West Africa

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West Africa

• Ancient Ghana Empire of Gold, pages 44-48

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• 1. Name the clan that the
  Kingdom of Ghana came
  from.
• The Kingdom of Ghana came from the Soninke clan
  and rose to power around 500 CE.
• 2. Name the two rivers that benefited Ghana.
• The Niger and Senegal rivers were a great asset
  to the development of Ghana.
• 3. What two resources made Ghana wealthy?
• The Gold and Salt trade made Ghana wealthy.

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• 4. How did Arab writers
  describe Ghana?
• Ghana had the richest gold mines on earth
  according to Arab traders.
• 5. How did traders make Ghana wealthy?
• The traders had to pay taxes when they entered
  and left the kingdom, in salt, iron, silks and
  spices.

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7. Describe the role of the king of Ghana.

• Known as Ghanas, which means warrior king.
• Most powerful and father of the Soninke people.
• Religious leader, chief of army and highest
  judge of the land.
• Wealthy from taxes on the trade.

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6. What was the capital of Ghana? Describe it.

• Kumbi-Saleh was the capital of Ghana.
• Located on the Saharan trade route.
• Two city centers The north was Muslim traders,
  lawyers, religious leaders and teachers The
  south was the royal palace.
• In-between the two centers were the city
  residents.

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• 8. Define Tribute
• A donation given as a sign of respect or to
  ensure peace and protection.
• 9. According to the Soninke people, what was the
  best way to respect their ancestors?
• The best way to respect your ancestors was to
  live a descent life.
• 10. How was success measured by the people of
  Ghana?
• By the productivity of the farm.
• 11. Identify Almoravids.
• The Spanish name of a Muslim dynasty
  in North Africa and Spain.

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1. How did the farming villages of Ghana unite
the people of Ghana?

• The farming villages united the people because
  farmers in different villages produced different
  crops, so they traded goods among themselves.
• Men and women divided the labour and everyone
  worked together to
  make the villages
  successful.

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2. In what ways are the records written by the
Arabs (who traded with Ghana) valuable sources of
primary evidence?

• Arab records are valuable sources of primary
  evidence because they are first-hand accounts
  that document events that took place in the
  kingdom of Ghana at the time.

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http//www.youtube.com/watch?v3x-IwaVhnmo
http//www.youtube.com/watch?v3x-IwaVhnmo
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Mali

• The Golden Age

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• 1. Define sorcerer.
• A living person who possesses special knowledge
  that allows him or her to use the spiritual
  powers of the ancestors.
• 2. Who was Sundiata?
• A powerful sorcerer who defeated the Sosso ruler
  Samaguru in an epic battle.
• He expanded the empire with a powerful army and
  took control of the trade routes across the
  Sahara.
• He taxed all the trade transactions
  which give Mali great wealth.

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• 3. How did the Arabic language help the traders?
• It allowed them to write contracts and keep
  written records of their trade.
• 4. How did the Mandinke griot describe Sundiata?
  (Figure 2.17)
• He is known as the Lion King.
• As a child, he was unable to speak
  or walk until 7 years old but
  magically was cured and became
  a great warrior and ruler.

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• 5. Describe the difference between men and women
  in Mali.
• Boys were apprentices in castes (a hereditary
  social class) of their family, or joined the
  army.
• Girls were raised to become wives and mothers
  They were not equal.
• The girls father decides who she was to marry.
• Men could divorce and have as many wives as they
  wanted.
• If a woman committed
  adultery, she was put to
  death.

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7. How does the map on page 51 (Figure 2.19)
reflect the Europeans view of the Mali empire?

• Only saw Africa for its resources and as a place
  to conqueror.

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6. Who was Mansa Musa?

• King of Mali His reign was the Golden Age of
  Mali.
• He was a devout Muslim who established Mali as a
  powerful kingdom.
• On a pilgrimage to
  Mecca, he gave
  away so much gold
  that world gold
  prices fell.

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8. Why did Mansa Musa think it was important to
maintain religious freedom in Mali?

• When he tried to convert Mali to Islam, miners
  refused to work.
• It would have caused internal conflict in the
  kingdom.

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1. What made Timbuktu famous? What impact do
you think the idea of a city of great wealth in
Africa might have had on Europeans?

• The city of Timbuktu was famous as an important
  centre for education, business, and culture.
  People travelled great distances to study at
  Timbuktus university in subjects such as
  medicine, mathematics, astronomy, government,
  conflict resolution, chemistry, and law.
• Foreigners also marvelled at the architecture of
  Timbuktu.
• Europeans may have felt inferior
  to the people of Mali because
  at that time
  there were no cities of
  such grand stature in Europe.

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http//www.youtube.com/watch?vYzy_E4ggcvAfeature
PlayListpA411B1E9116255DBindex0
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Songhai

• Land of Royalty

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• 1. True or False Songhai was the second largest
  kingdom of the West African civilizations.
• False, it was the largest civilization in Western
  Africa.
• 2. Who was the king of Songhai and why did he
  conquer Mali?
• Sonni Ali was the king.
• He conquered Mali in order to control
  the Sahara trade routes.
• Timbuktus importance as an intellectual
  center and Djennes gold and
  ivory would allow Songhai to
  thrive in trade and
  commerce.

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• 3. Why did Sonni Ali become an enemy of Islam?
• Although he took a Muslim name, he killed Muslim
  scholars who did not respect Songhai religion.
• 4. Who was Mohammed Askia?
• He became king of Songhai
• He embraced Islam
• He allowed Songhai traditions to be practised
• Restored Timbuktu as an important center
  of Islamic scholarship.
• Made Songhai a more equitable society
• He encouraged Islamic education.

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5. Why was Djenne highly regarded?

• Because of its medical knowledge and practices.
• Doctors discovered mosquitoes caused malaria and
  they performed eye surgery.

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• 6. A. How were slaves obtained?
• Horses, spices, and cloth were exchanged for
  captives of war, prisoners, enemies and
  criminals.
• Muslim leaders raided nearby provinces. The
  captured and sold people who practiced African
  religions.
• B. How did some people
  prevent themselves from
  being captured?
• They converted to Islam to
  protect themselves because
  under Islamic Law, free Muslims
  could not be enslaved.

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• C. How were slaves important to trade in Songhai?
• Arabian and Moroccan merchants used slaves as
  porters to carry goods. Those who survived the
  trip across the desert were sold at markets as
  bodyguards, soldiers and household servants.

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1. In what ways did the rulers of Songhai
demonstrate their religious tolerance?

• Sonni Ali demonstrated religious tolerance by
  respecting the traditions of the Songhai people
  even through he accepted Islam into his own life.
  He did not tolerate Muslim scholars who did not
  respect these traditions.
• Like Ali, Mohammad Askia demonstrated religious
  tolerance by allowing Songhai traditions to be
  practiced even though he was a devout Muslim.
• He chose not to force Islam on his
  non-Muslim subjects even though
  the daily work of
  the kingdom was
  based on Islamic traditions, laws
  and beliefs.

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2. In your opinion, what factors contributed to
the success of the Songhai Empire?

• Was a direct result of its gold and ivory
  resources.
• Was due to the leadership of Sonni Ali and
  Mohammad Askia.
• Was because of Askias commitment to education.
• Was due to Timbuktus success as a centre of
  science, religious, culture, and learning
• Was because of Djennes
  medical knowledge and
  technology.

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3. What impact do you think the destruction of
Timbuktu had on West Africa?

• The destruction of Timbuktu had a devastating
  effect on West Africa because the people who
  captured Timbuktu did not value it and did not
  maintain its success.
• Timbuktu fell into decline and lost its status as
  a great centre of learning. This loss of status
  and distinction may have had a demoralizing
  effect on the people.

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http//www.youtube.com/watch?v5QvdwCryAIMfeature
related
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Great Zimbabwe

• The House of Stone

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• 1. What was strategic about Great Zimbabwes
  location?
• It was located between the Zambezi and Limpopo
  Rivers.

• It linked the goldfields of the African interior
  with the east coast trading port of Sofala. From
  here the gold was shipped to Persia, India and
  China in exchange for silks, spices, cotton and
  porcelain.

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• The first settlers were ancestors of the present
  day ___________ people.
• Shona People.
• 3. What did archaeologists conclude about Great
  Zimbabwe?
• It was a religious center where
  Mwari, the Supreme Shona god
  was revered.
• Birds were royal emblems and
  became a powerful symbol.

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• 4. Why were Africans origins denied?
• Similar structure were not seen in Africa
• Some excavations removed prove that the Africans
  built it.
• 5. What does
  Great Zimbabwe
  mean?
• Houses of Stones

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• 6. What were the three main
  structures of Great Zimbabwe?
• The Hills Complex,
• the Great Enclosure,
• and the Valley Ruins.

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• 7. What caused Great Zimbabwe to decline?
• Gold trade moved and gold supplies ran out.
• Grazing lands were exhausted, trees were gone and
  soil eroded.

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Why do you think Europeans refused to believe
that the buildings of Great Zimbabwe were build
by Africans?

• They did not believe Africans had the skill or
  technology to build such carefully constructed
  buildings.
• Europeans assumed they had been built by foreign
  travelers.
• This attitude reflected European feelings of
  superiority and their arrogance toward other
  cultures they believed to be inferior to their
  own.

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Swahili City-States

• Ancient Crosswords

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• 1. What is Swahili culture? Bantu? Arabs?
• Swahili culture Integrated Bantu-speaking
  peoples and Arabs
• Bantu Farmers and cattle
  herders from the African
  interior
• Arabs Merchants and traders
  from Ethiopia

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• 2. Identify Kiswahili.
• A Bantu language mixed with Arab
  elements, from the Arab word
  Sawahil, meaning coast.
• 3. How were Swahili people linked?
• They were linked by a common language and Islamic
  faith.
• 4. How did the Islamic faith connect the people
  to the rest of the world?
• Through trade, which also brought wealth and
  prosperity.

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• 5. How did they maintain strong ties with their
  trading partners?
• Swahili merchants often arranged marriages
  between their children and those of Arab, Asian
  and African traders.
• Blood Relations strengthened
  their
  commercial alliances
  and added to their
  prosperity.

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• 6. Identify Kilwa.
• Large trade center.
• 7. Identify Lamu.
• The oldest and best preserved Swahili city.
• 8. What caused the decline of the Swahili-City.
• Portuguese conquered the Swahili city-states and
  pushed the African traders out of African trade.

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1.Locate the Swahili city-states in your atlas.
How did their coastal location benefit them?

• The coastal location of the Swahili city-states
  benefited them because it allowed them to trade
  with states in the Middle East and Asia via the
  Indian ocean.

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2. In what ways did Islam work as a unifying
force in the Swahili city-states?

• Islam was a unifying force in the Swahili
  city-sates because religion kept their culture
  strong.
• They developed their own language,
  Kiswahili, and recorded not only
  their histories into the Kiswahili
  language, but also the
  Quran.
• They created a literate population
  that could read their histories
  and religious
  texts. This enabled
  them to maintain their traditions
  and values.

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West Central Africa

• Kingdom
• of the
• Kongo

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• On the lower Congo River
• Capital in Mbanza

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• King was the Manikongo, which was a divine
  kingship.
• Define Kingship political spiritual head of
  state.

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• Ancient-Kikongo-speaking peoples probably arrived
  in the region from the north as part of the
  larger Bantu expansion.
• One of the large-scale migrations that occurred
  as a result of the population growth that
  followed the introduction of iron tools.

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• Was divided into six provinces, each administered
  by a governor appointed by the Manikongo.
• Specialized skills in farming iron production,
  which led to trade in salt and copper.

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• Principal products of the Empire included ivory
  and hides, and later as trade flourished with
  Europeans, slaves.

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• Shrines to the spirits of the land were located
  along the river.