Transcript Trading States and Kingdoms

Pre Class
In the space provided on your notes
paper, answer the following questions:
• Why might powerful kingdoms emerge
in West Africa?
• How did trade affect the peoples of East
Africa?
• How does trade encourage cultural
diffusion in Africa?
Trading States and Kingdoms
The Salt-Gold Trade
• Trade across the
Sahara based on
scarcity
• N. Africa- salt
• W. Africa – gold
• Towns expanded to
cities, and strong
trading kingdoms in
W. Africa
The Empire of Ghana
• Ruler = “king of
gold”; “ghana =
war chief
• Soninke –
founders;
controlled saltgold trade,
armed with iron
tipped weapons
• Welcomed Berbers
(merchants from
Northern edge of
Sahara) who brought
back gold to N. Africa
• Became wealthy from
TAXING and TRADE
The end of an empire
Invasion and Fall of Ghana
• 1076 – Berbers from the
North captured Ghana,
then split into smaller
states
• Mandingo farmers took
advantage of weakness
and est. empire of Mali
Mansa Musa
Mansa Musa, cntd.
1. Increased empire’s
wealth by capturing salt
mines)
2. Est. a SECURE empire
3. Adopted ISLAM – hajj to
Mecca made Mali
famous and increased
contact between the
Middle East, N. Africa
and West Africa
Timbuktu
• Crossroads of trade between
Arabia, N. Africa and W.
Africa
• Salt, gold, and kola nuts
passed through
• Capital of the Mali Empire
• MM built the Grand
Mosque which attracted
Muslim scholars
• Intellectual and spiritual
center of Africa
Rise of Songhai
• Sunni Ali captured Gao
(gaw) and Timbuktu
• Askia Muhammad
followed Islam – make
Timbuktu center of
learning
• Moroccan soldiers
overpowered Songhai
warriors’ spears and
arrows with guns and
cannons
Benin
• Forest kingdom near
the Equator
• Delta of the Niger
River
• Oral traditions
preserved history
• Benin City – center of
industry
– Woven goods, brass,
wood, ivory, bronze
Trading Cities of East Africa
• East African coast – good
harbors produced small
villages which grew into
busy city-states
• Askum, Kilwa, Mombasa,
Sofala – busy marketplaces
• Goods from the interior
brought to the coast for
trade – slaves, gold, ivory,
animals skins
• Monsoon winds carried
goods to and from India
RESULT OF TRADE
• Islam took root and cultural diffusion occurred
(ie. Swahili - mixing African language with
Arab words
Zimbabwe “stone dwelling”
10th century walls – 36 ft. high/20 ft. thick –
Europeans didn’t believe Africans did this!
Ibn Battuta
Where did Ibn Battuta travel?
How did his travels differ from
those of Marco Polo?