Positives and Negatives of Imperialism

Positives:

• The colonists brought Africa to the New World.
• Africa became modernized and colonized.
• Lots of new machines and inventions were brought to Africa.
• Colonists helped the Africans discover valuable natural resources.
• They helped boost Africa's economy.
• Schooling and education was brought to Africa.
  
• Tribal wars were put to and end.
  
• Stable government was made.

Negatives:

• Millions of Africans were killed.
• Many were made into slaves and forced to work.
  
• Culture was destroyed and many were converted to Christianity.
  
• Many Africans were given no freedom.
• They were cheated out of their money, land, and resources.
• When the colonizers left Africa, wars started breaking out because no one knew who was meant to be in charge.
• They were whipped and chained.
  
• Colonizers spread diseases.
• Treated like property, not people.
• Not given proper shelter, food, or clothing.
  

Africa Current Event 3

There have recently been some bombings in Sudan, in an area north of Darfur. This was just after some reports that there was a truce between the government and the rebels. This was to try and stop violence and the suffering of humans. About 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur in the past 5 years and about 2.7 million have had to flee from their homes. This is all because of the constant fighting that has been going on between the Sudanese government and the rebels. Today, Haroun Lual Ron, the Government's Humanitarian Affairs Minister, announced facilitating humanitarian assistance in Sudan until 2010. This is meant to help the homeless refugees and give relief to the people. This plan will start in early 2009.
I think this is a good article to read because refers to news that is happening right now. It talks about the bombings and the fighting that has been going on in Sudan for the past 5 years. It also talks about hope, which is always good. It talks about how the UN has decided to extend their programs to ensure more safety and help to the people of Sudan.

East Africa Today

Although the Europeans had left much of East Africa in a mess, modern day East Africa is doing a lot to improve. Kenya and Tanzania have a big industry that relies on tourism and agriculture. The Serengeti Plain lies there and about 2 million tourists come each year to see the wildlife there. Kenya also relies on geothermal energy which is basically the produced from the heat of the Earths interior. It also transports tea and crops by its well connected railway systems. In Burundi and Rwanda, a while ago, there a was a big genocide, which is the intentional destruction of a people. The Hutu tribe tried to wipe out the Tutsi, killing thousands of people. Sudan, the largest country in Africa, relies majorly on coffee and tea exports for income. Somalia relies on livestock, Eritrea relies in cotton exports, and Ethiopia relies on agriculture, livestock, coffee, and oilseed. The port in Djibouti is their only source or income, most of their economy relies on the French government. Sudan has suffered lots of religious, and ethnic conflict. Thousands of people have been killed and millions have fled to refugee camps. Even after all these disasters in these countries, they are finally managing to make a stable economy and make some money.

Imperialism Cartoon

The visual elements of this picture are the map of Africa, and the giant footstep over it.I think it is also significant that Africa is in black and the footstep in in white. I think this shows that Africa was always under the footsteps of the Europeans. The Europeans just stepped into Africa and took what wasn't rightfully theirs without caring what the natives thought. The cartoonist obviously thinks that Africa was completely taken over by other nations and that this was wrong. He's showing Africa as a place where the people had no rights. I think the the giant footstep over Africa is enough to support my opinion. That shows how Africa was taken over by other countries. You can tell that the other countries are places in Europe because the footstep is white. They had taken over the natives of Africa because the continent is black. The picture is also quite gloomy which makes it more persuasive because it shows that the author thinks this is a bad thing. He didn't make it all colorful and he hasn't given it a very happy effect. This is the evidence I have to support what I say.

image from:http://img.photobucket.com

The History of East Africa

East Africa was colonized and ruled over by many different people. There were the British, the French, and Arabic's just in East Africa alone. Other parts of Africa were controlled by many more countries. Christian missionaries from Egypt were in East Africa by as early as 300 AD It soon spread to other countries too. By 700 AD, Islam was a major religion in North Africa. It soon spread to countries like Sudan and Somalia, in East Africa, which are now majorly Muslim. The slave trade in East Africa dates back to more than 1,000 years ago. By the 1700's, places in East Africa, like Zanzibar, became international slave trading centers. In the 1800's, most European countries ended slavery, but as a result, they decided it was better to dominate Africa itself. By the 1880's, most of Africa was divided by the European nations. Some places like Ethiopia were never colonized because of the high mountains that surround it on all sides.

By the 1960's, most African countries were free, but the culture that the Europeans had left still remained in those countries. For example, even though the french left, it is still the major language of Rwanda, Burundi, and Djibouti. English is the major language of Uganda, and most of Sudan speaks Arabic. The original languages of the natives are still spoken in some places, though. People on Somalia still speak Somali and people in Ethiopia still speak Amharic. This shows that when the Europeans left, what they did to colonize the nations of East Africa still remained.

Scramble for Africa Debrief

1) We first looked on the internet to see which areas in Africa had the most of the supplies that we needed. Then we wrote those areas down so that when our turn came we could color those squares in. We made friends with the countries that owned land near ours so that they wouldn't attack us. We didn't end up with much land though, I think it was because we went last and had the least dice.
2) When we were thinking about which areas to take, we had to first make sure they had the supplies we needed. We took the atlas and then searched African countries that were rich in the minerals we needed. There is no point in claiming an area that only has agricultural products of we need something like coal and oil. We also had to make sure no one else had taken the area we wanted.
3) I think Great Britain won the scramble for Africa because at the end, they had the most land. They also had major areas that are rich in things like oil and coal.
4) I think Spain lost because they didn't have much land at all. Also, they went last so they didn't claim any good areas because a lot of people had taken the area they wanted. Their areas were spread out and not just clumped up in one place which is also good.

Africa Current Events 2

The people of Somalia are facing many problems with an Islamist terrorist group called al-Shabab. Just recently Islamist militants have taken control of the port of Merka. This is very significant because Merka is an important place where delivery for food aid arrives in Somalia. According to the UN, more than 3 million nationals of Somalia ( almost half the population) are in need of food and medical aid. This is why Merka is a very important port. Just a while ago, more than 850,000 people were fed from food arriving from Merka. Al-Shabab has also taken over port of Kismayo in August. Al-Shabab has recently rejected a peace agreement with the Somalian government. Many parts of the country have been lost to Islamist groups like these.
I think this is a good article, I think it is timeliness which means it is current news that will be interesting to readers. This is an interesting article which is why I picked it. I think people will like to read this to see whats going on in the world right now. It isn't some boring article about nothing, this is actually a big thing that could affect many people. This is why I think this is worth reading.

Link from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7724156.stm

Physical Geography of East Africa

East Africa has a vast range of physical features that vary from rift valleys, plains, and rivers, to mountains. Some people have the misconception that all of Africa is very hot and is all desert. This is not true, because East Africa alone has a lot of different physical features. The equator runs through East Africa making some of it hot. South of the equator, the landscape changes to Savannah making the weather quite tropical. Other parts though, like areas north of the equator are highland areas with dense forests and are rather cool. Places on the coast of the Indian Ocean are quite warm and are made of deserts. East Africa also has the highest point on the whole continent. Mt. Kilimanjaro is located in Tanzania and is covered in snow. Much of East Africa lies at high elevations, but Tanzania also has the Serengeti Plain which is one of the largest plains in Africa. There is also the Great Rift Valley which is the largest rift on Earth. There are also many lakes and rivers in East Africa like Lake Victoria which is Africa's largest lake. Other lakes there are so hot that no human can swim in them. This is why I conclude that East Africa had a great variety of physical features.

Can We Trust?

Yes, I think we can trust what's written in To be a Slave. This is because the author has used information from people, books, and letters. You can't always trust what people say, but the people he got information from have actually been through slavery. They wouldn't just make up lies. Also, everyone has similar stories, and it's not like they're all making up lies. The fact that everyone is telling similar stories proves that what they're saying is true. He put the names of the people and the names of the books that he got information in the book, too. This means he is sure of the information. He wouldn't just write something he knew wasn't true and then put the name of the book in it. He is African-American, and his ancestors were slaves, so he might take sides with the slaves. But this doesn't mean that just because he could take sides he isn't writing truthful information. So, I still believe that the information, or at least most of it is truthful.

Africa Current Events 1

Since Obama has now become president, this could mean a lot of good change for Kenya. Some possible changes are that there will be more trade between the U.S and Kenya now. The Kenyans also hope for better cooperation between the two countries. More Kenyan goods will probably be sold in America and they expect more American tourists in Kenya now. They can hope for better cooperation between Kenya and America. There is another side to this though. Barack Obama is the president of the United States and not the president of Kenya points of Kenyan prime minister. He says that just because Mr. Obama can trace roots to Kenya does not mean he will go out of the way to give charity to Kenya. He says that having an African-American as president is a source of pride for all humanity. He's very happy that the racial barrier has been broken and feels that if something like this can happen, almost anything can happen. The Kenyan prime minister, Mr. Odinga, has actually played a role in getting Barack Obama to the white house. He was a consistent supporter of Obama and had personally helped to block a campaign that was meant to smear Obama.
I think this is a good news story to read because is shows that Kenya might actually benefit from Obama becoming president. It is progress which means it shows news of hope and improvements. Obama will hopefully work together with Kenya to fight terrorism. This article doesn't end here though. There is more about how the anti-Obama campaigners were trying to bring the prime minister of Kenya down and how they were making false stories about the two of them. This is why I think this article is worth reading.
Link:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200811080003.html

5 Themes of Geography

I think this picture shows movement because there are people from all over the place here. None of these people live at the Kidney Bean, they've obviously come from somewhere else, so this shows movement. This shows region because it's sunny here and by the buildings and environment you can tell this is in America. This shows human and environmental interaction because this Kidney Bean and all the buildings weren't here a long time ago. Someone had to make them. This shows location because this is in Chicago right next to a lot of famous buildings. This Kidney Bean is special because there is nothing like this anywhere else in the world. This is how it shows the 5 themes of geography.
Image from: media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/.../17/kidney-bean.jpg

Violence leads to more violence

I agree with this quote. If someone does something violent to someone else then the other person will want to do something violent back. For example, in Julius Caesar, the conspirators killed Caesar and to get revenge, Mark Antony and Octavius come up with a scheme to kill the conspirators. This lead to a war and in the end, basically everyone dies. Everyone wants to get even and if they get hurt or are at a loss because of someone else, they aren't just going to sit there and do nothing about it. They are going to want revenge and will do something to get back at the person. An everyday example of this is the way my friend and her brother used to fight. She would say something and he would get mad and her. Then she would want to hit him back, but then he had to get her. So in the end, it all lead to more violence and they both ended up unhappy. Another example is WWII. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor the US had to get back so they went and dropped 2 bombs in Japan. In the end, thousands of people were killed and no one was satisfied.
The whole thing just lead to more and more violence.
If anything happens, so one will settle for that and not do anything. This is why I think violence will lead to more violence until in the end someone is just so bad off that they will just have to stop.