Africa Geography Research Paper

The first humans appeared in the Great Rift Valley, located in eastern Africa. As people moved outward from this area they were forced to develop technology to help them to survive in their surroundings. While migrating, these early people also unwittingly performed the other 5 major themes of history; cultural diffusion, trade, conflict, belief systems, and regional empires. This meant that Africa’s geography played a pivotal role in influencing the social, economic, political, and military aspects of these early people’s lives. First, Africa’s geography greatly influenced the early African society, or the people’s social aspect. Africa is the second-largest continent, so there are many different types of areas and climates, some of which are uninhabitable. One such example is the desert areas, which are unsuitable for human life, and hamper travel. Desertification even forced northern people to move to West Africa to find better farmland. Also, rainforests are partially uninhabitable due to the tsetse flies. These flies prevented Africans from raising animals in or near rain forests, and also prevented invaders from colonizing
Some of the governments that formed consisted of a village chief and a council of family group leaders. When strong groups extended their land by conquering weaker settlements, they would centralise their power and government. Some of these strong, centralised groups eventually developed into kingdoms or empires, such as the empire of Ghana. Ghana developed because as traders passed through the region of the Soninke people (later referred to as Ghana by Muslim traders), the rulers of the region became rich by taxing the goods that were carried through their territory. Ghana’s ruler acted as a religious leader, chief judge, and military