AFRICA

Did You Know?• 2nd largest continent

in the world• One-fifth of

Earth’s land surface• Earliest evidence of

human beings

Africa’s Geography

Discussion #1

• Have you ever had to move or did someone close to you move?

• Why did you/they move?

People on the Move

• Migration: A permanent move from one country or region to another

• Causes of migration: • Push-pull factors: push people out

of an area or pull them into an area

• What are some examples of PUSH factors?

• What are some examples of PULL factors?

People on the Move

• Experts can trace migrations over time by studying the spread of languages

• Most languages in Africa can be traced back to one parent-language: Bantu

• Bantu-speaking Africans moved south & east out of Nigeria from 3000BC- 1100AD

• Spread their language and culture

People on the Move

• Experts can trace migrations over time by studying the spread of languages

• Most languages in Africa can be traced back to one parent-language: Bantu

People on the Move

• Reasons for migration:• Slash and burn farming• Overpopulation and search for more land

People on the Move

Discussion #2• Do you have a friend

you spend a lot of time with?

• What tends to happen when you start hanging around the same person for a long time?

Africa: The Influence of Trade

• Located on Red Sea in present day Ethiopia

• Through trade (ivory!) Aksum (350AD) absorbed many elements of Roman culture, including Christianity

East Africa: Early Kingdom of Aksum

East Africa: Coastal Trade Cities• Bantu-speaking people established

coastal villages• Muslim and Persian traders settled

in port cities around 639AD• Swahili was formed: blended

language of Bantu and Arabic• Blending of religions of Christianity,

Islam and traditional beliefs

East Africa: Coastal Trade Cities

Coastal Trade Cities & Slave Trade• Swahili cities

became wealthy through trade (gold, ivory, etc)

• By 1300, more than 35 trading cities

Coastal Trade Cities & Slave Trade• Muslim traders sent African slaves to

the Middle East, India, China

• Numbers of traded slaves remain small (about 1,000 a year)

until the 1700s, when Europeans start buying slaves for colonial plantations

Discussion #3• Have you ever traded

with someone for something? What factors are necessary for a mutually successful trade?

• How do scarcity and abundance affect trade?

1.Ghana2.Mali3.Songh

ai

West Africa: The Gold-Salt Kingdoms

• All 3 kingdoms controlled the GOLD-SALT trade at some point in time

• Occurred in west Africa near the northern part of the Niger River

The Gold-Salt Trade

• Although rich in gold, West Africa’s savanna & rain forests LACKED salt

• Fortunately, the Sahara Desert contained large deposits of salt

The Gold-Salt Trade

• Arab traders crossed the Sahara with SALT, cloth & manufactured goods

• West African traders collected gold from the forested regions

The Gold-Salt Trade

The Gold-Salt Trade• Met in trading cities where they would exchange goods

Did You Know?Arab traders from North Africa learned how to cross the Sahara Desert with the help of the camel…• Could cover as

much as 60 miles a day

• Could travel more than 10 days without water (twice as long as most pack animals)

(AD 500 to 1200)

Ghana:

The Trading Kingdom

Ghana: The Trading Kingdom

• Ghana’s Wealth:• Ghana grew rich by taxing trade that crossed through the kingdom

• Ghana’s wealth enabled the kingdom to build a large army & conquer neighboring regions

Ghana: The Trading Kingdom• The king acted as a religious

leader, chief, judge, & military commander

• Only the king could own gold nuggets – WHY?

• As a result of the trade, Ghana’s rulers converted to Islam and helped spread the religion

Ghana: The Trading Kingdom

• Ghana’s Decline:• War with a nearby kingdom weakened Ghana’s empire

• Led to internal division & eventual decline…

Ghana: The Trading Kingdom

The Kingdom of Mali (AD 1235 to

1400)• After Ghana’s

decline, no single kingdom controlled the Gold-Salt Trade

• Consequently the Gold-Salt Trade experienced a decline

• In 1235 Mali rose to power on the same territory

• Quickly expanded to the Atlantic Ocean under the rule of Sundiata

• Gained control of the Gold-Salt Trade

The Rise of Mali

Discussion #4• What can you infer

about the man in this picture?

The Kingdom of Mali• Mansa Musa is the most famous African ruler

• Skilled military leader who expanded the empire

• Under his reign Mali became very wealthy from Gold-Salt Trade

• Mansa Musa & Religion:

• Was a devout Muslim• In 1324 went on a hajj to Mecca

• Led to MANY changes in Mali…

The Kingdom of Mali

• Mansa Musa built mosques, schools & libraries where people could study Islam

• As a result Timbuktu, the capital city, became a cultural center for Islam

The Kingdom of Mali

• Mali’s Decline:• Weak rulers after Mansa Musa

• (Internal & external problems)• Declines & people begin to break away…

The Kingdom of Mali

The Kingdom of

Songhai (1450 to 1600)• Mali

declines in the 1400s & the Songhai set up an empire

• Sunni Ali:• Muslim ruler who expanded the empire by military conquest

• Built a professional army• Conquered the city of Timbuktu

The Kingdom of Songhai

The Kingdom of Songhai

• After Sunni Ali’s death, his son took over but faced a revolt by Muslims who thought he didn’t practice their religion faithfully

• Askia Muhammad took control

• Created a well-organized empire, with an efficient system of government

• Laws were based on the Koran

The Kingdom of Songhai

• Empire was full of wealth & learning but lacked modern weapons leading to its collapse

• 1591, a Moroccan fighting force of several thousand men equipped with gunpowder & cannons crossed the Sahara and invaded Songhai

Discussion #5• Conclude: Describe 3

factors that influenced the development of early African societies