1. Kingdoms & States of Medieval Africa
Chapter Assignment Notes

2. Part 1-IMPACT OF GEOGRAPHY
BODIES OF WATER – Africa is almost completely surrounded by water: Atlantic Ocean (west); Indian Ocean (east); Mediterranean Sea (north); Red Sea (northeast – separates the African continent from the Arabian Peninsula – notice how the 2 seem to almost fit together like puzzle pieces…)
GEOGRAPHY ZONES –
Mediterranean coast – Atlas Mts. And mild temperatures;
Deserts – Sahara is world’s largest; Namib (in the south) world’s driest;
Nile River – In the North – is the world’s longest river; home to key early civilization in ancient Egypt.
“Hump” of Africa – in the west – home to world’s second largest rainforest in the west (the CONGO basin - & Congo River;
East is where you find the “horn” of Africa – an area very prone to drought & famine – AND – the location of the Great Rift Valley – where the earliest human archeological remains were found.

3. CLIMATE ZONES
MILD – climate along Northern Coast (Mediterranean effect) & the Southern tip (South Africa today) made these areas popular for European settlement;
DESERTS – generally deserts receive <10” of rainfall/year; climate varies… some deserts can support vegetation… some can not. Sahara is largest in Africa (>3.5 million sq. miles; about the size of the continental US); deserts cover about 40% of Africa. SAHEL is south of the Sahara – it is a transition climate zone so close to the Sahara it is very dry & hot & not productive for farming or herding.
RAIN FOREST – the Congo Rain Forest is world’s second largest & the Congo River that runs through it is the world’s second largest river BY VOLUME (only the Amazon is bigger); covers 10% of continent; too much rain for farming but a lot of other valuable resources are here.
SAVANNA – broad grassland dotted with small trees & shrubs these are found north & south of the rainforest & covering 40% of Africa’s land area; rainfall here is enough for farming & herding but in places it is very unreliable.

4. PART 2 – African Society
1. COMMON ATTRIBUTES OF AFRICAN SOCIETY – towns grew from villages; the village center was where trade occurred with busy markets; most early African societies did not have written languages (oral traditions instead); family & lineage were very important social units; women were usually subordinate to men but had more rights & importance in the economy than in other parts of the world we have studied so far;
2. Most Africans lived in SMALL RURAL VILLAGES; identity determined by membership in EXTENDED FAMILY (parents/children/grandparents/etc); and LINEAGE (various family units living together in a community – kind of like clans that we identified earlier).
3. PATRILINEAL society – descent is traced through the father; MATRILINEAL society – descent is traced through the mother; this type of societal organization gives African women (although still subordinate to men generally) more power than in other places we have studied.
4 – BARRIERS TO DIFFUSION? – rivers, mountains, deserts, rain forests
5 – diverse geography with many barriers to diffusion leads to diverse CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT – ex. Many different languages & customs.

5. PART 2 – African Society continued
4. EDUCATION – in a typical African village prepared people to become so both boys AND girls were educated by their mothers until age 6 (learning language, family history, music); after that BOTH genders continued with education separately; at puberty both genders would transition into society with initiation ceremonies that varied from place to place; after that both entered completely into community life within the village.
5. SLAVERY – was practiced in Africa from ancient times as it was in other parts of the world; groups raided other villages & took captives who were often sold for forced labor; people captured in war, debtors & criminals might also become slaves but they were not seen as property rather were valued as trusted servants. European slave trade… aka the “Atlantic Slave Trade” would be much different from the brand of slavery that Africans used among themselves.

6. RELIGION in Africa…
6.COMMON RELIGIOUS IDEAS – monotheistic; ethical world view; diviners could foretell events by being in touch with the supernatural forces & this could help a king to have a good harvest & solid rule; ancestors are important within lineage groups there were ritual ceremonies devoted to ancestors.
7. ISLAM in Africa – came into the northern part of Africa first with Muslim traders & military – and changed societies dramatically. It was very different from indigenous (native) African religious traditions although most of them were monotheistic. Some of the earliest Christian churches were in Ethiopia, so Islam did not take hold there.

7. PART 3 – KINGDOMS & STATES OF AFRICA
1. GHANA: First great trading state in W. Africa beginning in 500 AD; kings were strong rulers who governed without written laws; most people were farmers; rulers played active role in community. STRENGTHS: blessed with valuable natural resources (iron ore; gold) good central location for regional trade. WEAKNESSES: lacked salt (important for survival in extreme heat); trade depended upon nomadic BERBERS who travelled across the Sahara with goods from GHANA to trade with Muslim merchant to the north & west. GHANA IS GENERALLY CONSIDERED THE MOST POWERFUL AFRICAN TRADE KINGDOM.
MALI: strongest of the west African trading states that emerged after Ghana fell; Greatest ruler was MANSA MUSA – wealthy Muslim king whose strong government united the region; STRENGTHS: important in gold/salt trade; strong agricultural trade; strong central government; TIMBUKTU became most important center of Islamic learning in the region
2. GOLD/SALT TRADE: GOLD was plentiful in West Africa – which was low in salt; Salt was plentiful in North Africa – which had little gold; the 2 regions successfully traded the 2 commodities across the Sahara Desert – even though one seems much more valuable than the other – for centuries.
3 & 4. EAST AFRICAN TRADE: heavily influenced by Islam; communities here based on SUBSISTENCE FARMING (grow enough for personal use; not for sale/profit); eventually strong trading ports formed along the coast to trade with S. Asia (India) & the Arabian Peninsula.
5. SOUTHERN AFRICA: trading states formed more slowly in southern Africa; most in the region lived in STATELESS SOCIETIES – independent villages organized by clans & ruled by local chieftains without any centralized ruler. First major trade kingdom was resource rich Zimbabwe – today one of the poorest nations in Africa.