African_Origins

African Origins:

African Origins Chapter One

Geography of Africa:

Geography of Africa The Sahara (desert) The Sahel The Savannah Rain Forests Desert

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The Sahel Region

The Sahel:

The Sahel Semi-Desert

The Savannah :

The Savannah

Rain Forests:

Rain Forests

Kalahari Desert (South Africa):

Kalahari Desert (South Africa)

Africa:

Africa Origins of Humanity. The Savannah. Early man was nomadic. Settled down, developed agriculture. The rise of human civilization. What is CIVILIZATION?

Civilization:

Civilization Civilization maybe defined as: “A complex culture in which large members of human beings share a variety of common elements” What are some examples of civilization?

West Africa:

West Africa Ancestral homeland of the majority of African-Americans. West Africa was the center of the Atlantic Slave Trade. West Africa: Geographically diverse

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Desert Savannah Rainforest Home to a large variety of languages and cultures.

The People of West Africa:

The People of West Africa Diverse population. Began to cultivate crops and keep domesticated animals between 1000 BC and AD 200. Those in the Savannah region adopted village life before those in the Rainforests. By 500 BC the Nok peoples, who lived in the rainforests of West Africa, were producing iron tools and weapons. Trade with each other and those in the North.

The People of West Africa (cont.):

The People of West Africa (cont.) Trade became an important part of the economy of West Africa. Trade formed the foundation for the three great Western Sudanese empires that dominated from around AD 400 until the late 16 th century.

Three Great Western Sudanese Empires:

Three Great Western Sudanese Empires Ghana Mali Songhai

The Kingdom of Ghana:

The Kingdom of Ghana Origins unclear. May have arisen around the 4 th century AD. Borders changed overtime. Public offices were hereditary.

The Kingdom of Ghana:

The Kingdom of Ghana The people of Ghana were relatively wealthy. Social order became solidified. For most of it’s history, the majority of the people were farmers . Continued severe droughts brought an end to much of the farming. The people of Ghana were also traders .

The Kingdom of Ghana:

The Kingdom of Ghana From Northern Africa they got: Cotton Glass beads Silk Horses Mirrors Salt (etc)

The Kingdom of Ghana:

The Kingdom of Ghana They exported (to the North): Gold Peppers Ivory Slaves The Ghana King placed import and export taxes on all commodities and appointed collectors.

The Kingdom of Ghana:

The Kingdom of Ghana Saleh – Capital city of Ghana Empire. Saleh had native Arab section. Arab merchants in the city increased the power of Ghana. Ghana formed a large army. Over time, the people of Saleh began to convert to Islam. Religious and commercial rivalries destroyed the Ghana Empire during the 12 th century AD.

The Kingdom of Ghana:

The Kingdom of Ghana The fall of Ghana Empire: Almoravids (Muslim) invaded Ghana. Seized Saleh. Established Islam. Finally falls to the Sosso .

The Kingdom of Mali:

The Kingdom of Mali AD 1230-1468 Formed centuries earlier. Sundiata consolidated and strengthened the Empire.

The Kingdom of Mali:

The Kingdom of Mali Founder of the Mali Empire Battle of Kirina (AD 1235). Defeated the Soso (who had overthrown Ghana). Leveled Saleh.

The Kingdom of Mali:

The Kingdom of Mali Sundiata was a very important religious figure. Created the Empire of Mali as a Islamic State. Sundiata’s successor: Mansa Musa. Ruled from AD 1312 – AD 1337. The Empire of Mali reached its peak.

The Kingdom of Mali:

The Kingdom of Mali AD 1324 Mansa Musa makes pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca. Two possible reasons: Display of his power and riches. He was a Muslim. Under Musa, the people of Mali become wealthy. Many were farmers. Others worked in crafts or mining in the mines of Bure (helping make Mali richer).

The Kingdom of Mali:

The Kingdom of Mali Mansa Musa dies in AD 1337. Empire suffers decline for many years. AD 1468, the Songhai captured Timbuktu . The Empire of Songhai was born.

The Kingdom of Songhai:

The Kingdom of Songhai AD 1464 – AD 1591 Mali Empire ruled the Songhai state for a period of time. Songhai seceded from Mali rule in 1375.

The Kingdom of Songhai:

The Kingdom of Songhai Sunni Ali ruled Songhai from AD 1464 – AD 1492. Made Songhai a great empire. Used navy forces to seize control of both banks of the Niger River. AD 1468: Captured Mali capital (Timbuktu). Captured other important Mali cities. AD 1492: drowned in Koni River.

The Kingdom of Songhai:

The Kingdom of Songhai Sunni Ali is succeeded by Askia Mohammed . Ruled Songhai from AD 1492 - AD 1529. Focused on making his people prosperous and encouraged education. Recruited a professional army of prisoners and slaves. Expanded the Songhai Empire.

The Kingdom of Songhai:

The Kingdom of Songhai Askia Mohammed was an orthodox Muslim. AD 1497: Took pilgrimage to Mecca. Established diplomatic relations with Morocco and Egypt. Brought Muslim scholars to Timbuktu (Sankore Mosque). The Sankore Mosque would be known as an important center for the study of theology, law, mathematics, and medicine.

Sankore MOsque:

Sankore MOsque

The Kingdom of Songhai:

The Kingdom of Songhai AD 1529: Askia Musa removes (Askia Mohammed) from power. The Empire begins to weaken. Civil wars, massacres, and unsuccessful military adventures. Songhai peaked under Askia Daud who ruled AD 1549 – AD 1582.

The Kingdom of Songhai:

The Kingdom of Songhai European adventurers threaten Songhai’s trading partners in Northern Africa. AD 1591: Gao (the capital) was defeated by Moroccan forces. Songhai Empire now history. The Moroccans did not remain in West Africa. The region was left without a single significant power.

Central Africa:

Central Africa Congo River. “Angola”.

Central Africa:

Central Africa 14 th and 15 th centuries the Congo was ruled by the Kingdom of Kongo. King Nzinga Knuwu . Ruled when Portuguese traders came looking for gold and slaves. Knuwu’s son attempted to turn the Kingdom to Christianity. Only caused unrest. Kingdom of Kongo broke up under the stress of the slave trade and religious unrest.

Western Africa: Society and Culture:

Western Africa: Society and Culture Families and villages: Extended families. Lineages were the foundation of the economic and political life of Western Africa. A single lineage would make up a village. Larger family unites might make several villages. Trace ancestry through the mother. Nuclear and polygamous households.

Western Africa: Society and Culture:

Western Africa: Society and Culture Polygamy Not universal in Africa. Existed in almost every region. Religion was the determining factor. Islam allowed a man to have four wives. Christianity did not allow polygamy. Women preferred polygamy.

Western Africa: Society and Culture:

Western Africa: Society and Culture Most of the people: Were Farmers. Used spears, iron axes, hoes, and hunted with bows. Little material wealth. Regular droughts made life difficult.

Western Africa: Women:

Western Africa: Women Men dominated society. Women were the central figures in African society. Matrilineal and Patrilineal communities. In either type, those who formed the lineage comprised all the living descendants of the same ancestor (male or female).

Western Africa: Women:

Western Africa: Women Legally wives did not belong to their husband. Custom held that a woman was the property of the man. Wives were not considered part of the husband’s family. Preferred polygamy because it split up the household/domestic jobs.

Western Africa: Religion:

Western Africa: Religion Indigenous (Native) Religions Vast majority of Africans until contact. Combined: Animism a pantheon of deities Supreme God and lesser gods. veneration of ancestors. Spirits of ancestors possessed great power.

Western Africa: Religion:

Western Africa: Religion Islam Muslims crossed into Africa during the 7 th century AD. More successful in urban areas. Three great empires were Islamic. Offered the people benefits such as literacy, jobs, etc. Fostered literacy in Arabic, the spread of Islamic learning, and the building of mosques. Monotheistic.

Western Africa: Religion:

Western Africa: Religion Christianity Very early influence. Competed with Islam. West Africa had a low number of Christians until the arrival of the Portuguese during the 16 th century. The Atlantic slave trade made some Africans slow to accept Christianity. Monotheistic.

Western Africa: Slavery:

Western Africa: Slavery Very common. Not necessarily a permanent condition. Prisoners of war, debt slaves, etc. Some had a great deal of power. Very low social position. Much better to be free than a slave.

The end of African Origins :

The end of African Origins Read Chapter 2. Start looking at the Atlantic Slave Trade.