West East Stateless States Africa West East Stateless States

Africa Geography After Asia, Africa is the largest of the continents Stretches over 5000 miles Surrounded almost completely by two oceans and two seas Contains mountains, deserts (the Sahara & Kalahari), savannas and tropical jungles The Sahara is the largest desert in the world The savannas cover 40% of Africa

West African Kingdoms - Ghana First great trading state of West Africa Kings ruled without any laws Kings relied on a well-trained army of thousands of men Built power on gold and salt trade Also traded ivory, ostrich feathers, hides and slaves Traded across desert by Berbers, nomadic people who traveled by camels Weakened by war and collapsed during the 1100’s

West African Kingdoms - Mali New state that grew in Ghana’s place Established by Sundiata Keita Mansa Musa created a strong central government and divided the kingdom into provinces Doubled the size of the Kingdom of Mali Provinces were ruled by appointed governors He believed religious education was extremely important

West African Kingdoms – Mali Accomplishments by Mansa Musa Imported scholars and books to introduce the message of Allah Brought architects back to build mosques

The Mosque of Djenne, Mali The Grand Mosque of Niono, Mali

West African Kingdoms – Songhai Benefited from Muslim trade routes Conquered parts of Ghana and Mali’s trading empire Gained control of gold and salt trade Declined and almost disappeared by 1600

East African Kingdoms - Bantu Bantu communities were based on subsistence farming Men tended the herds, hunted and traded Women tilled the fields and cared for the children

East African Kingdoms – Trading Posts Muslims began settling along the eastern coast and setting up port cities Mogadishu Mombasa Kilwa Swahili culture, a mixed Africa-Arabian culture, began to emerge Intermarriages occurred often Swahili became a language of the area that combines Bantu and Arabic words and phrases It is the international language of Kenya and Tanzania

South Africa State & Stateless Societies Stateless society – a group of independent villages organized by clans and led by a local ruler or clan head Zimbabwe was the wealthiest and most powerful state in the region Prospered from the gold trade

African Culture Women’s roles included: cared for children, worked fields and sometimes merchants Men’s roles included: tend to cattle and/or hunted Lineage was matrilineal – descent traced through the mother Women could inherit property and husband was expected to move into wife’s house

African Culture - Education Mothers taught all children language, family history and songs with meaning until the children were six Children were separated and lived in the “house of the women” or “house of the men” Fathers taught sons how to hunt, fish, grow plants and how to clear the fields for planting Mothers taught girls how to care for the home, work the fields and how to be a good mother and wife At puberty, children were isolated from the community and participated in a ceremony where they symbolically die and get reborn. Then they emerge as full members of the community.

African Culture - Slavery Had been practiced in Africa since ancient times Berber groups raided villages for captives. Captives were then sold off through the Mediterranean Slave jobs included soldiers, domestic servants, forced labor on farmland In Muslim societies, some slaves could win their freedom Living conditions were often decent and sometimes were almost the same as the free individuals