history homework2
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Africa2.pptxAfrica The origins of humanity Hominids through Homo Sapiens
Africa
Continent, not a country
Conflicts among Africans
No common identity
Disputes over
land
Power
Natural resources
Religious beliefs
Africa – Diverse Continent
Well developed civilizations
Educated people
Speak multiple languages
Monarchies
Farming villages
Various climate regions-
grasslands, deserts, mountains
Africa
Suffered from stereotypes of being inferior by European standards
Technology lags behind Europe or the Middle East
Weaponry is different
Some tribal areas are seen as primitive
Not really any seafaring cultures in Africa
Much of this is due to lack of knowledge by the Europeans. Languages were being developed very early as was the use of Iron as far back as 1000 BCE in what would be modern day Chad, 900 BCE in Nigeria and 700-500 BCE in Mali (Timbuktu)
Africa
Importance of kinship –
extended families, tight knit communities.
Family lineage was important.
Griots were historians or storytellers. They would memorize the genealogy of everyone in the village.
Religion
Indigenous – native to the land- polytheistic, animalistic, within nature
Islamic – due to trade with Middle East.
(brought by traders not armies)
Christian – due to trade and interaction with missionaries
Bantu- “many peoples”
Bantu migration- move from west-central Africa to south and southeast
They spread agriculture and the use of iron
This migration helps spread civilizations through Africa
Many African languages are Bantu in origin
Nok
Near center of modern day Nigeria around
1st century BCE. These are detailed and elaborate Terra Cotta Sculptures.
Axum
Was a gateway to trade in Africa from the Middle East
Trade made them rich
Good soil gave them great harvests
In the 3rd and 4th century the city had 20,000 people
It had a grand palace
Obelisks were used to mark the grave sites of the kings
Access to Frankincense – which was as valuable as gold
It also was a safe haven for the first Muslims to Africa that Muhammad sent there for protection
Yeha
located about 30 miles northeast of Axum (Ethiopia).
It is the largest site in the Horn of Africa showing evidence of contact with South Arabia.
Some scholars think Yeha as precursor to the Aksumite civilization. (Axum)
The earliest occupation at Yeha dates to the first millennium BC, with a Great Temple, a "palace" (perhaps an elite residence) at Grat Be'al Gebri, and the cemetery at Daro Mikael with shaft-tombs. (built at the same time as Parthenon in Greece)
Ethiopia
King Ezana is first to embrace Christianity
Coins in this area around 350 AD show a cross on them (Christian symbol).
Ezana conquered areas of Kush, Nubia and Axum
Christianity will spread and will thrive for 1,000 years
Ethiopia
King Lalibela
He dug for 24 years to create churches
He was made a saint
Ark of Covenant
Queen of Sheba from Africa visited King Solomon in Jerusalem and they had a son named Menalik who brought the Ark to Ethiopia.
The people in Ethiopia call the ark Zion and Zion is where God dwells so every church has a replica of the ark.
It is believed that a small church in Axum still has the ark.
Christianity
Based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ
It began as a small sect of Judaism during the first century in ancient Israel
Islamic Traders
Spur development of civilizations
Trading centers develop in Eastern and Northern Africa
commodities taken to Middle East and India were ivory, gold, slaves, salt, and the cola-nut
Arab traders married East Africans and provided foundations for city-states and local kingdoms.
travel by caravans using camels
In northern Arica it was an Arab conquest but not an Islamic conquest. Conversion was not required. People adopt the religion through choice.
Islamic Traders
Develop language – Swahili- which combines African and Arabic features to promote wider communication
The Islamic religion became the religion of the elite and provided uniformity in areas of trade, government, law and writing
Impact of Islamic Trade
Thriving cities develop- wealth and social classes develop
Huge African empires develop- Timbuktu
Development of intellectual centers
The spread of literacy (more people can read)
Spread of learned men – doctors and men of religion
Africa became part of Islamic orbit
Africa became a participant in international trade
African Packet and Questions
Ghana
How did it become wealthy?
What did they mine?
What kind of weapons did they use?
Sundiata and Mansa Musa
Who was Sundiata?
Describe his pilgrimage to Mecca.
Timbuktu
Name 4 products that passed through the region.
Which product was the most important?
Zimbabwe
What does the word Zimbabwe mean in the Bantu language?
What did Zimbabwe come to be known as?
How did the country return to the name Zimbabwe?
3 Great Kingdoms of the Sudan ( Black in Arabic)
Sudan is the southern Sahara and the grasslands below it.
The kingdoms extracted wealth from the traders, collecting taxes on traded goods.
Ghana- salt and gold mining. Traded in ivory. Developed ideas of divine kingship. The kings would hire Arabs to keep records, which helped develop a bureaucracy and expand the state. Ghana was dependent on local military groups for protection and was vulnerable to nomadic raiders.
Mali- led by Sundiata, who was seen as a divine monarch, who not only had authority but also magical power. Sundiata’s successor was Mansa Musa. An Islamic leader whose pilgrimage through Africa to Mecca was elaborate and affected the economies of where he traveled because of his distribution of gold.
Songhai- developed a civil service system to supplement the authority of the king. This was an Islamic state but most of the people remained polytheistic. This kingdom fell from attacks, especially from Morocco.
Mansa Musa
Net Worth:$400 Billion
He is referred to as The Richest Man of All Time.
Mansa Musa is the tenth Mansa
Mansa Musa was born in 1280. He died in 1337. He had two sons.
Timbuktu
Read in packet
Timbuktu Mosques
From Senegal to Niger to Ghana and the Ivory Coast, African mosques are made of clay.
Buttressing is done with wooden stakes for scaffolding during the yearly process of resurfacing as well as for decorative purposes. There is also a 'mihrab tower‘ (niche in wall showing which direction Mecca is), a flat roof and a courtyard.
The roof is supported by pillars and the floor is usually covered with sand on top of which mats are laid.
Lighting is achieved by holes pierced in the ceiling. Except for the massive pillars and their arches, interiors are undecorated.
Mali
Zimbabwe Stone dwellings
Became wealthy through trade
Ancient stone structures
The size of the structures rival the pyramids
Great Enclosure
Wall – 4 stories high in some places
800 feet in length
No mortar was used
Double walls to create passageways
Walls send a message of power – defense but also impress
Characteristics of African Society
Divine monarchs
Tight family structures
Mothers carry young children with them while they work
Religious rituals
Medicine men
Women have considerable status in the home and through Islam have property rights
Slavery
Landowning lords and farming communities
Family based trading companies
Mining technology- copper and iron working
Colorful dress
Characteristics of African Society
African Art
Masks
Statues
Emphasis on the circle
Work in wood, ivory, stone, beads, Terra-cotta
Mali Art
Zimbabwe Art
Mambia Art
Ife Faces
Africa 1500’s
Spain and Turks competing for North Africa
Portuguese are first to pioneer European interest in Africa
Portuguese were enlisted by West Africans as soldiers
1st goal – spices of the East – so they set up trading structures (factories)
2nd – in the West- interest in slaves – create settlements in Zambezi and Mozambique
Elmina Castle
Elmina Castle
Elmina Castle was erected by Portuguese in 1482 in present-day Elmina, Ghana.
It was the first trading post built on the Gulf of Guinea, so is the oldest European building in existence below the Sahara.
First established as a trade settlement, the castle later became one of the most important stops on the route of the Atlantic slave trade.
The Dutch seized the fort from the Portuguese in 1637, and took over all the Portuguese Gold Coast in 1642.
The slave trade continued under the Dutch until 1814; in 1872 the Dutch Gold Coast, including the fort, became a possession of the British Empire.
The Congo and the Belgians
19th century
King Leopold
Got personal title
to Congo
King Leopold I do not want to miss a good chance of getting us a slice of this magnificent African cake.
Sends Stanley Livingston as an ambassador, but the intention is really to take land. Livingston does not seem to be informed about this. He seems to be looking for trade routes and has a desire to bring Christianity to the people.
Leopold however had his military:
Raid
Slaughter
Force people to labor for ivory and rubber
King Leopold will claim the Congo as his personal property
Men, women, and children were separated and tagged
Given production quotas
If they failed they were whipped, their hands were cut off, or they were hung
About 10 million Congolese were starved, worked to death, or killed
After 20 years half of the country’s population was gone
After Leopold
Apartheid
Created a white/black society
Schools, luxury hotels, research institutes all for the white Belgians
1975 first democratically elected leader who will be killed by CIA and Belgians
Mobutu put in place- cruel, stole from country
