13.5 Africa’s Eastern Coast pp. 372-375

1. 13.5 Africa’s Eastern Coastpp. 372-375

2. Objectives: • Locate and describe Swahili trading cities. • Explain why they emerged. • Analyze their interaction with other parts of Africa and the world.

3. A. Eastern Africa (p. 372) • Another powerful African civilization was growing to the east. • It had closer ties to Asia than to West Africa. • However, it shared its language family (Bantu) with other African groups, and it profited from trade within Africa and with other continents. • From eastern Africa, gold and ivory was shipped to cities in Arabia, India, and China.

4. B. Trade Along the Indian Ocean (p. 373) • The coastal cities of eastern Africa linked Africa to Asia. • Eastern African merchants traded gold, leopard skins, rhinoceros horns, and ivory. • Eastern African ivory was prized because it was softer and easier to carve than West African ivory.

5. C. The “People of the Shore” (p. 373) • Over time some of the foreign merchants settled in Africa’s eastern coastal cities. • Many were Arab Muslims, who made important contributions to the civilization that became known as “Swahili,” which means “people of the shore” in Arabic. • These merchants brought both their language (Arabic) and their religion (Islam) to the coastal regions of eastern Africa.

6. D. Life Along the Coast (p.374) • Between 1000 and 1500, Swahili cities grew in size and strength. • Those cities grew when they controlled important trade routes. • They declined when that control slipped away. • Unlike in West Africa, Swahili cities were each ruled by their own leaders.

7. E. Swahili Cities (p. 374) • The three most important Swahili cities were Mombasa, an island of present-day Kenya; Zanzibar, a much larger island farther south; and Mogadishu, in present-day Somalia. • The people of Mogadishu lived by fishing and farming. • Mogadishu controlled much of Africa’s gold trade from 1000 to 1300.

8. F. Eastern African Legacies (p.375) • Today some important legacies of early Swahili civilization remain in the countries of East Africa. • Swahili has become the common language of Tanzania, Kenya, Zaire, and Uganda. • Old Swahili ports such as Mombasa and Zanzibar still ship goods around the globe.

9. G. Decline (p. 375) • These cities are nowhere near as strong as they once were. • Their decline was the result of conflicts that broke out in the 1500s. • As the Portuguese began sailing around Africa on their way to Asia, they began colonizing the eastern coast.

10. Review • For what product was East Africa famous? • With what part of the world did East Africa concentrate its trade and commerce? • What does “Swahili” mean? • What were three important Swahili cities?