Topic 4: Africa Political Geography – From Kingdoms to Nationhood

1. Topic 4: Africa Political Geography – From Kingdoms to Nationhood • Introduction • Indigenous Heritage- Africa: Cradle of Civilization- Era of Ancient Civilization- Bantu Migration- Era of Medieval Civilization and Modern Kingdoms- Significance of the History of Indigenous Heritage

2. Topic 4: Africa Political Geography – From Kingdoms to Nationhood • Islam in Africa • History of Western Heritage in Africa  - Period of Initial European Contact - Period of Enslavement of Africans - Period of Land Exploration - Period of Colonial Rule in Africa - Consequences of Colonialism in Africa

3. Political Geography of Africa: Introduction • Africa triple heritage: - Indigenous heritage- Islamic heritage- Western heritage • all influence cultural landscape of Africa • western and northeastern parts of Africa experienced a longer history of indigenous influences

4. Political Geography of Africa: Introduction • eastern and southern parts have a more recent history • history of the indigenous heritage of Africa: - Africa as a cradle of civilization- era of ancient civilization- Bantu migratory patterns prior to European contacts- era of medieval civilizations and modern kingdoms

5. Political Geography of Africa: Introduction • Islam arrived in Africa in the 8th century through trade and Jihad • history of western heritage: - period of initial contact- enslavement of Africans to the Americas- age of land exploration- balkanization of Africa and the colonial period

6. Indigenous Heritage: Africa - Cradle of Man • Homo sapiens first appeared in Africa some 150,000 to 200,000 years ago • evolutionary succession leading to humankind includes: - early hominid called australopithecine appeared some 4 million years ago - fossil evidence uncovered in South Africa, East Africa rift valley, and Afar depression

7. African Origin of Homo Sapiens

8. Indigenous Heritage: Africa - Cradle of Man - its brain size, shape of teeth and jaw, skeletal characteristics differentiated it from both the higher apes and the human species (Homo) • a more advanced hominid called Homo habilis appeared some 2.4 million years ago - it has larger brain and a tool maker- it used simple stone tools and lived in encampments

9. Indigenous Heritage: Africa - Cradle of Man • Homo erectus appeared 1.8 million years ago - more erect posture and larger brain - devised a variety of more sophisticated tools - lived in savanna environments close to large water bodies • the appearance of Homo sapiens is well documented in the discovery of Zinjanthropos in Olduvai Gorge and the discovery of Lucy in Ethiopia

10. Indigenous Heritage: Era of Ancient Civilization • important civilizations during this era include: - Egypt (c. 3000 B.C. to 1580 B.C.?)- Kush with capital Meroe (c. 2000 B.C. to 300 A.D.)- Nok (c. 500 B.C. to 200 A.D.)- Axum (c.200 B.C. to 700 A.D.)- Nubia (c. 500 to 700 A.D.)- Carthage (Libyan-Berber State)

11. African Kingdoms and Empires

12. Indigenous Heritage: Era of Ancient Civilization • some of the ancient kingdoms became Christian empires (Axum, Kush, and Ethiopia) which flourished till the arrival of Islam in 8th century • common features of ancient civilization include: - well-established political structures with strong central government- extensive use of iron technology for making tools and weapons- major centers of iron-making include: Nok, Nubia,Egypt and Lake Victoria District

13. Iron-Technology Centers and Diffusion Routes

14. Indigenous Heritage: Era of Ancient Civilization - most parts of Africa did not experience the bronze age between the stone age and the iron age (notable exceptions: Nubia and Egypt) - iron-making people expanded territorially at the expense of those using only stone tools and weapons

15. Indigenous Heritage: Era of Ancient Civilization - well-established farming system with production of food surplus through domestication of plants like: • cereals: teff, finger millet, bulrush millet, sorghum, African rice • Roots and Tuber: yams • Pulses: bambra groundnuts, cowpeas • Oil Crops: castor oil, oil palm, shea butter • Starch and Sugar Plants: ensete • Vegetables: okra, garden eggs • Stimulants: coffee, kola and Fiber: cotton

16. Indigenous Heritage: Era of Ancient Civilization • Crops introduced into Africa: - banana and yams from Asia- corn and cassava from the Americas in the 16th century • agricultural innovations occurred in the following cultural hearths: Egypt, Ethiopia Plateau, West Africa Savanna, Forest-Savanna Boundary

17. Indigenous Heritage: Era of Ancient Civilization - elaborate irrigation networks like the Egyptian network of dikes and irrigation channels controlling the annual floods of the Nile - hillside terracing in Axum - well established cities with impressive architecture: Meroe ruins of stone buildings (Kush kingdom)

18. Indigenous Heritage: Era of Ancient Civilization - well established long distance trade networks and exchange economy like that between Nok and Carthage - impressive Africa arts and sculptures: • terra cotta sculptures of the Nok • Egyptian Great Sphinx and Pyramids

19. Bantu Migration • Began at about 5000 B.C. • originated from areas around the Benue River • occurred in stages over a period of five millennia • two major directions of migration: - eastward stream of migration towards the Lake District of East Africa following the savanna corridor

20. Pathways of Bantu Migration

21. Bantu Migration     - southward stream of migrants through Cameroon into the rainforest and Central Africa regions • the two groups rejoined in south-central Africa about 1500 years ago • Bantu migration was over by 1000 A.D. • Bantu migrants encountered stone-age aborigines, like the Khoisan people, with no elaborate economic and political associations

22. Bantu Migration • Bantu migrants inter-married with the aborigines and some assimilated into the Bantu culture • Bantu migrants were mainly farmers and used iron tools and weapons • Bantu migrants introduced innovations: - iron smelting technology- herding of cattle & crop cultivation- superior political and economic structures- new forms of social organization

23. Bantu Migration - established important empires in East and Central Africa: Loango, Kongo, Luba, Zimbabwe,Changamire • Other Migrant Groups: • Madagascar was settled by Indonesians >1500 years ago • people of Caucasian origin originating in the Sahara, North Africa and Arabian Peninsula

24. Bantu Migration • Berber-speaking peoples intermingled with Negroes of the Sahara • Arabs occupied the Red Sea and East African coast • Arabian cities which became important points of trade and cultural development • pastoral Fulani extended their grazing territories from their Senegambia base into the savanna all the way to Lake Chad

25. Bantu Migration • these recurrent processes of migration, diffusion and assimilation are important in the evolution of ethnic and cultural maps of Africa

26. Main Ethnic Groups in Africa

27. Indigenous Heritage: Medieval Civilization • includes empires with well developed political structures and social orders • in West Africa, they include early sudanic empires: - Ghana (A.D. 700 - 1070)- Mali (A.D. 1230 - 1430)- Songhai (A.D. 1460 - 1590)

28. Indigenous Heritage: Medieval Civilization • main distinguishing features of the sudanic empires from the ancient empires: - Islam was an important organizing philosophy (example: Mali and Songhai)- depended on extensive Trans-Saharan trade networks which exchanged local products: gold, salt, ivory, ostrich feathers, hides and slaves, for North African goods: dried fruits and cowries - control of gold and salt mines- use of iron implements

29. Trade Routes in the 16th Century

30. Indigenous Heritage: Medieval Civilization • collapse of the sudanic states shifted the power base towards the forest belt • in southern Africa, Karanga evolved with Great Zimbabwe as its capital • Great Zimbabwe was a city built of stone without mortar and has remarkable ruins of stone towers and walls

31. Indigenous Heritage: Medieval Civilization • Karanga produced gold for international trade • no major civilizations in East Africa except for a few important city states • the city-states created between A.D. 700 and 1500 as trading points between the Arabs and people across the Indian Ocean • important city-states: Mogadishu, Kilwa, Mombasa, Sofala, etc

32. Indigenous Heritage: Medieval Civilization • late medieval period saw the emergence of more states in West Africa, East and Central Africa that later evolved into modern kingdoms

33. Indigenous Heritage:Era of Modern Kingdoms • include kingdoms after 1600 or after the collapse of medieval civilizations • include the forest kingdoms of West Africa: Ashanti, Benin, Oyo, Dahomey, Futa Toro, Fonta Djallon, Jolof, Segu, Nupe, Cayor and Boal • kingdoms protected trade routes and their people

34. Indigenous Heritage:Era of Modern Kingdoms • kingdoms initially engaged in trans-Saharan trade on gold, ostrich feathers, salts and slaves • coastal trading emerged after European arrived • large-scale slave trade began • European weapons (guns and gun powder) used for political expansion and slave raids

35. Indigenous Heritage:Era of Modern Kingdoms • kingdoms in Central and East Africa include: Kuba, Lunda, Malawi, Burundi, Rwanda, Buganda, Shona, Angola, etc • very few modern kingdoms in southern Africa because the San people were hunter-gatherers • however, threats of over population and over grazing set in motion the shaking up of the peoples in southern Africa called Mfecane

36. Indigenous Heritage:Era of Modern Kingdoms • resistance to European control, and the need to organize trade and defense prompted the creation of kingdoms like: Zulu, Ndebele, and Sotho in the middle of the 19th century

37. Significance of the History of the Indigenous Heritage • revealed the rich history of Africa and its great contributions to the collective human history • disproved the general stereotyping of Africa as uncivilized and barbaric • revealed a well defined social structure, division of labor, cities, trade network and communication systems

38. Significance of the History of the Indigenous Heritage • revealed a history of diverse socio-political organizations • revealed rich history with cultural symbols proudly displayed in non-African museums • traditional forms of governance, social organization based on lineage and kinship and the traditional religious value systems are evident in all aspects of daily living of Africans

39. Significance of the History of the Indigenous Heritage • forms the foundation of present-day culture and has influenced the spatial organization and development of the region • It has interacted with Islamic and western influences to produce social unrest, political instability and economic and cultural dependency • source of inspiration and identity (names of African countries reflect its ancient history)

40. Islam in Africa • spread to Africa in about 700 A.D. • spread along three major pathways: - East African Coast Spread: • first wave of spread began at about 700 A.D. • through trade contacts between Arabian traders and Africans along the coast - Trans-Saharan Trade Route Spread: • second wave of spread began at about 900 A.D. and continued till 19th century • facilitated by trans-Saharan trade routes

41. Islam in Africa - Islam was later spread by holy wars called Jihads - Also spread by Fulani zealots, preachers and warriors in search of grazing lands • helped to advance the political dreams of the Fulani aristocracy - Spread into Egypt • spread by trade into Egypt and the horn of Africa

42. Islam in Africa • major Islamic regions: - North Africa & East Africa Coastlands - Horn of Africa - Sahel and Savanna belts of West Africa • forest belt & interior parts of eastern and southern Africa were hardly impacted by Islam • prevalence of tse-tse fly and forest trees limited the spread of Islam into the forest belt by Moslems riding on horse backs

43. Some Impacts of Islam in Africa • educational systems in Islamic regions (Koranic Schools flourished) • Arabic language favored and flourished • import of Arabian architectural designs favored and flourished • political systems and laws (Sharia Laws introduced)

44. Some Impacts of Islam in Africa • dominance of Fulani aristocracy in West Africa politics • Islamic heritage was not as disruptive of African indigenous heritage because it accepted major African practices such as: - polygamy- female circumcision- use of African drums in certain religious practices

45. History of Western Heritage • occurred in four main periods: - Period of Initial European Contact- Period of Enslavement of Africans- Period of Land Exploration- Period of Colonial Rule

46. Period of Initial European Contact: 1430 - 1500 • The result of European search for sea route to India to continue their trade on silk, porcelain, spies • first contact was with Portuguese navigators at about 1434 • first contacts were limited to the coast because existing kingdoms refused European penetration into the interior

47. Period of Initial European Contact: 1430 - 1500 • Europeans granted concessions to establish trading posts and forts along the coast • about 50 forts established along the west coast • trade involved exchange of African goods like: gold, ivory, kola nuts, palm produce for European alcohol, guns and sugar • Portugal pushed out the Arabs in the East African coast and established its headquarters in Mombassa in 1592

48. Trading Points in Africa between the 16th & 18th Centuries

49. Period of Enslavement of Africans: 1500 - 1870 • it is the period of Trans-Atlantic slave trade • Before then, slave trades occurred across the Sahara desert and Indian Ocean • result of a high demand for plantation workers in the Americas between the 16th and 19th centuries • the commercial economy organized to facilitate the capture, transportation & sale of slaves

50. Main Slave Trades in Africa