Unit+27+East+and+Southern+Africa

KENYA

Kenya is known for its national parks where wild animals roam freely and are protected. It is located on the east coast of Africa. The Equator runs through Kenya, and some places are very hot. The Great Rift Valley crosses the highlands, where elevation makes the climate cooler.Most people live in the fertile highlands of the southwest, which have forests, grass- lands, and enough rain to grow crops. When the British took control of Kenya in the early 1890s, they built a railroad west from the coast. They encouraged whites to settle in the highlands. Africans, especially Masai and Kikuyu, lost their land.In the 1950s, the Kikuyu fought the British settlers. The British crushed theuprising. But a Kikuyu leader, Jomo Kenyatta, became president when Kenya gained indepen- dence. He returned some land to the Kikuyu.Kenyatta encouraged haram- bee, which means “pulling together.” He wanted the gov- ernment, private companies, and individuals to work to create a strong economy. The govern- ment encouraged farmers to grow cash crops—coffee and tea. That left little farmland for food, forcing Kenya to import food. Many people suffer from malnutrition, a disease caused by an unhealthy diet. Kenya began to face hard times in the 1980s. It could not provide its fast-growing population with enough food or jobs. Ethnic conflict replaced harambee. Kenya has been ruled by one party for many years. Kenyans hope to return their country to fair elections and unity.

1 - What is harambee and how did it help Kenya? 2 - Chart Skills In which one of these countries do people have the longest life expectancy?

OTHER COUNTRIES OF EAST AFRICA Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia are located on a land- form known as the Horn of Africa. They are near the oil sup- plies of the Middle East and the shipping lanes of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.Several countries have been torn by civil wars, wars with each other, and the effects ofprovince of Eritrea to become indepen- dent in 1993. Civil war and drought caused a terrible famine in Somalia. The people of the Sudan are divided. Arab Muslims live in the north. People in the south belong to several African ethnic groups and practice African religions or Christianity. North and south have fought since independence in 1956.Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi are landlocked, or entirely surrounded by land. Uganda is recovering from a civil war and a ruthless dictator. It is becoming more democratic.Rwanda and Burundi are each ruled by an ethnocracy—a government con- trolled by one ethnic group. In Rwanda, the Hutu majority murdered great num- bers of Tutsi in 1994. About 2 million Rwandans became refugees. Burundi is controlled by the Tutsi, although they are a minority. Many thousands of Hutu have been killed by Tutsi.Tanzania has fertile land and mineral wealth but remains very poor. Tanzania’s economy failed when people were sub- jected to villagization—forced to work on collective farms. After Tanzania aban- doned this policy, the economy began to improve.Several countries in the region have strategic locations on water routes. Others are landlocked.



3 - Which country was once a province of Ethiopia? 4 - Map Skills What bodies of water are east and north of the Horn of Africa?

SOUTH AFRICA

The Republic of South Africa is the wealthiest country in Africa. Although three quarters of the population is black, a white minority ruled for most of the 1900s. Whites also controlled the land, jobs, and gold and diamond mines.The Dutch were the first Europeans to settle in South Africa. Their descendants, called Boers or Afrikaners, speak Afrikaans. The British followed and defeated the Afrikaners. The Africans were forced into separate lands or made to work for low pay.South Africa became independent in 1961 and passed laws to keep black Africans from moving to the cities. Each African was assigned to a region called a homeland. Africans needed a pass to live somewhere else. The whites also passed a system of laws called apartheid, which means “apartness.” Apartheid laws segregated black South Africans, or forced them to live separately.Apartheid and the homelands were so unjust that other coun- tries protested. In 1986, the United States and other countries placed sanctions against South Africa. Sanctions punish a coun- try for behaving in a way that other nations do not approve. In 1989, a new prime minister named F. W. de Klerk promised reform. Black leader Nelson Mandela was released from jail after 27 years. All apartheid laws were ended. In 1994, Mandela was elected the country’s first black president. South Africa adopted a new constitution guaran- teeing equal rights for all South Africans.

5 - What is apartheid? 6 - Diagram Skills Name two actions that led to equal rights for all South Africans.

OTHER COUNTRIES OF SOUTHERN AFRICA

South Africa is so powerful that it affects all of southern Africa. Lesotho is an enclave of South Africa. An enclave is completely surrounded by a larger country. The economies of Lesotho and Swaziland depend on South Africa. Until recently, Namibia was con- trolled by South Africa. Many people from Malawi are migrant workers in South Africa. Botswana sells diamonds, copper,coal, and beef cattle. Angola and Mozambique became inde-pendent in 1975 after long wars with Portugal. Both countries adopted Com- munist economic systems. Rebel groups, helped by South Africa, fought these governments for many years. Their eco- nomies fell apart and disease and malnu- trition became common. Angola held its first free election in 1992, and recently the economy has grown because of oil exports. War ended in Mozambique, and its economy has improved. However, in 2000 floods devastated much of the land.Zambia’s government counted on money from the export of copper to buy food. When the price of copper dropped, Zambia did not have enough money to feed all its people. Today its economy is still trying to recover.Before full independence, Zimbabwe’s white minority had control of the govern- ment, as well as most of the nation’s fertile land and wealth. This caused conflict with the black majority. Although full indepen- dence came in 1980, racial conflicts ignited once again. White-owned farmland was forcibly taken away and given to black farm- ers. Violent protest erupted and the gov- ernment repressed many of the people’s democratic freedoms.



7 - How did Zambia’s dependence on copper exports create a problem? 8 - Map Skills Which countries in the region have borders with South Africa?