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From Africa by John Reader

Africa is large enough to encompass large portionsof the rest of the world’sland mass, though thoseareas support more than four times as many people.

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Where does our information about Africa and Africans come from?

“The West has been profoundly ignorant about Africa”

“Africa is considered a cultural backwater”“Lost Civilization”

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Be, be, 'fore we came to this country We were kings and queens,

never porch monkeys There was empires in Africa called Kush

Timbuktu, where every race came to get books To learn from black teachers who taught Greeks and Romans Asian Arabs and gave

them gold when Gold was converted to money it all changed Money then became empowerment for Europeans

The Persian military invaded They heard about the gold, the teachings and everything sacred

Africa was almost robbed naked Slavery was money, so they began making slave ships

Egypt was the place that Alexander the Great went He was so shocked at the mountains with black faces

Shot up they nose to impose what basically Still goes on today, you see?

[Nas]

“I Can”

Africa’s large size—more than three times the size of the United States—and its location have led to a wide variety of climates and vegetation. As a result, distinct cultures and ways of life developed.

• Continent has varied landscape

• Plateaus cover much of central, southern interior

• Low, wide plains across northern, western interior

Landforms• East, region of deep,

steep-sided valleys, narrow lakes

• Mountain ranges rim Africa, example Ethiopian Highlands in northeast

Valleys, Mountains• Near coastline, land

drops off to coastal plains

• Some provide fertile farmland, others desert, swamp, sandy beaches

Coastal Plains

The Geography of Africa

Africa’s large size—more than three times the size of the United States—and its location have led to a wide variety of climates and vegetation. As a result, distinct cultures and ways of life developed.

• Continent has varied landscape

• Plateaus cover much of central, southern interior

• Low, wide plains across northern, western interior

Landforms• East, region of deep,

steep-sided valleys, narrow lakes

• Mountain ranges rim Africa, example Ethiopian Highlands in northeast

Valleys, Mountains• Near coastline, land

drops off to coastal plains

• Some provide fertile farmland, others desert, swamp, sandy beaches

Coastal Plains

The Geography of Africa

• Southern Africa consists mainly of hilly grasslands, deserts, high coastal strip of land

• Region experiences mild Mediterranean climate, warm temperatures and both summer, winter rains

Southern Africa• Tropical rain forests found

near equator and on Madagascar, island off southeast coast

• Hot, humid climate, year-round rainfall of rain forest supports broad range of plant, animal life

Tropical Rain Forests

The Equator and farther South

Varied Climates• First people to live in Africa had to adapt to varied climates, features• Insufficient water supplies, poor soil in some places made farming difficult• Rainfall—too much, too little—presented problems that continue today

Insects, Parasites• Parasites thrive in tropical areas; transmitted by mosquitoes to humans, animals;

can lead to deadly diseases like malaria• Tsetse fly, sub-Saharan Africa, carries parasite than can kill livestock, infect humans

with sleeping sickness, potentially fatal illness

Rains • Heavy rains erode soil, wash away nutrients important for growing crops• Insufficient rainfall leads to drought, poor grazing land• Farmers must decide which crops to grow based on expected rainfall

Adapting to Africa’s Environment

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The Sahara Desert• Buffer and barrier

• Important source of salt for northern and sub-Saharan Africa

• The camel revolutionized trade across the desert; helped connect sub-Saharan Africa with Eurasia

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Camels were introduced to Africa c. 600BCE; became the main means of transportacross the Sahara by c. 300 CE

Harvesting salt in the Sahara

Oasis in the Sahara

Aim: How did Bantu migrations transform Africa?

Do Now – Map – Latitude and Longitude

The spread of iron technology after the 500s BC changed farming practices in sub-Saharan Africa. As a result, African society changed.

• 500 BC, techniques for refining iron from iron ore changed

• Now possible to produce tools, weapons superior to those they had made before

• Nok one of earliest known peoples to practice ironworking

• Lived in what is now Nigeria, West Africa; learned to make iron tools, weapons

Iron Technology• As better-equipped farmers,

hunters, warriors, Nok grew in power

• Became known for making fine sculptures out of terra-cotta

• Iron tools enabled Africans to cut down trees, clear land, and live in new areas

• Survival easier, Africa’s population increased

Population Growth

Africa’s Iron Age

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Nok Sculpture

The Bantu Migrations

Agriculture, ironworking technology spread throughout Africa because of migration

• Number of groups in Africa spoke related languages– Originated from language called Proto-Bantu

– Developed in what is now Cameroon, Nigeria

– Over time more than 2,000 Bantu languages developed

• By AD 900s, Bantu-speaking peoples had established complex social systems

• Women farmed, men mostly tended cattle

• Cattle important food source, used in ritual sacrifices

• Status in Bantu societies determined by size of cattle herds

Bantu Social Systems• Bantu-speaking people gradually

migrated east, south during first centuries AD

• As they traveled, Bantu speakers carried knowledge of agriculture, ironworking

• Because of knowledge, established themselves as dominant group when they reached southern Africa

MigrationBantu-speaking Peoples

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Bantu Migrations, 2000 BCE-1000 CE

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Significance of Bantu Migrations• Bantu the parent

language to much of sub-Saharan Africa

• Wet-zone agriculture, herding spreads

• Iron metallurgy • Population increases

dramatically• Underlying cultural unity

—common kinship practices and religious ideas.

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The Bantu migrations and early complex societies in Africa

• Like the Indo-European migrations, Bantu migrations are measured linguistically

• “Bantu” language family originated in W. Africa; basis of over 500 separate languages

• “ntu” = person

• Migrations 3000-1000 BCE

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Population Growth

0

5

10

15

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400 BCE 0 800 CE 1000 CE

Millions

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-choice of crops limited

-low human-land balance

-few indigenous crops

-tools and animals not widely used

-pastoralism coexisted with agriculture-wealth

-limits on productivity

Swidden agriculture, pastoralism

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Kingdoms of sub-Saharan Africa, 800-1500 C.E.

ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS• Two features that distinguished the Sudanic

empires from the ancient civilizations.• Islam was an important organizational

philosophy in the empires of Mali and Songhai.• Originally Ghana was not Islamic but was later

on conquered by Muslims.

ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS

• The Sudanic Empires mined gold with iron implements which resulted in extensive trade networks across the Sahara desert into northern Africa.

• Carthage • Other commodities traded were salt and

slaves.

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Kingdom of GhanaThe “land of gold”

• 5th – 6th centuries: developed as a state

• Late 8th century: Muslim traders arrived

• 11th-13th centuries: highpoint of kingdom

Modern stamp from Ghana,“land of gold”

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Gold breast-plateGhana, 18th century

Attacking invaders, overgrazing, and the loss of trade caused Ghana’s decline.

Invasion

• The Muslim Almoravids attacked Ghana in the 1060s.

• Destroyed the city of Koumbi Saleh

• They cut off trade routes and formed new partnerships with Muslim leaders.

• Without trade, Ghana could no longer support its empire.

Overgrazing

• The Almoravids brought herds of animals with them.

• The animals overgrazed, leaving the soil to blow away.

• Unable to grow crops, many farmers had to leave.

Internal Rebellion

• In about 1200 the people of one of the areas Ghana had conquered rose up in rebellion.

• Within a few years the rebels had taken over Ghana.

• Weakened, Ghana was defeated by one of its neighbors.

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Mali Empire• Absorbed Kingdom of Ghana,

encompassing larger territory

• Expanded the gold trade, especially with North Africa and the Middle East

• Height of influence: 13th – 15th centuries

Trade caravan approaching Timbuktu

37Timbuktu

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The “Lion Prince” Sundiata

• Reigned 1230-1255

• Built Mali empire

• Under Sundiata, West Africa became the leading supplier of gold to Europe

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Mansa Musa• Ruled Mali 1312-1337

• Well-known in Arabia and Europe

• A Muslim who made a famous pilgrimage to Mecca 1324-25

• Returned to build Timbuktu into a cultural and religious center

Part of a European map depicting Mansa Musa holding a nugget of gold, c. 1375

The Songhai built a new Islamic empire in West Africa, conquering many of the lands that were once part of Mali.

From their capital at Gao, the Songhai kingdom participated in the same trade that had made Ghana and Mali rich.

Songhai had been part of the Mali Empire, but as the empire weakened in the 1400s, the people of Songhai rebelled.

Songhai leaders shared Islam with the North African Berbers, so the Berbers were willing to trade with the Songhai.

Sunni Ali, who became ruler of the Songhai in 1464, worked to unify, strengthen, and enlarge his empire.

Sunni Ali encouraged everyone to work together. To build religious harmony, he participated in both Muslim and local religions.

Askia the Great

• Muhammad Ture led a successful rebellion against non-Muslim king. – Eventually, he became known as Askia the Great.

• Askia supported education and learning. – Timbuktu became known for its schools, particularly the University of Sankore.

– Djenné was another city that became a center of learning.

• As Songhai’s Muslim traders gained influence in the empire, so did Islam.

– Askia encouraged the growth of Islamic influence.

• Askia set up five provinces within Songhai with loyal appointed governors.

• He created a professional army with specialized departments.

Songhai Falls to Morocco

• Morocco wanted control of Songhai’s salt mines.

• The Moroccan army attacked in 1591, carrying advanced weapons, including the arquebus.

• The invaders destroyed Timbuktu and Gao.

• Overland trade declined as port cities on the Atlantic coast became more important.

• Africans south of Songhai and Europeans both preferred trading at Atlantic ports to dealing with Muslim traders.