Africa A brief history

Bantu Migrations  1/3 of Africans speak a Bantu language  AD, migrated out of western Africa  Moved east and south  Farmers and herders  Adapted to climates and ecosystems

African Culture  Farmers – yams, bananas, slash and burn  Villages of related people with a common ancestor  Matrilineal and Patrilineal tribes  Government – shared power, elders reach decisions by consensus, collected taxes, chief, soldiers  Polytheistic, believed forces of nature had divine spirits, performed rituals and ceremonies, believed ancestor spirits could help them

Kingdoms of the North  Egyptian – Nile  Nubian or Kush – Sudan and upper Nile, traders, imitated Egyptian architecture  Phoenicians – traders, Carthage  Romans – 146BC – 430AD Defeated Carthage, roads, dams, aqueducts, cities, Christianity, Latin  Arabs – 600s, Islam, Arabic, mosques, libraries, trade

West African Kingdoms  Ghana – Niger and Senegal, gold-salt trade, “land of gold,” Muslim  Mali –Timbuktu, Mansa Musa, Islam, leading center of learning,  Songhai – , Niger River, eclipsed Mali

 Kano people lived in Hausa, pop. 30,000, Arabic writing system, Muslim, leatherworkers, artisans, many rulers were women  Benin – forest people on the Guinea coast, traded pepper, ivory, and slaves to their neighbors, elaborate avenues, tidy homes, great palace, known for bronze statues

East African Kingdoms  Ethiopia – Christian and Jewish religions unified the tribes, Kings were descended from Solomon and the Queen of Sheba  Axum – 900BC – 600AD Red Sea and Nile, traded with Arabia, India, and the Mediterranean, exports: ivory, hides, and rhino horn, imports: linen, brass, copper, iron tools, wine, olive oil, Christianity, spices, iron, stones, cotton

South African Kingdoms  Zimbabwe – Limpopo River, walls, palace, cone shaped towers, prosperous, Bantu people, , farmers, traded with India and China, manufactured jewelry and iron tools, weavers of cotton cloth. Over farming, civil war, and Declining trade weakened Zimbabwe.

 Zulu (1800s), Shaka Zulu – their great warrior who united tribes into one kingdom

 Dutch built Cape Town in 1652, Farmers were called Boers. British took control of Cape Town in the 1800s and the fleeing Boers moved into Zulu territory and war broke out. Zulu’s defeated by superior technology.

Europeans arrive 1400s  Portuguese ships explore coast of West Africa,  Dutch, English, and French followed  Muskets, tools, and cloth were brought to Africa  Gold, ivory, hides, and slaves were taken out

 1500s Slave Trade across the Atlantic began to provide labor to tobacco and sugar plantations in the west  Most slaves went to Caribbean and South America  Africans captured the slaves, brought them to the coast of Africa to trade to Europeans

Slave Trade  11 million Africans send to the Americas  2 million died  Ships were called ‘floating coffins’

Triangular Trade Europe Americas Africa Textiles Metalwork Rum Tobacco Weapons Gun powder Tobacco Molasses Sugar Slaves – Middle Passage

1800s- Imperialism  Slavery outlawed in the Americas  European countries moved into the interior of Africa and established colonies  Wanted raw materials and markets  Ruled Africans without their consent  Build up infrastructure  Exploited Africans and their continent until the 1960s, when countries were given their independence.

Berlin Conference 1884  European countries were grabbing African lands so fast, they were in conflict over several areas.  Instead of fighting a war over lands, representatives from European countries met in Berlin and drew the political map of Africa.  Some tribes were divided and others who were long-time enemies were pit in the same country.

 Europeans ruled African countries as colonies until the 1950s and 60s.  When Africa countries got their independence, many had problems that began as a result of the colonial era.

Problems in Africa Today?  Poverty  Disease  Illiteracy  Civil Wars  Corruption