Turbulent Centuries in Africa

1. Turbulent Centuries in Africa By Michaela Hoyt

2. European Outposts in Africa • In the 1400’s, Portuguese ships explored the coast of west Africa. • Looking for a route to India • Portuguese lacked power to push into the African interior. • Instead they attacked the coastal cities • Mombasa • Malindi • Drove East African cities into poverty while they gained a profit from them. • Led the way for other Europeans • Dutch, French, and English

3. The Atlantic Slave Trade • Soon Europeans saw slaves as one of the most important trades. • Slavery existed in Africa as well. • The word “slave” comes from the large number of Slavs taken as unpaid laborers.

4. The Atlantic Slave Trade (cont.) European and African Slave Traders • The Atlantic slave trade began in the 1500’s • To fill labor needs in Spain • Tens of thousands were imported • Worked on tobacco or sugar farms • Could also be traded for other goods • Textiles, rum, weapons etc.

5. 3rd leg The Atlantic Slave Trade (cont.) 1st Leg 2nd leg Triangular Trade • 1st leg • Merchants brought goods to Africa to be traded for slaves • 2nd leg (Middle Passage) • Slaves were transported to the West Indies and exchanges for sugar, molasses and other products • 3rd leg • The merchants took the goods back to Europe or the Americas

6. The Atlantic Slave Trade (cont.) Horrors of the Middle Passage • Hundreds of slaves were packed below deck on a single ship. • The ships became “floating coffins” because half of the slaves on board died from disease or mistreatment. • Some slaves tried to take over the ship to return to Africa and others threw themselves overboard.

7. The Atlantic Slave Trade (cont.) African Leaders Resist • Affonso I became king in west-central Africa in 1505 • Wanted to turn Kongo into a Christian state • Tried to stop the slave trade • Other officials kept the trade going because of how much they were offering • Believed that trading humans was evil • There were others too that also failed

8. The Atlantic Slave Trade (cont.) Impact of the Atlantic Slave Trade • In the 1500’s about 2,00 slaves a year were sent to America, by 1780 it was around 80,000 a year. • By the 1800’s when the slave trade stopped there was about 11 million enslaved Africans • About 2 million more died on the trip here • The slave trade destroyed some small states in Africa but caused others to flourish.

9. Rise of New African States • In the 1600’s and 1700’s large states rose in West Africa • Oyo, Bornu, and Dahomey. • The Asante kingdom emerged in present day Ghana

10. Rise of New African States (cont.) The Asante Kingdom • Osei Tutu • A military leader who took control of Kumasi.He later took control of surrounding states and formed the Asante Kingdom • Claimed that his rule came from heaven • Chiefs that formed his council bent to his will • The Asante traded with Europeans • Exchanged gold and slaves for firearms • They shrewdly pitted the Europeans against each other for their best interests.

11. Rise of New African States (cont.) Islamic Crusades • In the 1700’s and early 1800’s and Islamic revival spread across West Africa • The Fulani people, who lived in Nigeria, started it • UsmandanFodio denounced the corruption of their rulers. • He inspired Fulani herders and the Hausa people to rebel • His successors set up a new rule • Increased literacy, local wars quieted, and trade improved

12. Battles for Power in Southern Africa • Bantu-speaking people migrated into southern Africa. • In 1652 Dutch also arrived in the area. • They built Cape Town • Boers, Dutch farmers, settled around cape town and enslaved Khosian herders that lived there • The Boers thought they were chosen by God and that Africans were inferior to them • In the 1700’s Boers began to push North • Had to battle many powerful African groups

13. Battles for Power in Southern Africa (cont.) Shaka and the Zulus • They migrated into southern Africa in the 1500’s • Emerged as a major force • Their leader was Shaka • Between 1818 and 1828 Shaka was constantly sending troops to war • Conquered many people • Took their young people and made them part of his troops • The wars disrupted the lives of other people • Some tribes moved north, took on the Zulu’s tactics and conquered other colonies • Shaka’s half-brother took over the Zulu’s • Soon the Boer troops arrived with weapons and horses.

14. Battles for Power in Southern Africa (cont.) Boers vs. Zulus • In 1815 the British took control of Cape Town from the Dutch • To avoid their rule, the Boers migrated north in the 1830’s. • It became known as “The Great Trek” • When the Boers ran into the Zulu’s fighting began. • At first the Zulu’s had the upper hand but they were defeated by the Boers guns • The war lasted until the end of the century.

15. Vocabulary/ Review • Triangular Trade- Gold, Slaves, sugar from Europe to Africa to America back to Europe • Repeal- to take back • Monopoly- total control of a business • Shaka- Zulu leader, lead conflicts with the Boer’s • Great Trek- Boers movement north from Cape Colony after British took control

16. Vocabulary/ Review • Triangular Trade- Gold, Slaves, sugar from Europe to Africa to America back to Europe • Middle Passage- Slave ships from Africa to Americas—extremely HORIFING conditions • Asante Kingdom- First Monopolies in gold and Silver in Africa • Boer- Dutch Farmer in South Africa • Shaka- Zulu leader, lead conflicts with the Boer’s • Great Trek- Boers movement north from Cape Colony after British took control