East & South African Civilizations: Aksum, Kilwa, Great Zimbabwe, Kongo

Bantu migrations Beginning c 2000 BC, people in W. Africa began migrating SLOWLY east and south. These Bantu speakers dominated sub-Saharan Africa by the end of the 300s (today more than 500 dialects) Travelling in clans, they brought their metalworking skills with them. They used iron tools/fire to clear land for farming and moved on when the soil was exhausted. As they moved they intermarried with local families and spread their technology/culture, so . . CULTURAL DIFFUSION!!

Swahili culture As Arab merchants settled East African towns, they brought Islam and encountered Bantu peoples. This mix of cultures led to a new culture called Swahili, which became the name of their language and today is commonly spoken in east Africa. (Today it is spoken by 30 million people and has 15 different dialects.)

While great trading kingdoms rose and fell in West Africa . . . East and South Africa also had great trade empires.

Aksum Arose in the “Horn of Africa” c. 100 AD. Gave it perfect sea trade location—access to Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean, etc. became a trading hub

King Ezana of AKsum. . . Converted to Christianity and made it the official religion Built the “Pillars of Aksum” to declare his faith. Aksum developed a written language (Ge’ez) that is still used in Ethiopia today

Downfall of the empire Wars, Disruption of trade routes deforestation Droughts Over farming Muslim invaders When empire fell, Christians retreated to mountains of Ethiopia—still over 30 million Ethiopian Christians there today!

KILWA: Besides empires, there were also independent city-states based on trade Kilwa was one of the richest East African city-states, located on an island along the East African coast.

The Shona Empire and Great Zimbabwe Established by a Bantu people called the Shona capital was called Great Zimbabwe Zimbabwe means “place of stone houses” in Bantu; they are settlements encircled by large stone walls—150 found in Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. largest is Great Zimbabwe—100 acres The Great Enclosure was probably home of kings So well built that nothing needed to hold them together even without mortar since 1300’s and 1400’s

Kongo (c. 1400s) Present day Angola, near the Congo River In early 1480’s Portuguese explorers sailed down west coast of Africa and encountered the Kongo kingdom

At first . . Kongo traded copper, iron and ivory to Portugal and got guns, horses and manufactured goods. The king in 1506 took a European name (Afonso I), learned to read and write Portuguese Made Christianity the official religion

But Kongo had been supplying Portugal with slaves . . mostly people conquered as they expanded the kingdom (with Portuguese weapons!) Soon the Portuguese wanted more slaves to work in their colonies in Brazil. They began to capture and enslave the people of Kongo Despite the efforts of Afonso to stop the trade, it began to drain West Africa’s population For the next 400 years, slavery would devastate Africa http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xwis2g (32:00 – 39:00)