Further east, Oyo arose as the dominant Yoruba state and the Aro Confederacy as a dominant Igbo state in modern-day Nigeria. In the forest region, Iron Age cultures began to flourish, and an inter-region trade began to appear. The reason for such a growth was predetermined by a number of factors. The tree itself is rather majestic and looks like a huge phallus and a deformed animal or thing is protruding from it. Additionally, the region al… Ngoye njuli is protected by the Senegalese authorities and attracts visitors. Whereas areas with the opposite trends illustrated opposite tendencies (e.g. Meanwhile, south of the Sudan, strong city-states arose in Igboland, such as the 10th-century Kingdom of Nri, which helped birth the arts and customs of the Igbo people, Bono State in the 11th century, which gave birth to the numerous Akan States, while Ife rose to prominence around the 14th century. [58], The northern section of West Africa (narrowly defined to exclude the western Maghreb) is composed of semi-arid terrain known as Sahel, a transitional zone between the Sahara and the West Sudanian savanna. Guinea-Bissau 14. "Constructing Avatime: questions of history and identity in a West African polity, c. 1690s to the twentieth century. The region has a total area of approximately 1,974,103 squares miles and had an estimated population of 362 million in 2016. It should not be confused with the modern-day country called Benin, formerly called Dahomey. Most of its subclades are largely confined to West and western-Central Africa. The Tenerian, who were a more lightly built people that hunted, fished and herded cattle, lived during the latter part of the green Sahara approximately 7,000 to 4,500 years ago.[22]. Three great kingdoms were identified in Bilad al-Sudan by the ninth century. In spite of the obvious differences among the various local cuisines in this multinational region, the foods display more similarities than differences. Importantly, the rise of the numeracy was higher in the regions which were less hierarchical and had less dependent from the slavery trade (e.g. [75][76] Fufu (from the Twi language, a dough served with a spicy stew or sauce for example okra stew etc.) Southwest Indian Ocean The southwest Indian Ocean is bordered by Africa to the west, the western Australia basin to the east, the cold Southern Ocean to the south, and the equator to … The Mozambique/Agulhas current is relatively warm, whereas the Benguela current is cooled by coastal upwelling along the west coast of S. Africa and Namibia. Troubled waters West Africa is one of the most diverse, and economically important, fishing zones in … Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, https://www.britannica.com/place/Benguela-Current. By the 1930s, the Gambian elephant population became extinct. Which body of water lies off the coast of West Africa? Africa is also bordered by the Red Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea. Africa borders on both the North and South Atlantic, from roughly the location of Cape Town to Gibraltar. "Locating colonial histories: between France and West Africa.". Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Economic Community of West African States, List of kingdoms in pre-colonial Africa § West Africa, Nigeria as the state with the worst deforestation rate, List of African cuisines § West African cuisine, Music of Africa § West, Central, Southeast and South Africa, Sub-Saharan African music traditions § West Africa, History of theatre § West African theatre, Traditional African religion § West Africa, Religion in Africa § African Traditional Religion, List of ethnic groups of Africa § West Africa, History of science and technology in Africa, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, Women Peace and Security Network – Africa, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, "Nigerian Economy Overtakes South Africa's on Rebased GDP", "Correcting for Purifying Selection: An Improved Human Mitochondrial Molecular Clock", The Making of the African mtDNA Landscape, Atlas of the Human Journey: Haplogroup L2, "Whole-Genome-Sequence-Based Haplotypes Reveal Single Origin of the Sickle Allele during the Holocene Wet Phase", "Phylogeographic Refinement and Large Scale Genotyping of Human Y Chromosome Haplogroup E Provide New Insights into the Dispersal of Early Pastoralists in the African Continent", "Sub-Populations Within the Major European and African Derived Haplogroups R1b3 and E3a Are Differentiated by Previously Phylogenetically Undefined Y-SNPs", "Recovering signals of ghost archaic introgression in African populations", https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/advances/suppl/2020/02/10/6.7.eaax5097.DC1/aax5097_SM.pdf, "Stone Age Graveyard reveals Lifestyles of a 'Green Sahara': Two Successive Cultures Thrived Lakeside", "Iron and its influence on the prehistoric site of Lejja", "Historical survey: Slave-owning societies", "Overseas countries and territories environmental profile", "United Nations Statistics Division – Standard Country and Area Codes Classifications", Polish Institute of International Affairs, "Office for North Africa of the Economic Commission for Africa", "2014 UNHCR country operations profile – Mauritania", "African Development Bank Group: Mauritania", "Overfishing destroying livelihoods | Africa Renewal", "Cape Verde: Greenpeace Raises Awareness on the State Of Fisheries in West Africa", "Overfishing threatens food security off Africa's western and central coast as many fish species in the region face extinction – IUCN report", Itai Madamombe (2006): "NEPAD promotes better transport networks", "Customs & Cuisine of Niger | Amman Imman | Dining for Women", "Why does the West dominate African football? Since the adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000, women have been engaged in rebuilding war-torn Africa. Paul R. Masson, Catherine Anne Pattillo, "Monetary union in West Africa (ECOWAS): is it desirable and how could it be achieved?" Nigeria 21. The Kingdom of Nri was unusual in the history of world government in that its leader exercised no military power over his subjects. Along the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Guinea T/F: Did Europeans build schools and roads in their colonies in West Africa and encourage many Africans to … The waters surrounding Africa are generally warm with the exception of those around the southern tip of South Africa which … For historical reasons, Western European languages such as French, English and Portuguese predominate in Southern and Coastal subregions, whilst Arabic (in its Maghrebi varieties) spreads inland northwards. Very cold Antarctic bottom water is prevented from flowing far north by the Walvis Ridge, a submarine feature that extends southwestward from off Cape Fria, Namibia, toward Gough Island. This ocean stretches around the world at southern latitudes, where it circumnavigates Antarctica. [70] Jollof rice—originally from the Kingdom of Jolof (now part of modern-day Senegal) but has spread to the Wolofs of Gambia—is also enjoyed in many Western nations, as well;[71] Mafé (proper: "Tigh-dege-na" or Domodah) from Mali (via the Bambara and Mandinka)[72]—a peanut-butter stew served with rice;[73][74] Akara (fried bean balls seasoned with spices served with sauce and bread) from Nigeria is a favorite breakfast for Gambians and Senegalese, as well as a favorite side snack or side dish in Brazil and the Caribbean just as it is in West Africa. Mangroves are being killed off by pollution. Surf or just get some sun along the coast line of Africa. Offshore in the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean, over 1,000 species of fish are found as well as dolphins, whales and seals. It flows northward in the South Atlantic Ocean along the west coast of southern Africa nearly to the Equator before merging with the westward-flowing Atlantic South Equatorial Current. In the early 19th century, a series of Fulani reformist jihads swept across Western Africa. To the west, Africa has its longest coastline with the Atlantic Ocean. Seasonal upwelling and downwelling also occur along the West Coast of the United States. 800 BCE to 1500 CE. William J. Duiker, Jackson J. Spielvogel. The use of deterrentsnoise or chili peppershas resulted in a dramatic reduction of conflicts and crop field destruction. Following World War II, nationalist movements arose across West Africa. Africa has a huge range of coastline which borders not only two oceans, but two seas as well. Mozambique finally created a conservation area, including a coastline. Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) consider its western end to be Nouakchott, Mauritania, or to be Dakar, Senegal, giving rise to these alternative names for the road: Of the sixteen, the most important hub and entry point to West Africa are Kotoka International Airport, and Murtala Muhammed International Airport, offering many international connections. The prevailing southerly and southwesterly winds produce upwelling of water with a cool temperature, a relatively low … The Benguela Current, along with the South Equatorial Current, and the northern part of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current make up the South Atlantic subtropical gyre. Ocean currents around South Africa … [16] 60% of African-Americans (in the study) were of the E1b1a haplogroup, within which 22.9% were particularly of the E-M2 haplogroup; they also possessed numerous SNPs (e.g., U175, U209, U181, U290, U174, U186, and U247). Coastal areas adjacent to the current experience a desertlike aridity that is not broken by the common sea breezes because of their cool temperature and low moisture content. In 1957, Ghana, under Kwame Nkrumah, became the first sub-Saharan colony to achieve its independence, followed the next year by France's colonies (Guinea in 1958 under the leadership of President Ahmed Sekou Touré); by 1974, West Africa's nations were entirely autonomous. [11] Its age and widespread distribution and diversity across the continent makes its exact origin point within Africa difficult to trace with any confidence,[12] however an origin for several L2 groups in West or Central Africa seems likely,[12] with the highest diversity in West Africa. Morocco 19. Northern tribes developed walled settlements and non-walled settlements that numbered at 400. [43] However, during colonization, the European colonizers such as the French and British killed most of the wildlife particularly the lions–using their body parts as trophies. [84] Senegal and Ghana also have long traditions of producing films. [89], Christianity was largely introduced from the late 19th century onward, when missionaries from European countries brought the religion to the region. O'Brien, Donal Cruise, Richard Rathbone, John Dunn, eds. From the coast of the Antarctic continent northwards, along the meridian of 20º E to Cape Agulhas (34º 50’S – 20º 00’E), … This line connects 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge and 1,000 mm (3 ft 3.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px;white-space:nowrap} 3⁄8 in) metre gauge systems, which would require four rail dual gauge, which can also provide standard gauge. 90,000 YBP. [64] Aims include the extension of railways in member countries, the interconnection of previously isolated railways and the standardization of gauge, brakes, couplings, and other parameters. Competition between Praise-singing ensembles and artistes are high, and artists responsible for any extraordinarily skilled prose, musical compositions, and panegyric songs are lavishly rewarded with money, clothing, provisions and other luxuries by patrons who are usually politicians, rulers, Islamic clerics and merchants; these successful praise-singers rise to national stardom. [27][28][23][26] Ironworking technology allowed an expansion of agricultural productivity, and the first city-states later formed. Sine and Salum). The film has been used as an advocacy tool in post-conflict zones like Sudan and Zimbabwe, mobilizing African women to petition for peace and security. are popular among the Tuareg people. The Oyo Empire was the most politically important state in the region from the mid-17th to the late 18th century, holding sway not only over most of the other kingdoms in Yorubaland, but also over nearby African states, notably the Fon Kingdom of Dahomey in the modern Republic of Benin to the west. The word "Oware" originates from the Akan people of Ghana. International Monetary Fund, 2001. harvp error: no target: CITEREFTishkoffReedFriedlaenderEhret2009 (. Winds, water density, and tides all drive ocean currents. "The archaeology of West Africa, ca. Regional leaders of nonviolent resistance include Leymah Gbowee,[93] Comfort Freeman, and Aya Virginie Toure. They included Ghana, Gao and Kanem.[29]. central and northern Senegal). Coastal and sea floor features influence their location, direction, and speed. Its craft was the most adored and treasured bronze casting in the history of Africa. Grand-Lahou is one example. In the East, Africa faces the Indian Ocean. Cape Verde 6. [23][24] Archaeological sites containing iron smelting furnaces and slag have been excavated at sites in the Nsukka region of southeast Nigeria in what is now Igboland: dating to 2000 BC at the site of Lejja (Eze-Uzomaka 2009)[25][24] and to 750 BC and at the site of Opi (Holl 2009). Colonial boundaries are reflected in the modern boundaries between contemporary West African states, cutting across ethnic and cultural lines, often dividing single ethnic groups between two or more states. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Guinea 13. [56][57], West Africa, broadly defined to include the western portion of the Maghreb (Western Sahara, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia), occupies an area in excess of 6,140,000 km2, or approximately one-fifth of Africa. Chadic-speaking groups, including the Hausa, are found in more northerly parts of the region nearest to the Sahara, and Nilo-Saharan communities, such as the Songhai, Kanuri and Zarma, are found in the eastern parts of West Africa bordering Central Africa. The Indian Ocean can be found along the east coast of Africa. The Bandia Nature Reserve in Senegal (French: Brydon, Lynne. It is said that its exact origin may be from Yorubaland in Nigeria. Modern griots enjoy higher status in the patronage of rich individuals in places such as Mali, Senegal, Mauritania and Guinea, and to some extent make up the vast majority of musicians in these countries. Address. Benin 4. According to a new World Bank study, environmental degradation in the coastal areas of Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Togo cost $3.8 billion, or 5.3% of the four countries’ GDP in 2017. The major national teams of West Africa, the Ghana national football team, the Ivory Coast national football team, and the Nigeria national football team regularly win the Africa Cup of Nations. West Africa refers to the westernmost part of the continent of Africa. A hereditary caste occupying the fringes of society, the griots were charged with memorizing the histories of local rulers and personages and the caste was further broken down into music-playing griots (similar to bards) and non-music playing griots. [79] The major multi-sport event of West Africa is the ECOWAS Games which commenced at the 2012 ECOWAS Games. Mauritius Tours The Tiv people found in Nigeria and partly in Cameroun are also among the largest. Cameroon 5. The history of West Africa can be divided into five major periods: first, its prehistory, in which the first human settlers arrived, developed agriculture, and made contact with peoples to the north; the second, the Iron Age empires that consolidated both intra-Africa, and extra-Africa trade, and developed centralized states; third, major polities flourished, which would undergo an extensive history of contact with non-Africans; fourth, the colonial period, in which Great Britain and France controlled nearly the entire region; and fifth, the post-independence era, in which the current nations were formed. Ghana 12. It rose through the outstanding organizational skills of the Yoruba, wealth gained from trade and its powerful cavalry. Earth’s rotation results in the Coriolis effect which also influences ocean currents. Part of the West-African regions underwent an increase in the numeracy level throughout the 19th century. Spend the Day Looking for Birds. Benguela Current, oceanic current that is a branch of the West Wind Drift of the Southern Hemisphere. Christianity has become the predominant religion in the central and southern part of Nigeria, and the coastal regions stretching from southern Ghana to coastal parts of Sierra Leone. Archaeological evidence from central Mali indicates that West African peoples had independently invented pottery in the region by that period (by at least 9400 BCE). The kingdom existed as a sphere of religious and political influence over a third of Igboland and was administered by a priest-king called as an Eze Nri. The Liptako-Gourma Authority of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso seeks to jointly develop the contiguous areas of the three countries. The courses of the warm Agulhas current (red) along the east coast of South Africa, and the cold Benguela current (blue) along the west coast, originating in the Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean respectively. The desertification of the Sahara and the climate change of the coast caused trade with upper Mediterranean peoples to be seen. However, the French and British continued to advance in the Scramble for Africa, subjugating kingdom after kingdom. [9], A particular haplogroup of DNA, haplogroup L2, evolved between 87,000 and 107,000 years ago[10] or approx. The Benin Empire was "one of the oldest and most highly developed states in the coastal hinterland of West Africa, dating perhaps to the eleventh century CE",. Sedentary farming began in, or around the fifth millennium B.C, as well as the domestication of cattle. [24][26] Smelting furnaces appear in the Nok culture of central Nigeria by about 550 BC and possibly a few centuries earlier. [88] Although traditional beliefs vary from one place to the next, there are more similarities than differences. Griot artists and praise-singing is an important musical tradition related to the oral history of West African culture. Mental health problems are on the rise in West Africa, as they are in many other world regions. West African cuisines have had a significant influence on those of Western civilization for centuries; several dishes of West African origin are currently enjoyed in the Caribbean (e.g., the West Indies and Haiti); Australia; the USA (particularly Louisiana, Virginia, North and South Carolina); Italy; and other countries. [37][38][39][40][41][42], Before European colonisation, West African countries such as those from the Senegambia region (Senegal and the Gambia) used to have a diverse wildlife including lions, hippopotamus, elephants, antelopes, leopards etc. Fig 1. The Economic Community of West African States, established in May 1975, has defined the region of West Africa since 1999 as including the following 15 states: Scores of foreign visitors to West African nations (e.g., traders, historians, emigrants, colonists, missionaries) have benefited from its citizens' generosity, and even left with a piece of its cultural heritage, via its foods. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Pray the Devil Back to Hell is a documentary film about the origin of this peace movement. 27 countries in Africa border the Atlantic Ocean: 1. In the 15th century, the Songhai would form a new dominant state based on Gao, in the Songhai Empire, under the leadership of Sonni Ali and Askia Mohammed. In Cape Verde, the fishermen communities of Palmiera and Santa Maria have organized themselves to protect fishing zones. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Sao Tome and Principe 23. By the turn of the 20th-century, the Senegambia region lost most of its lion population and other exotic animals due to poaching. The Niger–Congo-speaking Yoruba, Igbo, Fulani, Akan and Wolof ethnic groups are the largest and most influential. [59], The northwest African region of Mauritania periodically suffers country-wide plagues of locusts which consume water, salt and crops on which the human population relies.[60]. Discover the waterways of Senegal and Gambia with visits to no less than 4 Natural Reserves: Sine … [80] Major football teams of West Africa are Asante Kotoko SC and Accra Hearts of Oak SC of the Ghana Premier League, Enyimba International of the Nigerian Premier League and ASEC Mimosas of the Ligue 1 (Ivory Coast). The Atlantic Ocean lies to the west of the African continent. The Oyo Empire was a Yoruba empire of what is today Western and North central Nigeria. Libya 17. [58] The northern border is the Sahara Desert, with the Ranishanu Bend generally considered the northernmost part of the region. Another stands along the Gambia River in Gambia, also in West Africa. Islam is the religion of the region's biggest ethnic groups by population. According to CapeInfo.com’s Cape Agulhas web page, somebody did draw a line to demarcate where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet: the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO), which describes the western boundary of the Indian Ocean as follows:. [78], The board game oware is quite popular in many parts of Southern, Africa. Its capital was Edo, now known as Benin City, Edo. Mohamed Branine, Managing Across Cultures: Concepts, Policies and Practices (2011), p. 437, Bandia Nature Reserve is sometimes called, Deforestation by Country & Region ("Country Forest Data [sorted by region]") [in]. Starting with the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace and Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET), the peace movement has grown to include women across West Africa. The Benin Empire was governed by a sovereign Emperor with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and a powerful council rich in resources, wealth, ancient science and technology with cities described as beautiful and large as Haarlem. [14] E-M2 (E1b1a) likely originated in West Africa or Central Africa. [69] Rice is also a staple food, as is the Serer people's sorghum couscous (called "Chereh" in Serer) particularly in Senegal and the Gambia. The overfishing generally comes from foreign trawlers operating in the region. Democratic Republic of the Congo 7. Algeria 2. Upwelling on the west coast of Southern Africa Ocean currents-Upwelling. In the case of Niger, numerous praise songs are composed and shown on television in praise of local rulers, Islamic clerics, and politicians. The west coast of South Africa experiences the strongest upwelling in the world, ten to fifteen times that found off California and Chile. [33] The UN region also includes the United Kingdom Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha in the south Atlantic Ocean. In the central Sahara, Mandinka or Mande groups are most significant. "Human sacrifice in pre-colonial West Africa. The population of West Africa is estimated at 381 million[1][2] people as of 2018. Rising sea levels and erosion along the coast are threatening the homes and jobs of hundreds of thousands of people across West Africa. Local leather, cloth, and gold also contributed to the abundance of prosperity for many of the following empires. Only Liberia retained its independence, at the price of major territorial concessions. South Africa has almost … A. the Atlantic Ocean B. Traditional half-sleeved, hip-long, woven smocks or tunics (known as fugu in Gurunsi, riga in Hausa) – worn over a pair of baggy trousers—is another popular garment. "Huge swaths of forest are being razed to clear space for palm oil and cocoa plantations. The eastern end of the highway terminates at Lagos, Nigeria. Due to Mauritania's increasingly close ties to the Arab World and its 1999 withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in modern times it is often considered, especially in Africa, as now part of western North Africa. [8] The population of West Africa is estimated at about 381 million[1][2] people as of 2018, and at 381,981,000 as of 2017, of which 189,672,000 are female and 192,309,000 male. The first stop for … In West Africa, as in other parts of Africa where the baobab tree is found, the leaves are mixed with couscous and eaten, the bark of the tree is used to make ropes, and the fruit and seeds used for drinks and oils. Barbara K. Nordquist, Susan B. Aradeon, Howard University. Poaching has stolen most of its wildlife." [62], In contrast to most of Central, Southern, and Southeast Africa, West Africa is not populated by Bantu-speaking peoples. ", Dueppen, Stephen A. Like Praise-singers, the griot's main profession was musical acquisition and prowess, and patrons were the sole means of financial support. Omissions? Traditionally, musical and oral history as conveyed over generations by griots are typical of West African culture in Mande, Wolof, Songhay, Serer and, to some extent, Fula areas in the far west. The Eze Nri managed trade and diplomacy on behalf of the Nri people and possessed divine authority in religious matters. The West African kingdoms.One consequence of the Portuguese expeditions was contact with West Africa. It flows northward in the South Atlantic Ocean along the west coast of southern Africa nearly to the Equator before merging with the westward-flowing Atlantic South Equatorial Current. The interior consists of a hilly low plateau with elevations below 500 m. [81][82], Mbalax, Highlife, Fuji, Afrobeat, and Afrobeats are modern musical genres of West Africa and its diaspora. "[51], Overfishing is a major issue in West Africa. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Gambia 11. With rich, green rainforests, craggy mountains, silvery waterfalls and a diverse and delicious foodie scene, there’s plenty to enjoy when you’ve had your fill of beach time. In other areas of West Africa, primarily among the Hausa, Mossi, Dagomba and Yoruba in the area encompassing Burkina Faso, northern Ghana, Nigeria and Niger, the traditional profession of non-hereditary praise-singers, minstrels, bards and poets play a vital role in extending the public show of power, lineage and prestige of traditional rulers through their exclusive patronage.
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