Aspect of Early African History

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Aspect of Early African History
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Aspect of Early African History

• Precolonial Sources
• State Formation
• North Northeast Africa
• West Africa
• Central, Eastern Southern Africa
• Patterns of Authority
• Intergroup Relations External Contacts

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Precolonial Sources

• Literate tradition of history
• Egypt
• Hieroglyphics
• Ethiopia
• Geez
• North West Africa
• Greek, Latin Arabic

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Precolonial Sources

• Oral tradition of history
• Centralized political systems
• West African griot (recounted the official
  version
• Stories usually accompanied by the kora
• Decentralized systems
• Free text usually passed down by elders

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State Formation

• Origins
• Every group has legends of how their ancestors
  arrived in the place they are now
• Migrations
• Help spread ideas technology
• Pluralism diversity
• Environment
• Search for resources new land
• Desertification

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North Northeast Africa

• Egypt
• Earliest center of food production
• Ancient Egypt governed by pharaohs grouped into
  30 dynasties (3100 B.C. 332 B.C.)
• Relied on large government and lived in opulence
  at the expense of the peasants
• Farming drive economic prosperity with surplus
  going to the king
• Power waned and fell victim to invaders by 1000
  B.C.

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North Northeast Africa

• Kush
• Able to break the bonds of Egypt and formed a
  kingdom in 1000B.C.
• Shed Egyptian practices and a new culture emerged
• Rich in timber and iron
• Axum invaded in 350 A.D.

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North Northeast Africa

• Axum (300-600 A.D.)
• Modern day Ethiopia
• One of the earliest Christian kingdoms
• Obelisks are considered buy some to be one of the
  Wonders of the World
• Ark of the Covenant

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West Africa

• Ghana (800-1200 A.D.)
• Formed in about 600 A.D.
• Strategically locatedable to control the
  lucrative trans-Saharan trade
• Built large armies

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West Africa

• Mali (1245-1635 A.D.)
• Reputation of a strong economy (commerce/farming)
• Used Islam to create social cohesion
• Defeated by Songhai Kingdom
• Description of Sudan as a large area and not the
  country today

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Central, Eastern Southern Africa

• Bantu Africa
• Term used to describe a conglomeration of 450
  languages
• Migration was gradual over many hundreds of years
• Integration was generally peaceful

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Central, Eastern Southern Africa

• South Africa
• Dutch Settlement in Cape Colony (1652)
• Boers migrated inland to escape domination from
  the British
• Forced into lands occupied by Bantu Africans and
  caused conflict
• Shaka built one of the greatest military empires
  of the day

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Patterns of Authority

• Political Organization
• Centralized (Mali, Ghana, Axum)
• Political authority firmly in the hands of
  hereditary rulers
• Large populace
• Judicial and revenue generation ensured elite
  maintained power

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Patterns of Authority

• Political Organization
• Decentralized (San, Igbo, Nuer, Massai)
• Clan based kinship groups regulated by a group of
  elders
• Based on rank in an age-set system
• Igbo
• Village largest unit of the political system

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Patterns of Authority

• Political Organization
• Role of women
• Played pivotal role in all societies
• Essential to religious and economic affairs
• Priestess in West Africa
• Controlled agricultural and commercial production

Sàngó Priestess Oyo, Nigeria
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Intergroup Relations External Contacts

• Regardless of society, trade, warfare,
  migrations, marriages were the basic parts of
  intergroup relations
• No fixed boundaries to divide humans
• Regional (same language or ethnic group)
• Interregional (tied by common theme (trade)
• International (Arabs, Europeans)