Topic 1.5 Flashcards
Developments in Africa (28 cards)
Who was Ibn Battuta?
- A scholar from Morocco on the Northwest coast of Africa, he was well versed in Islamic Law, also known as shariah
What did Ibn Battuta comment on Mali?
- His commentary on Mali society sheds light on the cultural forces at work in Sub-Saharan Africa during the 4th century
How did he interact with Islamic governments?
- Governments in Mogadishu (east Africa) and Delhi (India) sought his advice and welcomed him.
- His travel log demonstrated how Islam’s phenomenal growth increased connections among cultures of Asia, Africa, and Southern Europe
- African societies that had adopted Islam kept many of their traditions.
- Yet some resisted, they built Churches with labyrinths, reservoirs and tunnels
How was the development of Sub-Saharan Africa heavily shaped?
- They were heavily shaped by the migrations of Bantu-speaking people outward from west-central Africa
Political Structures in Sub-Saharan Africa
- By 1000, most of the region had adopted agriculture -> they needed a more complex political structure to govern
- In contrast to Asian or European societies, they did not centralize power under one leader or government
- Instead they had communities called: Kin-Based Networks (where families governed themselves)
Describe the kin-based networks
- Had a male head called a chief who meditated conflicts and delt with neighboring groups
- Groups of villages became districts
- Groups of chiefs decided how to solve the districts problems.
- Slowly became more difficult to govern
- Competition increased, survival for small kin-based communities became more challenging
- Though many communities continued to exist until the 9th century, larger kingdoms grew in prominence, particularly after 1000.
What were the Hausa Kingdoms?
- In nowadays Nigeria, made up of 7 states.
- States were loosely connected through kinship ties, though they too had no central authority
- People established prospering city-states, each with a specialty
- Region lacked access to the sea, contact with people outside the region was important
- In the 14th century, missionaries introduced Islam to the region.
What was the Trans-Siberian Trade Route?
- A network of trading across the great desert. The Hausa benefitted from it.
Political Structures of West and East Africa
- Benefited from increased trade
- Exchange of goods, spread of Islam added diversity
Kingdoms of West and East Africa
Ghana (not modern), Mali, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia
Where was the Kingdom of Ghana?
- When was it founded?
- Its downfall?
- Nestled between the Sahara and the tropical rain forests of the West African coast, not in the same location as modern day Ghana
- Founded in the 5th century
- Didn’t reach his peak of influence until the 8th and 11th centuries
- By the 12th century, wars with neighboring societies had permanently weakened the Ghanian state
What did Ghana sell to Muslim traders?
Sold ivory and gold in exchange for salt, copper, cloth, and tools.
How did the kingdom of Mali arise?
- After the fall of Ghana, in its place arose several new societies, the most powerful of which was Mali.
Who was Mali’s founder?
Sundiata: Was a Muslim and used his connections with others of his faith to establish trade relationships with north African and Arab merchants.
- Cultivated a thriving gold trade in Mali, under his rule Mali’s wealth grew tremendously
Who was Mansa Musa?
- Sundiata’s nephew
- Made a pilgrimage to Mecca where his lavish displayed of gold left a lasting impression.
*Gave away so much money in some places that it led them to fall into a point of inflation.
Impact of Zimbabwe
- Architecture
- Prosperity
- Trade
- Architecture demonstrated the growing wealth of one kingdom.
- Made their ‘zimbabwes’ (dwellings) with stone
- Built its prosperity on a mixture of agriculture, grazing, trade, and gold
- Tied into the Indian Ocean Trade which connected East Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia.
What two languages made up Swahili?
Bantu and Arabic
What was the Great Zimbabwe?
- Decline
- By the end of the 13th century, a massive wall of stone, 30 feet tall by 15 feet thick, surrounded the capital city, which became known as the Great Zimbabwe.
- Was the first large stone wall in the continent built without mortar
- 20,000 people lived there by the 15fh century
- Overgrazing damaged the surrounding environment that by the end of the 1400s, the bustling city was abandoned.
What civilization was Christian?
Ethiopia (The Kingdom of Axum)
How did Ethiopia prosper?
Prospered from trading goods obtained from India, Arabia, the Roman Empire, and the interior of Africa.
How did Christianity impact Ethiopia?
- Expressed their power through architecture
- Ordered the creation of 11 massive churches made of rock.
- From the 12th century to the 16th century, it remained an island of Christianity
- During the Great Schism, they did not part with either church, they stayed an independent form of Christianity
- People combined their traditional faith traditions, such as ancestor veneration and beliefs in spirits, with Christianity to create a distinct form of faith.
How were Sub-Saharan Africa’s communities organized?
- Explain?
They were organized around several structures: Kinship, Age, and Gender
1. Kinship: connections allowed people to identify first as members of a clan or family
2. Age: 18yr old could do more hard labor than a 60yr old, but younger people relied on the wisdom of the old
3. Gender: Men dominated most activities than required a specialized skill. Women generally engaged in agriculture, food gatherings, domestic chores, and raising their children.
Kinds of Slavery in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southwest Asia
- Who were enslaved?
- Chattel, Domestic, Debt Bondage
- Prisoners of War, Debtors, and Criminals were often enslaved
1. Chattel Slavery: People were the legal property of the owner
2. Domestic Slavery: People served as cooks, cleaners, or other household workers.
3. Debt Bondage: People became enslaved, sometimes through mutual agreement, to repay a debt.
Indian Ocean Slave Trade
- How was it established?
- What areas was it between?
- Who was enslaved?
- A strong demand in the Middle East for enslaved workers resulted in the Indian Ocean Slave Trade
- Between East Africa and the Middle East.
- The Zanj were the enslaved Africans, they provided valuable labor on sugar plantations in Mesopotamia
