African Civilization EQs: 1) How did geography influence Africa’s development? 2) Where were Africa’s trading kingdoms? 3) How was Islam introduced to Africa? 4) Who was Mansa Musa?

Africa’s Geography & Its Effects Remember, (varied climates & terrains)! Hardly any usable natural harbors Interior is a high plateau = rivers flow down to the coast & are filled w/ rapids Travel is difficult & done mainly to trade Geographic diversity & natural barriers lead to numerous cultures being developed

Traditional Societies Village gov’t –Power shared among community members –Village decisions made by consensus & open discussion Family Patterns; group over the individual –Nuclear families = parents & children work & live together as a unit –More commonly, several generations lived in one household; extended families form clans –Community values enhanced by clan identification

Religion Variety of beliefs across Africa Early Africans were polytheistic Some believe spirits of the dead are present among the living Animism: every living & nonliving thing in nature has a spirit Islam: becomes an important social and religious force as kingdoms rise and fall

Trading Kingdoms West Africa –Ghana ( ) –Mali ( ) –Songhai ( ) East Africa –Axum Located on Red Sea Merging of cultures Judaism & Christianity introduced What was traded? –Salt & Gold –Salt from the Sahara traded for gold from the savanna regions –Iron, copper & other minerals

MANSA MUSA & TIMBUKTU Mansa Musa was Mali’s most powerful ruler Borders were extended & his warriors protected & controlled the land Mansa Musa converted to Islam & made a pilgrimage to Mecca Mansa Musa builds a university in Timbuktu & students of Islam travel from all over the Muslim world to study there By the 1400s, Timbuktu is a leading center of learning

Mansa Musa: Depiction of him holding a gold nugget, created c. 1375

Sankore Mosque in Timbuktu

Discovery of Timbuktu by westerners; c. mid-1800s

Africa & Global Trade Seas link continents –Mediterranean –Red Sea Ocean –Indian ocean Goods make their way to African coasts and then traded across the seas Hausa-1300s-the Hausa people built city-states in present day Nigeria –Caravans across the Sahara –Dominate Saharan trade routes by 1500 Benin-people from coastal rainforest in Guinea –Trade ivory, pepper, & slaves –Cast bronze & brass

East African City-States 600CE=Arab & Persian merchants set up trading communities 1000CE=port cities (like Mogadishu) trading w/India Slaves captured inland and sold to Persian merchants Trade leads to mixing of cultures Swahili = the language spoken by the people of this blended culture –Arabic words mixed with Bantu words