Transcript Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa
Karen Marks, Alyson Liang, Karen
Huang, Sharon Lo, Nancy Huang,
Shengjie Jin
Mankind's Start - Early Civilizations
• Lucy-Australopithecus 9 million years ago
• Hunter-gatherers settling down
o domestication and pastoralization (9000BCE)
• Various ethnic groups emerging at same time
• Bantu Migration: (3000BCE)
o started out near the Niger River
o large population needed more land and food,
o can't go north to Sahara
o continued on for centuries
o eventually settled in the South East and
interacted with Arabs to form the Swahili Coast
Early Civilizations (cont.)
• Berbers: (3000bc) Amazigh:free
o Sub-Saharan, west of Nile Valley
o resided in Morocco and other countries
o crossed the desert on camels
o traded with Muslim merchants through Egypt
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and and converted to Islam
o language groups rather than ethnic tribes
class structure: merchants > workers
Sedentary agricultural society
o fortified villages in the mountain and desert
ranges
Kushite(aka Kush aka Nubia)
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began around 800 BC: along Nile River, south of
Egypt with the capital at Meroe
o in the tropical region: depend on rain not the
unpredictable Nile floods
o Land of Gold: gold mines, ivory, and iron ores
o made weapons, agricultural tools from the
imported bronze form Egypt
o trade in the Mediterranean and Red Sea with
Middle East
o influenced by Egypt, polytheistic with pyramids
o conquered by Egypt, conquers Egypt, kicked out
by Assyrians, conquered by Aksum(Axum)
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Aksum(aka Axum)
Aksum(Axum 50BC): modern Ethiopia
o flourishing trade and wealthMediterranean
o East Asia, India, Persia Rome(Byzantine)
o slaves, gold, salt, iron, ivory, exotic
animals, wheat, silk, spices
o COINS-currency, showed the cross(first
major empire to convert to Christianity)
Aksum had obelisks and stelae that were
very large stone structures
took in the declining Kuchite
Aksum Stelae
Kushite Pyramid
TRADE
-Horn of Africa(Ethiopa, Somali), Sao
TRADE
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value of good was relatively the same: a lot of $$
need suppplies->trade->interaction->culture/religion
silent barter->ethnic and language barriers
Islam spread to corners of Africa: positive and
accepting of everyone which made it popular
slave trade was large contributor to wealth
-debt, oppression, military slavery, not only Africans
helped relations with Europe and Roman Empire
strength of empire was based on control of trade more
so than on the amount of products
camel caravans->roads and plazas
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The Nok
•Originated in a valley in West Africa between the Niger and the
Benve Rivers in 1000BC
•There were life size sculptures made of terra cotta or fired clay
to resemble the individual they worshipped
•Many were only elongated heads, possibly because of erosion
•Worshipped many gods and ancestors
•Nok people lived in farming communities. They made iron
weapons and tools for farming and also produced fine
terracotta sculptures.
•Discovered iron by heating certain rocks to
“smelt” iron.
•Mysteriously declined in 200AD
Carthage
•Founded by the Phoenicians in 814 BC; used as a trading post; first settlers were
from Tyre
•Its main rivals for economic power were the Greeks of Sicily until Rome invaded
after Carthage gained control of Sicily.
•Constant warfare for more than a century from 409BC between Carthage and
Greece for control of Sicily. By 275BC, Carthaginians gained control of Sicily.
•This led the Romans to build 330 navy ships, starting the 1st Punic War (264BC-241
BC)
•In the Battle of Mylae in 260BC, the Romans won by using the corvus which was a
military boarding device that could be attached to another ship. Soldiers then
walked onto the other boat to make it seem like a land battle.
•The Mercenary War (241-237 BCE) - The Carthaginian army of mercenaries
demanded the payment Carthage owed them, but Carthage was in a huge
amount of debt due to war. General Hamilcar Barca managed to help Carthage
win.
•The 2nd Punic War( 218BC – 201BC) started when General Hannibal from
Carthage attacked the city of Saguntum, an ally of Rome.
•Hannibal led his army and elephants across the Alps to Italy, but Scipio Aemilianus
invaded Carthage, forcing Hannibal to go back home.
Carthage (cont'd)
202 BC- Hannibal was defeated by the Roman general Scipio Africanus at the Battle of
Zama, in North Africa
•Carthage lost all political and military power by the end of the 2nd Punic War
•Carthage got rich again from commanding the trade route from eastern to western part
of Mediterranean
•Third Punic War (149BC)- Carthage refused to be dismantled, causing the Romans to
besiege Carthage for three years. Carthage refused to give up and produced weapons
and armory to hold back Romans. They turned every house, temple, and building into
strongholds
•146 BC: Romans broke through and sacked the city. The 50,000 survivors were sold into
slavery, and the city burned for 17 days. Salt was supposedly spread ritually to ensure
that nothing could grow there ever again.
•Julius Caesar proposed and planned the re-building of Carthage. Carthage rose again
five years after he died. Carthage became the center trading post again and remained
an important Roman colony. Christianity spread.
•Carthage finally fell in 698 CE when the Muslims defeated the Byzantine Empire, then
proceeded to destroy Carthage completely.
Ghana
•Ghana rose to power in around 300AD in West
Africa between the Niger and Senegal Rivers
•Economy was based on trade
•Became wealthy by collecting taxes from merchant
caravans that passed through their territory and
exporting gold and salt.
•Used iron to create weapons to attack neighbors
•Kings in Ghana were referred to as the Ghana,
similar to how an Egyptian King was considered
the Pharaoh.
Religion
•People started to convert to Islam because it was beneficial for trade. It
improved connections with other Arab states.
•People became more literate because belief in Islam required you to learn the
Quran
•Since all Muslims spoke the language of the Quran, Arabic became the
common language of the language of the merchants and traders of West
Africa.
•Strict Muslims all follow Islamic law. It is easier to solve disputes when both
parties agree on the laws.
•Conversion to Islam opened up markets across North Africa and in Arabia.
•The Berbers of North Africa were the first people to travel across the Sasahara
Desert. Through trading, the Berbers converted many of the merchants
from West Africa to Islam. However, most of the common people continued
with their traditional beliefs.
•Just like the Native Americans and the Sumerians, the West Africans were
polytheistic. They believed in more than one God and therefore did not
accept how the Muslims believed in only one God.
Trade
•The civilizations that were successful in ancient West
Africa depended on trade. Good leaders were conciliators
who tried to bring peace instead of warriors. Starting
from the 7th century, caravans from North Africa crossed
the Sahara for trade.
• In West Africa, salt was an important item in trade. Gold
from West Africa was exchanged for salt because salt
could be used for retaining body moisture, flavoring, and
helped preserve food.
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Mali Empire(1200-1500)
The exiled prince, Sundiata Keita, revolted against the
Soso king, Sumanguru Kante, and continued to conquer
other states which marked the start of the Mali empire.
The empire's wealth was mostly based off of trade with
trading areas in upper Niger.
The empire took advantage of the land they controlled
with the gold mines of West Africa and the floodplain of
the Niger River.
The empire was at its height in 1350
o ruled over 400 cities of different ethnicities with the
total population reaching about 20 million
o Malian army contained about 100,000 men
including 10,000 cavalry
o trade centered in Timbuktu, Djenne, and Gao
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Mali Empire cont.
Only the emperor, also known as the mansa, had the
right to tax trade and to decide laws.
The most famous emperor of the Mali empire is Mansa
Kankan Musa who ruled from 1312 to 1337.
o Between 1324 and 1325, he went on a pilgrimage to
Mecca while bring thousands of followers and
hundreds of camels carrying gold. This pilgrimage
made Mali known throughout the world as well as
decreasing the value of gold for a few years.
o He built schools in many cities throughout the
empire.
The journal of Ibn Battuta(1304-1369) allowed
historians to learn about the Mali empire.
Fall of Mali Empire
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Small states resented being controlled by the Malinke as
well as seeking to gain control over the salt and gold
trade.
o Tuareg seized Timbuktu in 1430
o rebellion in Gao
o rise of Songhai who took over Mema in 1465
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Spread of Islam
The teachings of Islam as well as Islam governing appealed
merchants and political leaders.
Mali was one of the largest Muslim empires during its reign.
Even after the fall of the Mali empire, Islam continued to
spread.
Many city-states of central-Sudan converted to Islam such as
the Hausu city-states and Kanem-Bornu.
There were changes on culture such as the architecture of
mosques being based off of Middle Eastern design.
Literacy rates rose starting with Arabic, then local languages.
Although Mali was a Muslim empire, it did not adopt all the
customs of the Arab world.
o Women did not completely cover their bodies nor wear veils.
o Women generally had more rights and were accepted in
society.
Trade
• The Indian Ocean Trade Network allowed Africa to
thrive as well as spread Islam.
• By 1500, there were around 40 city-states such as Kilwa,
Mombasa, and Mogadishu on the east coast of Africa.
o wealthy from trade
o very Islamic
Slavery
• The elite became more wealthy so there was a demand
for more people to serve the elite.
• Mali, Bornu, and Ethiopia were involved in selling
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slaves in Africa as well as to the Middle East, India, and
China.
Between 1200 to 1500, about 2.5 million Africans were
transported across the Sahara and the Red Sea.
The conditions these slaves lived under weren't bad.
o They had opportunities to advance.
o Many specialized in a trade.
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The Swahili Coast and Great Zimbabwe
The Swahili Coast was a strip of land on the eastern coast of Africa that
possessed fertile, untainted soil. Many merchants began settling in this
area for its resources during the mid 1200s, eventually establishing
between 30-40 city-states. These people became known as the Swahili
peoples. They shared a common language that was influenced by
Arabic and Persian terms and written in Arabic script.
The Swahili Coast played an important role in the Indian Ocean
trading network as it connected Africa with India and China.
Ibn Battuta, a renowned Muslim scholar, said that Kilwa, a town in the
southern part of the Swahili Coast was the best towns in the world. The
capital, Great Zimbabwe, reached its peak in the 1400s and by the late
1500s, Kilwa annually exported a ton of gold.
In 1498, the Portuguese arrived in the city of Quiloa, pillaged the city,
seized control of trade and put up crosses while denouncing the
religion of Islam.
Songhai Empire (1375-1591)
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The Songhai Empire was founded in 1375, but had reached its peak
during the mid-1400s to early 1500s.
The Songhai Empire was ruled by Muslims and acquired its wealth
from the trans-Saharan trade.
It's first powerful king, Sunni Ali conquered many territories
outside of the empire in the 1460s as well as seized and improved
the conquered city of Timbuktu, renames Gao, which was later on
known for its educational advancements.
One of the most famous rulers, Askia Mohammed (1493-1528),
centralized the government, built more schools and improved
relations with other Muslim states.
After Askia Mohammed's death, the empire experienced a short
period of peace before disintegrating into civil war, before being
conquered by Morocco.
Trans-Saharan Gold Trade (7th-14th century)
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The Gold Coast was a region in the western side of Africa,
occupied by modern day Ghana, that was famous for its gold
exports to Europe.
The empires of Western Sudan (Ghana, Mali, Songhai)
depended on their control of gold and salt trade in the TransSaharan network. Gold was widely sought after by both
African rulers and European rulers while salt was necessary
as a dietary supplement and preservative.
Towards the 1600s to the 1700s, slave trade began to make
itself a part of the trans-saharan trade, bring slaves from all
over Africa to the western coast for the trans-atlantic trade.
Transatlantic Slave Trade
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(c. 1490s - 1770s)
Trade between Europe, the Americas, and Africa. First arose because
there was a need of a large workforce for crop cultivation of the
Americas. This three way trade system depended on the flow of one
continent's export to help another's exports. (Example: the flow of
sugar from the Americas to Europe depended on the flow of slaves
from Africa to the Americas.
Middle Passage- path that took Africans from Africa to the Americas
via the Atlantic Ocean.
o Had inhumane living conditions that often killed a majority of the
Africans being brought to the Americas. Slaves were whipped,
beaten, forced to eat, and many developed psychological
depression after this.
o The Dutch West India Company and the English Royal African
Company both took part in the transferring of slaves from Africa to
America.
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Major Changes
Political governments will start to change from empires like
the G-M-S empires, to oligarchical rule by foreigners.
In 1450s - 1750's, countries and empires in Africa began to
trade internationally instead of between themselves. This
international trade brought cultural diffusion, the spread of
new ideas, one being Christianity, and the spread of goods.
It also brought along the horrible treatment of Africans
along the slave trade.
Africa is starting to become a place of great importance as it
hold a great amount of natural resources; We can see the
seeds of imperialism here as the Portuguese gained control
of the Swahili Coast and the Afrikaners and British fought
over the Cape of Good Hope.
Change in Religion
c. 1200s.
2010
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Industrialization and Global
Integration(1750-1900)
slave trade between Africa and the Europeans dominated in the 1700s Gold coast traded slaves, gold, ivory, & timber as part of atlantic trade
atlantic trade along the Bight of Biafra in grew & many slaves were
prisoners of war.
o environmental & trade link-environmental crisis caused
migrations & African leaders took advantage of this by offering
refuge. Refugee children were assimilated while adult women were
used for reproduction/agriculture. Adult males sold as slaves since
they were most likely to rebel.
o Islamism- penetrated Africa hundreds of yrs ago but by 1700s it was
still an urban religion w/ little influence on rural areas
o African languages continued in inland trade routes & very few coastal
African areas had interest in christianity after contact with
Portuguese
o despite slave trade, sub-saharan african populations remained large,
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limited volume of imports that Africans wanted did not undermine African
industries-imported products actually stimulated local production of things like
textiles as competition
New African States-1750-late 1800s
• southern Africa--Zulu kingdom rose. inland west Africa -Islamic
reformers created the Sokoto Caliphate
o Islam had little influence for rural people despite impact in politics
of cities. 1770s- Muslims began Islamic reforms & forcible conquest"jihad". Movement spread to other Hausa states & a caliph in Sokoto
soon ruled these new Muslim states
o became centers of Islamic learning&reform,slavery increased,
religious tolerance with a special tax
-Algeria became a colony of France in 1830
After 1820s trade exports of oils, gold, ivory increased & by 1807 slave
trade was banned so "legitimate trade" was established to continue
European-African trade relationship----->industrial revolution started
the declining need of slaves and increasing need of agricultural goods as
European nations evolved from agricultural to industrial nation and
populations increase
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Scramble for Africa/ colonization
• occupation of the congo basin led to the Berlin Conference(1884-
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1885) where countries agreed on occupation of Africa that would
replace trade relations
since West Africa had long been a major trading area, rulers took
advantage of trade networks, taxes, investing in railroad&harbors
o interior of French West Africa lagged behind due to
transportation issues
o Equatorial Africa had little trade so the French and Portuguese
gave lands to private companies--->monopolies
Southern Africa
attracted settlers due to good farmland, diamonds, gold copper,
iron, coal
o Great Britain tried to annex South Africa due to diamonds and
gold which led to a war between Afrikhaners and the British
but despite the British winning South Africa had self rule
Effects on African Society
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some tribes welcomed the Europeans as allies against enemies
while others adamantly fought against colonialism
o after colonial rule was established, natives sought jobs in
government and sent their children to mission schools. Due to
compliance, they received benefits like clinics
o in general, most africans neither complied or fought they just
wanted to continue on with their lives but colonial rule ended
many traditional societies
o land ownership changed for natives that depended on land for
a living
 places with large populations were encouraged to grow
cahs crops for exports while other lands were confiscated &
given to private companies--->Africans were forced off
their own land, became sharecroppers, lived on
reserves(south africa)
 desperation led to work for less pay in plantations, at
railroads, etc.
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Some went to mining camps/cities for better lives & most families
were broken up as the men left to cities while children/wives stayed
behind
o prostitution, sexually transmitted diseases
African women lost property rights
missionaries opened schools that taught Africans diff.
craftsmanships/basic skill
o this also led to assimilation to western ideals such as freedom &
progress
o Christianity also spread & in central Africa Chrisitanity was
mixed with African traditional customs to form "Ethiopian"
churches
 Christianity did not reach Muslims-- they had a counterconversion. In Islam dominated places(north and East
Africa), schools were established in villages & groups formed
to further Islam
the building of cities by Europeans / trade increases
helped spread Islam as Muslims began to move-->Muslims in South Africa doubled between late 1800s-
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1914-present
European imperialism and decolonization in
Africa
Changes
Continuities
•Formation of national identity
•European colonization of Africa
•Tribal disputes
•Corrupt leadership and poor
economy and infrastructure
•Use of cash crops for economy
and then decolonization and
departure
Introductions of Christianity and
modern medicine to Africa
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Rise of African Nationalism
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Late 1800s: African nationalism not too strong because Europeans
have not settled there permanently yet. European colonization
marks the first few nationalist ideas in Africa.
World War I: Africans sent overseas to help war effort are able to
observe Europeans at their most desperate times and realize the
imperialists are not invincible.
World War II: Africans once again sent to help the war effort and
see Allied propaganda against oppression and for equal rights, and
wants to be treated with these values as well.
Native Africans educated in Western schools and who made travels
to Europe and the U.S. also fueled the movement, and led the
nationalist movement (i.e. Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba,
Jomo Kenyatta).
African Nationalists were inspired by the Indian Nationalist
movement.
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African Decolonization
Decolonization of Ghana (1957): Nationalist movement led by
Kwame Nkrumah, elected Prime Minister in 1951. Overthrown in
1966 by military due to his obsession with Pan-Africanism.
Independence in Kenya (1961): Led by Jomo Kenyatta. Kenyatta
himself was a peaceful protester, but supported the Mau-Mau, a
nationalist terrorist group that killed European settlers. After being
released from jail, Kenyatta convinced Britain to write a
constitution for an independent Kenya and is elected president in
1964.
Belgian Congo: chaotic and bloody. Political and tribal opponents
found foreign allies, namely members of the Warsaw Pact and
NATO. Both civil war and Cold War are fought and lead to
damaged property and loss of life. Lumumba is assassinated in a
military coup (1965) and Mobuto Sese Seko rules with a corrupt
government until 1997
Problems in Post-Colonial Africa
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Power after decolonization went from elite to elite. New
governments ruled with the same condescension and corruption as
their white counterparts.
Neo-colonialism & lack of economic growth: African countries still
relied on cash crops for profit, leading to economic dependency on
more powerful nations. Exception: Nigeria, which relies on oil for
money (good, steady source of profit because we all know how
industrial countries love their oil).
Internal conflict: Africa has had more civil wars than wars across
borders, due to inter-tribal conflicts that make it difficult for
centralized power and a united nation.
Lack of infrastructure: rails and roads were built for the benefit of
the Europeans and only pass through export cities. Post-colonial
efforts for construction were haphazard, unnecessary, and only
seemed to waste money rather than help the nation.
South Africa
Websites Used:
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/africa_article_01.shtml#two
http://kabiza.com/SwahiliCoast.htm
http://africanhistory.about.com/od/slavery/tp/TransAtlantic001.htm
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/dialogue/the-slave-route/transatlanticslave-trade/
http://cghs.dadeschools.net/african-american/tradtional/nok.htm
https://encryptedtbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSngO3ihI1TiZpsjDbnkuGTXg21Zx8RtLa1aKTG1
JBko_FnJtY
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/plaintexthistories.asp?historyid=ab91
http://www.english-for-students.com/History-of-Africa.html
http://www.mrdowling.com/609-test.htm
http://www.ancient.eu.com/carthage/
http://www.hinzmansapworldhistory.com/africa-600ce-1450ce.html
http://www.blackpast.org/?q=gah/mali-empire-ca-1200
bulliet the earth and its peoples