HIS 106 Chapter 17 Africa

Africa How do you see it? Had kingdoms, laws, religion, and art Received outside influences -- some beneficial, some not: – Muslims – European – Foodstuffs – Slavery

Kingdoms Present from 1000 to 1800 Some lasted longer than others No single power could control Africa for long Regionalism and tribal conflicts kept that from happening

Spread of Islam in Africa Islam spread south throughout many, but not all, areas through trade routes Islam either co-existed or blended with traditional beliefs Islam took hold primarily in urban trade centers It was rare to find Islam in more remote areas

What is Islam? Begun by Muhammad who was born in570 He resided in Mecca In 610 he began receiving revelations, he felt, from God via the angel Gabriel These were later collected in the Muslim holy book called the Qu’ran and became the basis of Islam

Not immediately accepted by all – Threatened the traditional Arab gods – Muhammad fled to Medina when he felt his life was in danger – His following grew, and he returned to Mecca in 629 – He was then able to convert most of the inhabitants of Mecca to Islam

Islam united the Arab people like never before They had a belief in one God called Allah All believers were equal before Allah The strong and wealthy were responsible for the care of the weak and poor Muhammad and his teachings became the basis for laws regulating the Muslim faith

In Islam, all would face a last judgment before a stern but compassionate Allah Islam’s 5 Pillars provided the basis for underlying unity: – Acceptance of Islam – Pray 5 times daily facing Mecca – Pay a zakat to charity (tithe) – Fast during month of Ramadan – Make a hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca at least 1 time

Muhammad died in 632 His followers quarreled over succession A new leader was chosen who reunited Islam by 633 Muslims then began to take new territory and spread their religion to these areas There were victories in today’s Iraq, Iran, and North Africa

Succession Problems Succession problems led to a split in the religion There were those who would follow the appointed leader of Islam There were others who felt the leader should be a blood relative of Muhammad As a result, the religion split into 2 parts: Sunnis and Shi’ites

Presence of Islam In East Africa there were Islamic city-states along the coast in port cities In the western and central areas, Islam arrived by overland trade routes Some of the Muslims stayed in these trade cities Conversion campaigns led by the Almorvids swept through Ghana, and Kumbi by 1076 Islam moved into Senegal by 1030s

African kingdoms There were major African Kingdoms before Islamic trade routes added to their influence From 1000 – 1600, there were 4 long-lived empires of note: – Ghana – Mali – Songhai – Kanem-Bornu

All had hierarchical societies, successful economies, and an army There were also some Christian states in the eastern Sudan – Maqurra – Alwa – Nubia

With increasing Muslim immigration and an elitist quality to their Christianity, these Christian areas slowly changed over to Islam

European Entry When Europeans entered Africa, change was the result It was the Portuguese who first came and set up small trading forts or settlements near the coast (fear of disease) They traded for African food crops, gold, salt, hides, copper, and slaves

Later, other European groups arrived wanting slaves to work on their plantations in their New World colonies The Senegambian states provided about 1/3 of all African slaves during the 16 th century After that, slaves were primarily taken from other areas to the south

On the east coast of Africa changes were coming to their culture and languages A Swahili culture and language was taking hold Swahili = Arabic with Bantu So we had Muslims settling in the east and Europeans in the west and south

Settlement of South Africa In the 17 th century the Dutch East India Company set up a station at the Cape of Good Hope 1657 – Colonization was allowed A Dutch-speaking, slave-owning, agricultural community developed They were called the Boers, Dutch for peasant or farmer

Each Dutch planter felt entitled to 6,000 acres As the Dutch moved in, the Africans were pushed out Those Africans who weren’t enslaved by the Dutch moved into other territories This resulted in CONFLICT with other African tribes, mainly the Zulus

The whites there believed in white dominance, and some racial mixing took place resulting in a “colored race” or mixed Boers kept pushing out the Africans who moved in on the Zulus. The Zulus pushed back in what has been called the “Mfecane” or crushing in the 19 th century

Zulus were able to remain independent until the late 1870s Another problem arose for the Dutch As a result of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe, the Cape of Good Hope came under British control in 1806 This caused the Dutch frustration leading to conflict in the 1800s

The result was that the British remained in control and tried to assimilate the Dutch The Union of South Africa was formed in 1910