West African Empires and East African Trade Networks HIST /4/13

Mansa Musa (r ) Mali as source of gold for Middle East and Europe Incredible wealth based on control of mines and markets 1324 – Mansa Musa goes on pilgrimage to Mecca – 500 servants – each carrying a 6lbs. staff of gold – 100 camels carrying gold – 700lbs. of gold Massive devaluation of gold in Cairo

Songhay Empire (r ) Changing trade patterns weaken Mali Break up of Mali coalition Sunni `Ali (r ) – former tributary of Mali seizes control of Timbuktu, Jenne, and mining sites Askiya Muhammad Ture (r ) – rebuild Malian Empire Conquest and slave raids Tomb of Askiya Muhammad Ture, Mali

Songhay and Islam Islam as elite religion Mixed with traditional beliefs Invitation of foreign scholars and jurists Timbuktu as center of Islamic learning Legitimation via sharif of Mecca Jihad and empire building

Empires of West Africa

Slave Trade and Collapse of West African Empire Europeans showed little interest in colonizing West Africa in the 17 th and 18 th centuries. As demand for slaves rose in the Americas, trade moved from gold, ivory, and timber to slaves. Non-slave goods still Made up 40% of trade with West Africa.

Africa and the Slave Trade West African states on the Gold and Slave Coast maintained control over trade with Europeans. Europeans established trading “castles” African merchants benefited from competition between different European trading companies.

Sources of Slaves Primarily prisoners of war, also criminals and victims of kidnapping. Wars not begun for purposes of acquiring slaves, not giant slave raids. Get rid of young men who could challenge authority in newly conquered territories. Trade with Europeans did give certain African powers advantage over neighbors through guns and other technologies.

Societies with Slaves to Slave Societies Need more guns to defend against rivals… Need slaves to trade for guns… Ashanti Empire ( ) Kingdom of Dahomey ( ) Jihad and spread of Islam justify wars across Western Sudan

Maraboutism

Indian Ocean Trade and East Africa Swahili Coast Aden Gujarat and Malabar Coast Malacca

Great Zimbabwe vs… Cosmopolitan Ports and Indigenous Hinterlands

Kilwa Kisiwani Cosmopolitan Ports and Indigenous Hinterlands

The Swahili Coast Swahili – Plural of Arabic sahel or coast – coastal people 7 th century – Arab and Persian merchants establishing trading posts along East African coast Limited contact – Muslim burials but no mosques 12 th century – Muslim settlement on Zanzibar Afro-Shirazis – Mixed Persian-African population Dhow off of the coast of Zanzibar

Settlement or Colonization 1250 – 1500 – high point of Swahili Coast Ports act as independent jurisdictions Each networked through Indian Ocean Often Arab or Persian (mixed with local populations, Afro-Shirazi) ruling class Swahili develops as blending of Arab, Persian, and Bantu cultures (and later Indian) By 1400 – Islam dominant along East African coast Old Fort, Stone Town, Zanaibar

Colonization from the West and East 1498 – Vasco de Gama sails around the southern tip of Africa 16 th century – Portuguese take control of Indian Ocean trade 1530 – Portuguese have control of Swahili Coast – Sultanate of Oman defeats Portuguese, takes control of Zanzibar Bayt al-Sahel, Omani palace in Stone Town, Zanzibar

Plantation Economy Demand for trade goods Cloves, coconut, coffee, pepper Zanzibar as slave market to the east Portuguese, then Arab plantation owners Slaves from mainland Exported across Indian Ocean and beyond Slavery memorial, Stone Town, Zanzibar