Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa Karen Marks, Alyson Liang, Karen Huang, Sharon Lo, Nancy Huang, Shengjie Jin

Mankind's Start - Early Civilizations • Lucy-Australopithecus 9 million years ago • Hunter-gatherers settling down • domestication and pastoralization (9000BCE) • Various ethnic groups emerging at same time • Bantu Migration: (3000BCE) • started out near the Niger River • large population needed more land and food, • can't go north to Sahara • continued on for centuries • eventually settled in the South East and interacted with Arabs to form the Swahili Coast

Early Civilizations (cont.) • Berbers:(3000bc) Amazigh:free • Sub-Saharan, west of Nile Valley • resided in Morocco and other countries • crossed the desert on camels • traded with Muslim merchants through Egypt and and converted to Islam • language groups rather than ethnic tribes • class structure: merchants > workers • Sedentary agricultural society • fortified villages in the mountain and desert ranges

Kushite(aka Kush aka Nubia) • began around 800 BC: along Nile River, south of Egypt with the capital at Meroe • in the tropical region: depend on rain not the unpredictable Nile floods • Land of Gold: gold mines, ivory, and iron ores • made weapons, agricultural tools from the imported bronze form Egypt • trade in the Mediterranean and Red Sea with Middle East • influenced by Egypt, polytheistic with pyramids • conquered by Egypt, conquers Egypt, kicked out by Assyrians, conquered by Aksum(Axum)

Aksum(aka Axum) • Aksum(Axum 50BC): modern Ethiopia • flourishing trade and wealth-Mediterranean • East Asia, India, Persia Rome(Byzantine) • slaves, gold, salt, iron, ivory, exotic animals, wheat, silk, spices • COINS-currency, showed the cross(first major empire to convert to Christianity) • Aksum had obelisks and stelae that were very large stone structures • took in the declining Kuchite

Aksum Stelae Kushite Pyramid

TRADE -Horn of Africa(Ethiopa, Somali), Sao TRADE • value of good was relatively the same: a lot of $$ • need suppplies->trade->interaction->culture/religion • silent barter->ethnic and language barriers • Islam spread to corners of Africa: positive and accepting of everyone which made it popular • slave trade was large contributor to wealth -debt, oppression, military slavery, not only Africans • helped relations with Europe and Roman Empire • strength of empire was based on control of trade more so than on the amount of products • camel caravans->roads and plazas

The Nok •Originated in a valley in West Africa between the Niger and the Benve Rivers in 1000BC •There were life size sculptures made of terra cotta or fired clay to resemble the individual they worshipped •Many were only elongated heads, possibly because of erosion •Worshipped many gods and ancestors •Nok people lived in farming communities. They made iron weapons and tools for farming and also produced fine terracotta sculptures. •Discovered iron by heating certain rocks to “smelt” iron. •Mysteriously declined in 200AD

Carthage •Founded by the Phoenicians in 814 BC; used as a trading post; first settlers were from Tyre •Its main rivals for economic power were the Greeks of Sicily until Rome invaded after Carthage gained control of Sicily. •Constant warfare for more than a century from 409BC between Carthage and Greece for control of Sicily. By 275BC, Carthaginians gained control of Sicily. •This led the Romans to build 330 navy ships, starting the 1st Punic War (264BC-241 BC) •In the Battle of Mylae in 260BC, the Romans won by using the corvus which was a military boarding device that could be attached to another ship. Soldiers then walked onto the other boat to make it seem like a land battle. •The Mercenary War (241-237 BCE) - The Carthaginian army of mercenaries demanded the payment Carthage owed them, but Carthage was in a huge amount of debt due to war. General Hamilcar Barca managed to help Carthage win. •The 2nd Punic War( 218BC – 201BC) started when General Hannibal from Carthage attacked the city of Saguntum, an ally of Rome. •Hannibal led his army and elephants across the Alps to Italy, but Scipio Aemilianus invaded Carthage, forcing Hannibal to go back home.

Carthage (cont'd) 202 BC- Hannibal was defeated by the Roman general Scipio Africanus at the Battle of Zama, in North Africa •Carthage lost all political and military power by the end of the 2nd Punic War •Carthage got rich again from commanding the trade route from eastern to western part of Mediterranean •Third Punic War (149BC)- Carthage refused to be dismantled, causing the Romans to besiege Carthage for three years. Carthage refused to give up and produced weapons and armory to hold back Romans. They turned every house, temple, and building into strongholds •146 BC: Romans broke through and sacked the city. The 50,000 survivors were sold into slavery, and the city burned for 17 days. Salt was supposedly spread ritually to ensure that nothing could grow there ever again. •Julius Caesar proposed and planned the re-building of Carthage. Carthage rose again five years after he died. Carthage became the center trading post again and remained an important Roman colony. Christianity spread. •Carthage finally fell in 698 CE when the Muslims defeated the Byzantine Empire, then proceeded to destroy Carthage completely.

Ghana •Ghana rose to power in around 300AD in West Africa between the Niger and Senegal Rivers •Economy was based on trade •Became wealthy by collecting taxes from merchant caravans that passed through their territory and exporting gold and salt. •Used iron to create weapons to attack neighbors •Kings in Ghana were referred to as the Ghana, similar to how an Egyptian King was considered the Pharaoh.

Religion •People started to convert to Islam because it was beneficial for trade. It improved connections with other Arab states. •People became more literate because belief in Islam required you to learn the Quran •Since all Muslims spoke the language of the Quran, Arabic became the common language of the language of the merchants and traders of West Africa. •Strict Muslims all follow Islamic law. It is easier to solve disputes when both parties agree on the laws. •Conversion to Islam opened up markets across North Africa and in Arabia. •The Berbers of North Africa were the first people to travel across the Sasahara Desert. Through trading, the Berbers converted many of the merchants from West Africa to Islam. However, most of the common people continued with their traditional beliefs. •Just like the Native Americans and the Sumerians, the West Africans were polytheistic. They believed in more than one God and therefore did not accept how the Muslims believed in only one God.

Trade •The civilizations that were successful in ancient West Africa depended on trade. Good leaders were conciliators who tried to bring peace instead of warriors. Starting from the 7th century, caravans from North Africa crossed the Sahara for trade. • In West Africa, salt was an important item in trade. Gold from West Africa was exchanged for salt because salt could be used for retaining body moisture, flavoring, and helped preserve food.

Mali Empire(1200-1500) • The exiled prince, Sundiata Keita, revolted against the Soso king, Sumanguru Kante, and continued to conquer other states which marked the start of the Mali empire. • The empire's wealth was mostly based off of trade with trading areas in upper Niger. • The empire took advantage of the land they controlled with the gold mines of West Africa and the floodplain of the Niger River. • The empire was at its height in 1350 • ruled over 400 cities of different ethnicities with the total population reaching about 20 million • Malian army contained about 100,000 men including 10,000 cavalry • trade centered in Timbuktu, Djenne, and Gao

Mali Empire cont. • Only the emperor, also known as the mansa, had the right to tax trade and to decide laws. • The most famous emperor of the Mali empire is Mansa Kankan Musa who ruled from 1312 to 1337. • Between 1324 and 1325, he went on a pilgrimage to Mecca while bring thousands of followers and hundreds of camels carrying gold. This pilgrimage made Mali known throughout the world as well as decreasing the value of gold for a few years. • He built schools in many cities throughout the empire. • The journal of Ibn Battuta(1304-1369) allowed historians to learn about the Mali empire.

Fall of Mali Empire • Small states resented being controlled by the Malinke as well as seeking to gain control over the salt and gold trade. • Tuareg seized Timbuktu in 1430 • rebellion in Gao • rise of Songhai who took over Mema in 1465

Spread of Islam • The teachings of Islam as well as Islam governing appealed merchants and political leaders. • Mali was one of the largest Muslim empires during its reign. • Even after the fall of the Mali empire, Islam continued to spread. • Many city-states of central-Sudan converted to Islam such as the Hausu city-states and Kanem-Bornu. • There were changes on culture such as the architecture of mosques being based off of Middle Eastern design. • Literacy rates rose starting with Arabic, then local languages. • Although Mali was a Muslim empire, it did not adopt all the customs of the Arab world. • Women did not completely cover their bodies nor wear veils. • Women generally had more rights and were accepted in society.

Trade • The Indian Ocean Trade Network allowed Africa to thrive as well as spread Islam. • By 1500, there were around 40 city-states such as Kilwa, Mombasa, and Mogadishu on the east coast of Africa. • wealthy from trade • very Islamic

Slavery • The elite became more wealthy so there was a demand for more people to serve the elite. • Mali, Bornu, and Ethiopia were involved in selling slaves in Africa as well as to the Middle East, India, and China. • Between 1200 to 1500, about 2.5 million Africans were transported across the Sahara and the Red Sea. • The conditions these slaves lived under weren't bad. • They had opportunities to advance. • Many specialized in a trade.

The Swahili Coast and Great Zimbabwe • The Swahili Coast was a strip of land on the eastern coast of Africa that possessed fertile, untainted soil. Many merchants began settling in this area for its resources during the mid 1200s, eventually establishing between 30-40 city-states. These people became known as the Swahili peoples. They shared a common language that was influenced by Arabic and Persian terms and written in Arabic script. • The Swahili Coast played an important role in the Indian Ocean trading network as it connected Africa with India and China. • Ibn Battuta, a renowned Muslim scholar, said that Kilwa, a town in the southern part of the Swahili Coast was the best towns in the world. The capital, Great Zimbabwe, reached its peak in the 1400s and by the late 1500s, Kilwa annually exported a ton of gold. • In 1498, the Portuguese arrived in the city of Quiloa, pillaged the city, seized control of trade and put up crosses while denouncing the religion of Islam.

Songhai Empire (1375-1591) • The Songhai Empire was founded in 1375, but had reached its peak during the mid-1400s to early 1500s. • The Songhai Empire was ruled by Muslims and acquired its wealth from the trans-Saharan trade. • It's first powerful king, Sunni Ali conquered many territories outside of the empire in the 1460s as well as seized and improved the conquered city of Timbuktu, renames Gao, which was later on known for its educational advancements. • One of the most famous rulers, Askia Mohammed (1493-1528), centralized the government, built more schools and improved relations with other Muslim states. • After Askia Mohammed's death, the empire experienced a short period of peace before disintegrating into civil war, before being conquered by Morocco.

Trans-Saharan Gold Trade (7th-14th century) • The Gold Coast was a region in the western side of Africa, occupied by modern day Ghana, that was famous for its gold exports to Europe. • The empires of Western Sudan (Ghana, Mali, Songhai) depended on their control of gold and salt trade in the Trans-Saharan network. Gold was widely sought after by both African rulers and European rulers while salt was necessary as a dietary supplement and preservative. • Towards the 1600s to the 1700s, slave trade began to make itself a part of the trans-saharan trade, bring slaves from all over Africa to the western coast for the trans-atlantic trade.

Transatlantic Slave Trade (c. 1490s - 1770s) • Trade between Europe, the Americas, and Africa. First arose because there was a need of a large workforce for crop cultivation of the Americas. This three way trade system depended on the flow of one continent's export to help another's exports. (Example: the flow of sugar from the Americas to Europe depended on the flow of slaves from Africa to the Americas. • Middle Passage- path that took Africans from Africa to the Americas via the Atlantic Ocean. • Had inhumane living conditions that often killed a majority of the Africans being brought to the Americas. Slaves were whipped, beaten, forced to eat, and many developed psychological depression after this. • The Dutch West India Company and the English Royal African Company both took part in the transferring of slaves from Africa to America.

Major Changes • Political governments will start to change from empires like the G-M-S empires, to oligarchical rule by foreigners. • In 1450s - 1750's, countries and empires in Africa began to trade internationally instead of between themselves. This international trade brought cultural diffusion, the spread of new ideas, one being Christianity, and the spread of goods. It also brought along the horrible treatment of Africans along the slave trade. • Africa is starting to become a place of great importance as it hold a great amount of natural resources; We can see the seeds of imperialism here as the Portuguese gained control of the Swahili Coast and the Afrikaners and British fought over the Cape of Good Hope.

Change in Religion c. 1200s. 2010

Industrialization and Global Integration(1750-1900) • slave trade between Africa and the Europeans dominated in the 1700s -Gold coast traded slaves, gold, ivory, & timber as part of atlantic trade • atlantic trade along the Bight of Biafra in grew & many slaves were prisoners of war. • environmental & trade link-environmental crisis caused migrations & African leaders took advantage of this by offering refuge. Refugee children were assimilated while adult women were used for reproduction/agriculture. Adult males sold as slaves since they were most likely to rebel. • Islamism- penetrated Africa hundreds of yrs ago but by 1700s it was still an urban religion w/ little influence on rural areas • African languages continued in inland trade routes & very few coastal African areas had interest in christianity after contact with Portuguese • despite slave trade, sub-saharan african populations remained large,

limited volume of imports that Africans wanted did not undermine African industries-imported products actually stimulated local production of things like textiles as competition New African States-1750-late 1800s • southern Africa--Zulu kingdom rose. inland west Africa -Islamic reformers created the Sokoto Caliphate • Islam had little influence for rural people despite impact in politics of cities. 1770s- Muslims began Islamic reforms & forcible conquest-"jihad". Movement spread to other Hausa states & a caliph in Sokoto soon ruled these new Muslim states • became centers of Islamic learning&reform,slavery increased, religious tolerance with a special tax -Algeria became a colony of France in 1830 • After 1820s trade exports of oils, gold, ivory increased & by 1807 slave trade was banned so "legitimate trade" was established to continue European-African trade relationship----->industrial revolution started the declining need of slaves and increasing need of agricultural goods as European nations evolved from agricultural to industrial nation and populations increase

Scramble for Africa/ colonization • occupation of the congo basin led to the Berlin Conference(1884-1885) where countries agreed on occupation of Africa that would replace trade relations • since West Africa had long been a major trading area, rulers took advantage of trade networks, taxes, investing in railroad&harbors • interior of French West Africa lagged behind due to transportation issues • Equatorial Africa had little trade so the French and Portuguese gave lands to private companies--->monopolies Southern Africa • attracted settlers due to good farmland, diamonds, gold copper, iron, coal • Great Britain tried to annex South Africa due to diamonds and gold which led to a war between Afrikhaners and the British but despite the British winning South Africa had self rule

Effects on African Society • some tribes welcomed the Europeans as allies against enemies while others adamantly fought against colonialism • after colonial rule was established, natives sought jobs in government and sent their children to mission schools. Due to compliance, they received benefits like clinics • in general, most africans neither complied or fought they just wanted to continue on with their lives but colonial rule ended many traditional societies • land ownership changed for natives that depended on land for a living • places with large populations were encouraged to grow cahs crops for exports while other lands were confiscated & given to private companies--->Africans were forced off their own land, became sharecroppers, lived on reserves(south africa) • desperation led to work for less pay in plantations, at railroads, etc.

Some went to mining camps/cities for better lives & most families were broken up as the men left to cities while children/wives stayed behind • prostitution, sexually transmitted diseases • African women lost property rights • missionaries opened schools that taught Africans diff. craftsmanships/basic skill • this also led to assimilation to western ideals such as freedom & progress • Christianity also spread & in central Africa Chrisitanity was mixed with African traditional customs to form "Ethiopian" churches • Christianity did not reach Muslims-- they had a counter-conversion. In Islam dominated places(north and East Africa), schools were established in villages & groups formed to further Islam • the building of cities by Europeans / trade increases helped spread Islam as Muslims began to move--->Muslims in South Africa doubled between late 1800s-early 1900s

1914-present European imperialism and decolonization in Africa

Rise of African Nationalism • Late 1800s: African nationalism not too strong because Europeans have not settled there permanently yet. European colonization marks the first few nationalist ideas in Africa. • World War I: Africans sent overseas to help war effort are able to observe Europeans at their most desperate times and realize the imperialists are not invincible. • World War II: Africans once again sent to help the war effort and see Allied propaganda against oppression and for equal rights, and wants to be treated with these values as well. • Native Africans educated in Western schools and who made travels to Europe and the U.S. also fueled the movement, and led the nationalist movement (i.e. Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba, Jomo Kenyatta). • African Nationalists were inspired by the Indian Nationalist movement.

African Decolonization • Decolonization of Ghana (1957): Nationalist movement led by Kwame Nkrumah, elected Prime Minister in 1951. Overthrown in 1966 by military due to his obsession with Pan-Africanism. • Independence in Kenya (1961): Led by Jomo Kenyatta. Kenyatta himself was a peaceful protester, but supported the Mau-Mau, a nationalist terrorist group that killed European settlers. After being released from jail, Kenyatta convinced Britain to write a constitution for an independent Kenya and is elected president in 1964. • Belgian Congo: chaotic and bloody. Political and tribal opponents found foreign allies, namely members of the Warsaw Pact and NATO. Both civil war and Cold War are fought and lead to damaged property and loss of life. Lumumba is assassinated in a military coup (1965) and Mobuto Sese Seko rules with a corrupt government until 1997

Problems in Post-Colonial Africa • Power after decolonization went from elite to elite. New governments ruled with the same condescension and corruption as their white counterparts. • Neo-colonialism & lack of economic growth: African countries still relied on cash crops for profit, leading to economic dependency on more powerful nations. Exception: Nigeria, which relies on oil for money (good, steady source of profit because we all know how industrial countries love their oil). • Internal conflict: Africa has had more civil wars than wars across borders, due to inter-tribal conflicts that make it difficult for centralized power and a united nation. • Lack of infrastructure: rails and roads were built for the benefit of the Europeans and only pass through export cities. Post-colonial efforts for construction were haphazard, unnecessary, and only seemed to waste money rather than help the nation.

South Africa • Receives independence in 1961, but white minority remains and holds control over black majority. Their system of apartheid segregates housing, employment, and education. • African National Congress (ANC)-opposition against apartheid. Mandela leads guerilla resistance against apartheid starting in 1960 and is imprisoned for life in 1964. • Soweto Uprising(1976) and murder of Stephen Biko (1997) • Desmond Tutu "persuades" foreign businesses to stop investment and trade in S. Africa in order to create foreign pressure on the nation. • FW de Klerk (moderate Afrikaner national) releases Mandela in 1990 and begins to repeal apartheid laws. • 1994 universal elections (black and white). Mandela wins presidency and the ANC wins 63% of the vote. A new constitution is written in 1996 that gives all South Africans equal rights. • Mandela and de Klerk both receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Websites Used: • http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/africa_article_01.shtml#two • http://kabiza.com/SwahiliCoast.htm • http://africanhistory.about.com/od/slavery/tp/TransAtlantic001.htm • http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/dialogue/the-slave-route/transatlantic-slave-trade/ • http://cghs.dadeschools.net/african-american/tradtional/nok.htm • https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSngO3ihI1TiZpsjDbnkuGTXg21Zx8RtLa1aKTG1JBko_FnJtY • http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/plaintexthistories.asp?historyid=ab91 • http://www.english-for-students.com/History-of-Africa.html • http://www.mrdowling.com/609-test.htm • http://www.ancient.eu.com/carthage/ • http://www.hinzmansapworldhistory.com/africa-600ce-1450ce.html • http://www.blackpast.org/?q=gah/mali-empire-ca-1200 • bulliet the earth and its peoples

Sub-Saharan Africa