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4 days ago · Western Africa is a term used in the Encyclopædia Britannica to designate a geographic region within the continent of Africa. The term West Africa is also often used to refer to this part of the continent. As conventionally understood, however, West Africa is primarily a political and economic designation and comprises all the areas considered ...
- Sudan
The Sudan extends for more than 3,500 miles (5,500 km)...
- Western Africa
Muslims in western Africa. A reasonable body of sources for...
- Colonization
Western Africa - Colonization, Trade, Empires: The European...
- Decolonization, Independence, Sovereignty
Western Africa - Decolonization, Independence, Sovereignty:...
- The Southward Expansion of Oyo
Western Africa - Oyo Expansion, Yoruba Kingdoms, Slave...
- Sudan
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa.The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo, as well as Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom Overseas Territory).
Aug 25, 2009 · English (Ireland) Aug 25, 2009. #3. Insofar as there is no individual country called "West Africa" I don't think it makes a difference which one you use. Certainly to my ear they mean the same thing. You could maybe make a case for 'west' being more precise than 'western' but I can't think of a realistic example of this.
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Western Africa is underlain by crystalline rocks that outcrop over about 55 percent of the subcontinent. Where these do not outcrop, they are being buried under sedimentary rocks. Other surface rocks consist of volcanicrock which covers a smaller area than the other two types. Western Africa lies below 5,000 feet, with most of the region lying belo...
Prehistory
Prehistory, which is commonly defined as the time when the first human settlers arrived, began in West Africa around 12,000 B.C.E. The first settlers are thought to be the Pygmies, who began settling in the region in the thirteenth century B.C.E. They began developing different forms of agriculture and making contact with the Mediterranean civilizations to the north. Sedentary farming began around the fifth millennium B.C.E., and was coupled with domestication of cattle. By 400 B.C.E., iron w...
Empires
Beginning with the eighth century, agricultural and economic advances combined to create an environment favorable to political expansion. The first empire to develop was the Kingdom of Ghana, which was based in the city of Kumbi Saleh and came to dominate the region until the middle of the eleventh century. The power vacuum following their decline was filled by the Sosso Empire, but it met defeat in 1240 C.E. at the hands of the Mandinka forces led by Sundiata Keita. Keita would later form th...
Slavery and European contact
The fall of the Songhai Empire in the late sixteenth century ushered in an era of smaller West African states that drew on European trading contacts to survive. A major trading power among the newly emerged West African states was Portugal, who began establishing settlements along the coast in 1445 C.E. Other major European trading interests included France and Great Britain, who played major roles in dramatically increasing the exports of slavesfrom the region. The trans-Atlantic slave trade...
Despite the wide variety of cultures in West Africa, from Nigeria through Senegal, there are apparent similarities in dress, cuisine, musical genres and wealth. Many of the visual similarities lie along the lines of clothing, especially formal clothing. A typical formal attire commonly worn in West Africa is the flowing Boubou (also known as Agbada...
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was founded in 1975 by the Treaty of Lagos. It is an organization of West African states that aims to promote the region's economy. Other West African conglomerations also exist throughout the region, including the West African Monetary Union (or UEMOA from its name in French, Union économique ...
Brooks, George E. 2003. Eurafricans in western Africa: commerce, social status, gender, and religious observance from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century. Western African studies. Athens: Ohio...Davidson, Basil. 1969. Africa in history; themes and outlines. New York: Macmillan.Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa before the colonial era: a history to 1850. London: Longman. ISBN 0582318521 ISBN 9780582318526Encyclopædia Britannica. Western Africa. Retrieved July 25, 2007.May 24, 2021 · The five regions of Africa. The United Nations Geoscheme divides Africa into 5 subregions: Northern Africa, West Africa, East Africa, Middle Africa, and Southern Africa. There are 54 countries in Africa. An estimated 1.369 billion people live in Africa. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, while the Seychelles is the least populous.
The region of West Africa includes the southern portion of the bulge of the continent, which extends westward to the Atlantic Ocean. This region is bisected by the African Transition Zone, which borders the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The main physical features include the Sahara Desert and the Niger River.
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What is the difference between West Africa and western Africa?
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Is West Africa a subregion?
May 17, 2021 · 3 West African countries, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, are landlocked. West Africa is a subregion of the continent of Africa, according to the United Nations Geoscheme. It is bordered to the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean, to the north by the subregion of North Africa, and to the east by the subregion of Middle Africa.
