World Geography Building a Global Perspective Mrs. Williams Iolani Chapters 26 a
Terms
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- shifting agriculture
- the practice of farming a site until the soil is exhausted, and then moving on to another site. Farmers in the sahel region use shifting agriculture to get around the obstacle of dry weather, and poor soil.
- forage
- to search or look for food, to scrounge, food for grazing animals. Many people in the Sahel herd animals which feed on forage such as baobab and acaia.
- desertification
- the transformation of arable land into desert either naturally or trough the acts of humans. Drought has caused some parts of the sahel to lose all of its vegetation in a process known as desertification.
- refugee
- a person who leaves his or her own country in order to escape danger or unfair treatment. Drought and desertification casue people to flee urban area to go to crowded places called refugee camps.
- landlocked
- almost or entirely surrounded by land; cut off from the sea. The only Sahel nation that is not landlocked is Mauritania, making drought aid hard to get from other countries.
- inland delta
- an area of lakes, creeks, and swamps away from the ocean. In Mali, the Niger river opens up into an inland delta where people can grow rice, corn, and other crops.
- coup
- the sudden overthrow of a ruler or government, often involving violent force or the threat of force. In Benin, six violent coups occured in a span of nine years, the last of which stayed in power until 1990, when it resigned.
- ancestor worship
- the belie that respecting and honoring one's ancestors will cause them to live on in the spirit world after death. The Asante people practice ancestor worchip as a major part of their religion.
- animism
- the religious belief that such things as the sky, river, and trees contain gods or spirits. Animiam is another large part of the Asante people's religion.
- World Bank
- An agency of the United Nations that provides loans for countries for development projects. When experiencing economic problems, Nigeria turned to the help of the World Bank.
- International Monetary Fund
- (IMF) an agency of the United Nationsthat provides loans to countries for development projects. Nigeria also turned to the help of the Internationla Monetary Fund when experiencing economic issues.
- structural adjustment program
- a program to reform the structure of an economy. After discussing it with the World Bank, Nigeria began to follow a structural adjustment program in 1986.
- watershed
- a dividing ridge between two basins. The Central African Republic lies on a watershed, so it's possible that it can produce a great amount of hydroelectric power.
- mercenary
- a professional soldier hired by and army. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo had rebel armies and mercenaries battling for power, evwentually leading to a new dictator leader who changed the name of the country to Zaire.
- barter
- the exchange of goods without money. While the former leader of Zaire was in a compund in his northern village, he controlled the police and armed forces.
- environmental conservation
- The preservation and protection of the environment and the wise use of natural resources. One of the most threatened species in africa today is the African Elephant. Environmental conservation has helped start rebuilding the population.
- harambee
- a policy of cooperation adopted in Kenya after independence to encourage economic growth. Jomo Kenyatta began this when he ruled. It came from a Swahili word meaning "pulling together"
- pyrethrum
- a pesticide produced from certain flowers. Rather than growing food crops, Kenya grew an abundance of pyrethrum. As a result, many Kenyans suffer from malnutrition.
- malnutrition
- a disease caused by lack of food or an unbalanced diet. Many Kenyans suffer from malnutrition because the government began growing coffee, tea, and pyrethrum instead of food.
- strategic value
- importance of a place or thing for nations planning military actions. The countries on the Horn of Africa have a high strategic value becasue they are located near the oil reserves in the Middle East and have access to the waters of the Indian Ocean.
- ethnocracy
- a system of government in which one ethnic group rules over all others. Rwanda and Burundi are both ethnocracies and are ruled by their majority ethnic group.
- villagization
- a political movement by which people living in rural areas are forced to move into towns and work on collective farms. During an experiment in socialism between 1961 and 1985, Tanzania tried this.
- apartheid
- formerly in the Republic of South Africa, a system of strict racial segregation. In South Africa, this system of laws was created by whites and nonwhites were segregated or "taken apart"
- segregation
- the separation of the races. In South Africa, this happened when apartheid was created, and the nonwhites were forced to live apart from the the whites. They were even separated from using the same public facilities.
- sanction
- an action taken by the international community to punish acountry for unacceptable behavior. In 1986, South Africa's major trading partners placed economic sanctions against South Africa because they believed that apartheid was a crime agaisnt humanity.
- enclave
- a country completely surrounded by another country and dependent on it. Lesotho and Swaziland are both enclaves in South Africa.
- white flight
- the departure of white people from a region. After Angloa and Mozambique won independence from the Portugese, many rich Portugese citizens of these nations fled, taking their money with them. This white flight wreacked havoc on the economies of Mozambique and Angola.
- land redistribution
- a policy by which land is taken from those who own large amounts and redistributed to those who have none or little. Zimbabwe's first freely elected president, Mugabe, made these changes because the whites owned most of the land.
- dictatorship
- a system of goverment by which power is held by a small group or one person. When whites ruled in many places of Africa, dictatorships were common.
- subsistence
- subsistence farming means growing just enouhg for a family or village to get by; subsitence economy is where people get just what they need themselves. Many African nations have historically relied on this, and it still exists today. It helps fight poverty if everyone can make enough for themselves.
- Nelson Mandela
- president of South Africa and helped fuel the anti-apartheid movement. He was the first black president of South Africa after being in jail for 27 years.
- Jomo Kenyatta
- Jomo Kenyatta was the first prime minister of Kenya, and then he became the first president.He supported reconciliation and peace thorughout Kenya.
- Kofi Annan
- current secretary general of the United Nations. Kofi Annan recieved the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for his work towards a better, more peaceful world.
- Great Rift Valley
- a depression in southwestern Asia and eastern Africa; extends from the valley of the Jordan River to Mozambique; marked by geological faults
- Liberia
- a republic in West Africa; established in 1822 by Americans as a way to free negro slaves
- Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
- a republic in western Africa on the Gulf of Guinea; one of the most prosperous and politically stable countries in Africa
- oil
- a black, sticky substance used to produce fuel (petroleum) and materials (plastics); a major export of several African countries
- rubber
- latex from trees (especially trees of the genera Hevea and Ficus)
- drought
- a lack of rainfall or other forms of precitpitation causing famine and water shortages
- the Sudd
- a swampy lowland region in the south-central part of Sudan; drained by head streams of the White Nile River
- Hutu
- a Bantu-speaking people of Burundi and Rwanda. These people rule over the Tutsis in Rwanda as an ethnocracy.
- Afrikaners
- the South Africans of European descent that speak the Afrikaan language. They gradually gained control of most of South Africa by treaty and force.
- homeland
- the native land of a certain ethnic group; a piece of land set aside for a certain ethnic group: Bantustan is a certain are set aside for the Bantu peoples in South Africa
- deforestation
- the act or process of clearing trees from an area in large quantities
- grass-root effort
- ideas that start at the local level and work their way up to the higher more influential people of the government. Harambee grew as this in Kenya.
- World Market
- products that are traded and used by the whole world; ie, oil, coal, food. When countries in Africa entered the world market their economies grew.