a government with one man able to control a whole country with enough men to pay to do his dirty work. It also shows emotion with people being deprived of their right to vote and their right to a democracy becasue of this corruption in the system.

Political Cartoon

The main visual effects in this cartoon is the 3-d black image of Africa with the white foot print stomped right through the middle. I believe the cartoonist is trying to address the issue of European colonization of Africa without considering the native people. I believe the way the cartoonist has illustrated this cartoon that he believes that this is wrong. The evidence to support my opinion is the way it is illustrated as if the Europeans are just walking all over Africa like it is a doormat. I also believe the way the illustrator has illustrated Africa as so perfectly shaped and defined as well as not illustrating things such as the resources that the Europeans were colonizing for suggests that he believes that their reasons are not a worthy excuse. To make the cartoon more effective the illustrator could of made the shoes sole more white to illustrate that the shoe was that of an European.

West Africa History

The history of west Africa was largely shaped around the colonization of the European's as well as the conflict between neighbouring countries. The Great Kingdom changed hands several times during its history from Ghanna to Mali and thirdly Songhai which developed the area greatly introducing schools and universities as well as a religious theme with many mosques. The city was called Timbuktu and was the cultural center of the Great Kingdom. The Great Kingdoms main trade was Gold and Salt which was traded with traders from the North in the Sahara desert. This soon came to a halt after Europeans became trading with the west along the coast this was profitable for both sides for awhile. But as the demand for labor increased greatly the Europeans started kidnapping and enslaving local people into slavery to meet the demand. This split many families up and destroyed communities. In 1974 all the West African countries were independent. All in all West Africa was largely shaped by the Europeans as well as the conflict between neighbouring countries.

The culture of West Africa is largely based around religion and the resources they have around them. The region of West Africa is littered with many different languages and ethnic groups.The main three religions are Animism is when people believe that bodies of water, animals, plants and other natural objects have spirits. The other two religions are Islam from the traders in the North and Christianity from the Europeans. The clothing found in West Africa can vary from traditional to modern. Traditional clothing is made from cotton and is made from colorful fabric, because of the heat most of the clothing is loose fitting. The traditional houses in West Africa are made with tin or straw roofs and walls are made form mud brick or straw. In one house a whole extended family may live. All in all the culture of West Africa is largely based around religion and the resources it has around it.

Scramble for Africa

Germany's first strategy was to take countries that had the resources of coal, iron and zinc. After the first round we realized that this was not an effective goal as we had an suspicion we would have to fight the other countries after some time so we started to group our controlling countreis together. We also made alliances with the Great Britian which was one of the largest controlling powers on the board after we realized their intention was never to truce with us we moved to all the smaller powers to gain their suppourt. The factors I considered in gaining land was where it was stradtegically placed on the board and what German land masses where backing it up as well as what resources it had. I belive either Great Britian or Germany won the scramble for Africa by far. I belive Spain lost the scramble for Africa because it was provided with less resources e.g. the number of dice it could role each turn so it had less of a chance to succed.

Current Events artical.

This artical is about a nigerian man called Mr Bello Abukar who has 86 wives. On wednesday the 12th their was a raid at his house and he was arrested for tressain and told to realease all but four of his wives. He was arrested because suppousedly officals said it was against the Islam religion to have more than four wives. Mr Bello Abukar lawyers disagree with this and argue that no where in the law or in the koran does it state that a man can only have four wives.Mr Bello Abukar says that Muhammed the prophet appeared to him and told him to marry as many wives as he could. He also states that he treats all his wives equally so he has broken no laws. The Supreme court has not made a final judgement yet on what they are going to do.

This argument is news worthy because it shows a competely different life style to a western life style in several examples including the laws that are stated about marriage and the number of people a man in allowed to marriage. It also shows how some countries government are largely based around one religion and breaken the law is the same as breaking a rule in the koran. It also shows large amounts of emotion when the man states that he has breaken no rules and he has been unfairly prosected.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7725413.stm

Physical Geography of West Africa.

The region of West Africa has plentiful resources with a small variety of landforms. Its main physicals features are plains and rivers. Plains cover most of West Africa stretching out for miles, the coastal plain is where most of the population is housed while the interior plains provides land where people can grow crops and allow animals to graze. The main river in West Africa is the Niger River which is issential to the life of many people who cultivate land by its shore. It provides fresh water as well as food in the form of fish. It is also an important transportation route. West Africa is divided into four zones. The notherest part is within the Sahara where hardly any vegetation grows and it is extremely dry. South of this zone is the sahel which is strip of land that divides the deserts from the water ways. This area has enough vegetation to suppourt life. To the south of this zone is the savanna which is largely populated with tall grasses, trees and shrubs. This is the best region for farming in West Africa becasue rainfall is plentiful. The fourth zone is along the coasts of the Alantic and golf of Guinea. This zone has a humid climate but large amounts of rain suppourts the tropical forests. West Africas main resources are cacao, coffee, cocounts, peanuts, diamonds, gold, iron ore, bauxite and oil which is the most valuable resource bringing large amounts of money to the region after its sale. All in all West Africa does not have very diverse physical forms but it is plentiful in resources.

To be a slave

I believe we can trust the truthfulness of "To Be a Slave" because during each persons account of the days of slavery the author Julius Lester has cited and credit where he got his information and who told him the story or which book he took the information from. I also believe as most of the stories are similar it makes you believe that the author has most likely not twisted the facts. Julius Lester did have ancestors who where slaves which is why I believe that he is telling the truth because the idea of slavery really effects him and he would want to tell the truth about this tragic topic. This is why I belive that "To be a Slave" is relevant and truthful.

Africa Current Event

This article is about the theft of oil from the Nigeria Delta into European and American markets for large amounts of money. The group who is carrying out these illegal activities are able to safely sell this illegitimate oil into European markets with out difficulty. As the government in Nigeria has been going through many difficulties it has not realized what these men have been doing.The men have been able to steal this oil through pipes which have been constructed illegally into oil companies and pumping the oil into cargo ships which are set for America. The shipis are heavily guided by local men who wihtout any jobs are desperate for any money they can get so will do anything to earn any.

This article is news worthy because it talks about the conflict in the country of Nigeria with the corrupt government the local people are willing to do illegal activity to earn money as the corruption in Nigeria has left them with out any job or provisions.

Link to article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7519302.stm

Five themes of Geography

The five themes of Geography are seen in this picture. The first theme movement is seen in different teams traveling to other countries to compete in rugby it is also seen in the crowd coming from different countries of the world to watch the game. The second theme is region is seen in the field and the clean environment and the cultural aspect is seen in the players performing the haka the cultural war dance of New Zealand. The third theme environment is seen in the players using the earth to play the game as well as them effecting the earth by ruining the grass with their shoes. Location the absolute location is New Zealand Wellington in the Cake Tin Rugby stadium the relative location is in a sports stadium with a lined field and green gradd. The place has special characteristics with pacific island men who are wearing western sports kit which is black and white, the stadium is full and circular.

Violence Feedback

“Violence leads to more violence.” I believe a perfect example of this quote is seen in the Shakespeare play Julius Caesar. The main occasion it was seen in was around act III when Caesar was killed by the conspirators this was the first act of violence. It was later followed by several other acts of violence such as Cinna the poet being killed by an angry mob of people because he was believed to be Cinna the conspirator. Another act of violence was when Portia committed suicide after she heard how strong Antony's army was. The larger act of violence which happened after Caesars death was Mark Antony, Octavius and Lepidus going to war against the conspirators which lead to the death of many soldiers as well as Brutus and Cassius who killed them selves after realizing that the battle was lost. So I believe this quote is true that when an act of violence is committent several others largely follow because of the first act of violence.