Kingdoms and Trading States of Africa

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Kingdoms and Trading States of Africa
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Early African Societies

• Organized into lineages
• Large families that believe to have common
  ancestors
• Stateless Society lineage groups take the place
  of governments no central govt.

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West Africa Landscape

• By A.D. 100-farming villages were settled and
  expanding
• Some would grow into towns with local rulers
• Villagers traded their surplus food and a trade
  network opened up
• Linked to other parts of Africa, Mediterranean
  and the Middle East

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Trade Routes

• Caravans would cross the Sahara
• Carried leather goods, kola nuts, cotton cloth,
  slaves, silk, steel, glass beads and horses
• Gold and Salt dominated the Sahara trade
• Cities developed along the trade routes
• Monarchs gained control of the profitable trade
  routes

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Gold Wealth of Ghana

• 800 A.D.-Kingdom of Ghana was created
• King controlled gold-salt routes across West
  Africa
• Traders would meet in Ghana, king would collect
  tolls for the goods
• Ghana became known as the land of gold
• Islam will spread through trade and hired
  officials

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• Introduced new things to Ghana
• By the 1100s-Ghana will decline and be swallowed
  up by Mali

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Mali

• Founded in 1250
• expanded influence over gold and salt, towns
  sprung up over the path of the trading route
• Greatest emperor-Mansa Musa
• Expanded Malis borders westward, pushed north to
  conquer others
• Converted to Islam
• Based his system of justice on the Quran

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Songhai

• 1450-new kingdom-Songhai
• Sonni Ali-created the largest state in West
  Africa
• Askia Mohammad set up a Muslim dynasty, expanded
  the territory of the Songhai
• Set up a bureaucracy, built mosques, schools

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Timbuktu

• 1400s-became a leading center of learning

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• Prospered until 1586 when disputes led to civil
  war
• Morocco attacked and West Africa became
  splintered into small kingdoms

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Other Kingdoms of West Africa

• Hausa-thriving trade centers
• Under the ruler Amina-came to dominate Saharan
  trade routes
• Benin-organized in 1300s
• Palace was elaborately decorated
• When the Portuguese arrived, the slave trade
  opened up

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Trade Routes of East Africa
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Askum

• 350 A.D.-King Ezana absorbed Nubia
• Introduced Hebrew religious traditions to Askum
• Commanded a triangular trade network linking
  Africa, India, and the Mediterranean world
• Converted to Christianity
• 600s-Islam came to dominate North Africa

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• Will slowly decline due to civil war

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Ethiopia

• Claimed descent from Solomon until the fall of
  the last emperor in 1974
• Survived due to Christian faith and geography
  (mountainous terrain)
• Absorbed many traditions

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East African City-States

• Arabs and Persian merchants set up Muslim
  communities
• Bantu-speaking people migrated and adopted Islam
• Asian immigrants added to the culture
• Thriving trade (including slaves) were sold to
  Persia

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• City-states will become diverse
• Islam influence will grow

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Great Zimbabwe

• Reached its height around 1300
• Created a profitable trade link with coastal
  cities
• Had gold resources
• God-king and bureaucracy
• By 1500 Zimbabwe was in decline

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