Transcript 4_AFRICA_TRADE_ISLAM

Unit VI: Medieval African Empires: Trade and the Spread of Islam
Core Unit questions and themes
 How did Islam transform African societies and how
do African societies transform Islam?
 Is trade fair and just?
 Has African geography, history and current events
been represented justly in historical texts and the
media—what shapes our perspectives and biases of
Africa?
Sahara Desert
Desertification 3000 BCE
Expands ½ mile/month
fertile 10,000 yrs. ago
Today ¼ Africa
 2 million inhabitants
Savannah:
Tropical or subtropical
grassland
Some trees, droughtresistant undergrowth
First African empires
Savannah
The Niger River
region
Spread of Islam in
Africa, 900 CE
Concentration
of gold deposits
in savannah
Concentration
of salt deposits
in Sahara
Medieval Trans-Sahara trade routes
Growth of African Empires: Causes
I. Emergence of Empires: why in Savannah?
1. Geography: Niger delta; Savanna
2. Resources: 650 BCE Iron technology; Salt; Gold
3. Trade and Islam: wealth, literacy, connection with global
trade network (Mediterranean, China, etc.)
What goods were traded?
Growth of African Empires
Recall definition of Empire
-Urban centers: 10-20,000 (larger than most European cities)
-3 Main empires: Ghana, Mali, Songhay
What goods were traded?
I. Gold: Origin? Why valuable?
Savannah region
Malleable, brilliant, rare
(except in Mali)
Qualities make it universally
desirable
Europeans import throughout
Middle Ages to buy goods
from East
“Florentines”
What goods were traded?
II. Salt: Origin? Why valuable?
Sahara
Need it to survive
Lose a lot of salt in desert
heat
Sold along Niger River towns
Slave laborers stack slabs of salt,
Taoudenni, Mali, around 1950
Camel caravan carrying salt slabs in
Sahara
Crossing the Sahara
Salt merchants on the Niger River
Camel caravan crossing the Niger River
What goods were traded?
Good
Gold
Salt
Books
Slaves
Horse
Camel
Spread of Islam
Other
Source/origin—or date arrive
Why valuable? Impact on
growth of empire?
What goods were traded?
Books:
Paper expensive; scribes rareexpensive
Slaves:
4 ½ million traded between 900-1600; taken in battle; used as tribute;
mostly domestic or sex or artisns (no plantation system);
Horse (1700 BCE):
“Tank;” Cavalry (10-20,000 in Mali); don’t breed well in desert
Camel, 100 CE:
“Truck;” Heavy loads (1 camel driver: 3- 6 camels=1-2 tons in 20-60
days); conserve water; milk; hoofs; eyes;
Islam (Arabization):
Literate bureaucracy; diplomatic/trade links; loyalty more centralized
(Muhammad); monotheism; schools/scholars; books; dress; justice
for traders; limits on polygamy; architecture; language (Arabic vocab
into Bantu); BUT: less conservative for women; fuse with animism;
No Muslim majority in W. Africa until 19th c.
Other: Dates, Beads
Profit from trade:
Trans-Sahara: Berber middlemen:
Emperors taxed imports, exports (duties)
Spread of Islam in
Africa, 1400 CE
The Growth of Islam and
the expansion of trade
Great mosque of Jenne, Mali
The historic center of Gao (Mali)
is the 16th-century mosque of
Askia the Great, founder of the
Songhai Empire’s last dynasty.
Built of mud brick, it is pierced by
wooden spars that serve as
scaffolding for the mosque’s
annual replastering.
Timbuktu today
Once a rich and prosperous center of trade, with
caravans of salt, spices, gold, and slaves inexpensive
shipping and mechanized mining led to Timbuktu’s
decline.
A family and their belongings,
contemporary Mali
Islam in Africa today
NOT PAST THIS SLIDE
14th century “Catalan” (Spanish) map of West Africa with Mansa Musa
as King of Mali in the Center. How is he portrayed?
Medieval African Empires and
Trans-Saharan trade routes
Atlantic Ocean
Mediterranean Sea
Growth of African Empires:
Ghana, 300-1325
I. Background
Soninke
Iron
Salt and Gold
II. Power
Tunka Manin, 1065-1076
Government
Geography
Economy
Belief
III. Collapse
Almoravids attack
East African Swahili States (Zanj)
I. Monsoon
NovemberMarch: West
MaySeptember: East
Arab and Asian contact
II. Goods:
Exports: fruit, Slaves, ivory, textiles
Imports from Asia: china, glass, silk
East Africa Coastal Trading
Networks
Traders took advantage of
Monsoon winds to exchange goods
between Africa and Asia,
connecting the Persian Gulf,
Mediterranean and Sahara
networks with India and China
Bantu Migration
I. Origins
Central Africa
Diffusion (2000 languages)
II. Decentralized Empires
Bias