Part I Becoming African Chapter 1 Africa

I. A Huge and Diverse Land  2nd largest continent in the world  From North to South several of climatic zones Desert, savannah, rain forest, mountain ranges

II. Birthplace of Humanity  Fossil and genetic evidence Out-of-Africa model  Modern humans emerged 200,000 years ago  Migrated to the rest of the world 100,000 years ago “Eve” model  All modern humans from a single African woman

III. Ancient Civilizations Race debate Black Egyptians colonized ancient Greece Became the originators of Western civilization Modern racial categories irrelevant to ancient Egypt  Egypt influenced Greek and Western civilization

Egyptian Civilization

Egyptian Society  Patrilineal/patriarchal Male dominated  Hierarchical Warriors, priests, merchants, artisans, peasants Comprehensive bureaucracy

Egyptian Society (cont.)  Women Owned property Managed household slaves Educated their children Held public office Served as priests Operated businesses

Egyptian Society (cont.)  Polytheistic religion Re (Ra): the sun god Osiris: god of the Nile  Immortality Personal and state combined in kings

Trade and Conquest  Nubia Egyptian colony ~ copper and gold deposits  Kush Nubian independent kingdom

Trade and Conquest  Meroe Africa’s first industrial center Iron deposits and geographic location  Axum First Christian state in sub- Saharan Africa  Influenced by Hebrew culture

IV. West Africa  Physically, ethnically, and culturally diverse Savannah and forest  Home to a variety of cultures and languages  Divided labor by gender  Lived in villages composed of extended families

West Africa  Accorded semi-divine status to their kings  Cultivated crops  Tended domesticated animals  Produced iron tools and weapons

West Africa Trade with North Africa  Essential part of the economy and kingdoms

Ghana  First known kingdom in the western Sudan Founded between 4 th and 8 th centuries CE Warfare and iron weapons created an empire

Ghana  Commerce Camel caravans Imported silk, cotton, glass beads, horses, mirrors, dates, and salt Exported pepper, slaves, and gold mined in another region and taxed passing through Commerce and religion destroyed Ghana in the 12th century

Empire of Mali, Sundiata  Reigned  Led the Mandinka to victory over the Sosso in 1235

Empire of Mali,  Larger than Ghana Greater rainfall More crops Control of Wangara gold mines Population reached eight million

Empire of Mali (cont.)  Commerce, bureaucracy and scholarship Most merchants and rulers  Moslems by 1210s  Converted to gain stature among Arab states

Empire of Mali (cont.)  Timbuktu Major trading hub  Gold, slaves, and salt Center of Islamic learning ~13th century 150 Islamic schools Cosmopolitan community  Religious and ethnic toleration common

Empire of Mali (cont.)  Mansa Musa Reigned Pilgrimage across Africa to Mecca in Arabia Empire declined with Musa’s death

Empire of Songhai,  The last and largest of the Sudanese empires Sunni Ali  Reigned  Conquered people paid tribute  Generally ran their own affairs

Empire of Songhai (cont.) -- Askia Muhammad Toure  Reigned  Devout Moslem

Empire of Songhai (cont.)  Expanded empire Centralized administration of the empire Substituted taxation for tribute

Empire of Songhai Established bureaucratic trade regulation Used his power to spread Islam within the empire

Empire of Songhai (cont.)  Askia Daud Reigned Songhai failed to adapt to changing political atmosphere  Portuguese established trading centers along the Guinea coast

Empire of Songhai  Arab rulers of North Africa threatened with loss of trade  King of Morocco sent mercenaries to Songhai in 1591

Empire of Songhai  Defeated the Songhai army and empire fell apart  When Moroccans left the region  West Africa without a government powerful enough to stop the Portuguese

West African Forest Region  Cultural diversification Small powerful kingdoms  Benin City Little influenced by Islam or Christianity

West African Forest Region Trading center  Gold, peppers, ivory, and slaves  By 17th century dependent on slave trade

V. Kongo and Angola  Kongo-Angola region Trade with the interior of the continent Late 15th century rulers more welcoming of Portuguese  Nzinga Mbemba tried to convert kingdom to Christianity  Unrest, Portuguese greed, and slave trade destroy the kingdom

VI. West African Society and Culture  Most were farmers Villages and hamlets  Extended families and clans Some patrilineal, others matrilineal  Produced cotton for clothes  Variety of crops

Women  Served as government officials in ancient Ghana Enslaved women in the royal court of Dahomey also held official posts Increased sexual freedoms West African women could have male friends apart from relatives

Women (cont.) Sande: a secret society for women  Taught sex education to girls  Initiated into adulthood (Poro: male secret society)

Women (cont.)  Both societies established standards of Male and female conduct  Emphasized female virtue and male honor

Class and Slavery  Royalty Landed nobles, warriors, peasants and bureaucrats  Lower classes  Artisans and laborers: blacksmiths, butchers, tanners, and oral historians called griots

Class and Slavery  Slavery Common in West Africa  More so in the savannah region than in forest areas Variety of forms  Not necessarily a permanent condition

Class and Slavery (cont.) Islamic regions  Masters responsible for slaves’ religious well-being Non-Islamic regions’ children of slaves  Legal rights Not to be sold from the land they occupied

Class and Slavery (cont.) Slaves in royal courts or in the armies  Owned property and often held power over free people Agricultural slaves  Less fortunate Work and privilege for second and third generation offspring similar to free people

Religion  15th century West Africa Islam  Introduced by Arab traders More prevalent in cosmopolitan areas The religion of merchants and bureaucrats Fostered learning and building mosques in West African cities

Religion (cont.) Indigenous religions  Strongest in forest areas Polytheistic and animistic One creator God and a host of lesser gods

Religion (cont.) Saw the force of God in all things  Ancestor worship, magicians, and oracles  Ceremonies and animal sacrifices

Art and Music  Related to religious practices  Excelled in woodcarving and sculpture Wooden masks and terra-cotta figurines  Used in funerals, medical practices, and in coming-of-age ceremonies  Musical instruments Drums, xylophones, bells, flutes, and mbanzas

Literature  Oral histories, poetry, and tales Specially trained poets and musicians  Served kings and nobles Views of common people also represented

Literature  Prose tales Human characters  Tales about creation, success, romance  Animal characters “Trickster tales” Entertained and taught lessons

VII. Conclusion  The history of African Americans begins in West Africa.  Family organization, work habits, language, religious beliefs, legends, and more came to America and influenced the way African Americans and others lived in their new land.