GEOGRAPHY OF AFRICA

DESERTS

MOUNTAINSRAIN

FORESTS

Africa’s geography is very diverse, containing mountain ranges, scorching deserts, rain forests,

river valleys, open plains, and jungles

GEOGRAPHY OF AFRICA

Africans lived differently based on their location in Africa’s diverse land

GEOGRAPHY OF AFRICA

The Sahara is the world’s largest desert

and acted as a barrier to separate North Africa

from sub-Saharan Africa

EARLY SOCIETIES OF AFRICA

By 750 CE, North Africans were part of the Islamic Empire, converted to Islam,

and also shared Arabic culture

Early societies of North Africa were

influenced by Mediterranean cultures such as the Phoenicians

and Romans

EARLY SOCIETIES OF AFRICA

However, African societies

south of the Sahara were isolated from the cultural

diffusion of the Classical Era

As a result, these sub-Saharan societies missed out on the great innovations of Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman cultures

How did early people in Sub-Saharan Africa live?

Characteristics of Sub-Saharan AfricaWhile the societies

of sub-Saharan Africa were

diverse, they shared some similarities

Most of the societies were

family-based clans that lived in

farming villages

Characteristics of Sub-Saharan AfricaFew of these societies had

written languages; histories were

shared orally by storytellers (griots)

One of their technological

advancements was making iron tools

Characteristics of Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africans were polytheistic and worshipped many gods

Characteristics of Sub-Saharan Africa

They practiced Animism: a religion in which spirits exist in nature and play a role in daily life

THE BANTU MIGRATION Over the course of 4,000 years, Bantu peoples of central Africa migrated

south in search of farmland

These Bantu migrations helped spread new farming and ironworking techniques

What factors

shaped the culture of

East Africa?

EAST AFRICA

The societies of East Africa, unlike those of the sub-Sahara,

were shaped by cultural diffusion

(exchanging of ideas with other cultures)

The East Africans participated in the

trade network of the Indian Ocean

EAST AFRICA

The East African

kingdom of Aksum traded

with Persia, India, Arabia,

and Rome

Aksum became a kingdom based on Christianity

Aksum churches

EAST AFRICA

Arab merchants brought their

religion with them to East Africa

Islam was introduced to

the East African trade cities

EAST AFRICA The mix of African and Arab cultures led to the

development of a new language: Swahili

East African towns had mosques (Muslim places

of worship) and were ruled by Muslim sultans

However, many Africans chose to keep their

traditional Animistic beliefs

What factors shaped the culture of

West Africa?

WEST AFRICA: GOLD-SALT TRADE

The societies of West Africa were shaped by trade with North Africa

West Africa had large deposits of gold, but no salt North Africa had

large deposits of salt, but no gold

WEST AFRICA: GOLD-SALT TRADE

The lack of gold in the North and the lack of salt in the West resulted in the Trans-Saharan trade network

WEST AFRICA: GOLD-SALT TRADE

The lack of gold in the North and the lack of salt in the West resulted in the Trans-Saharan trade network

WEST AFRICA AND ISLAM

The gold-salt trade spread to the Northeast and

attracted Muslim merchants

Cultural diffusion between West Africans

and the Muslims resulted

WEST AFRICA AND ISLAM

Islam was introduced to West Africa and slowly

gained converts (people who switch their beliefs

to a new religion)

Many West Africans either blended Islam

with Animism or never converted

WEST AFRICA: GHANA The gold-salt trade led to increased wealth in

West Africa and the formation of empires

A West African kingdom, Ghana, amassed vast

wealth by taxing merchants

Ghana became an empire when it used that wealth to build a massive army and

conquer neighboring people

WEST AFRICA: GHANA

By the year 800 CE, Ghana was the most powerful

empire in Africa

Ghana’s kings were not merely rulers; they served

as judges, religious leaders, and generals

WEST AFRICA: MALI

A kingdom neighboring Ghana, Mali, eventually overthrew Ghana and

absorbed its territory into the new Mali Empire

Mali’s King Sundiata took over the Ghana Empire

and controlled the major trade cities of West Africa

WEST AFRICA: MALI

King Sundiata created an

efficient government

that controlled trade and promoted farming

WEST AFRICA: MALI

The kings of Mali who ruled after Sundiata converted to Islam

The most important of these Muslim kings of Mali

was Mansa Musa

WEST AFRICA: MALI

Mansa Musa built an army of 100,000

soldiers to control Mali’s gold trade and

secure his empire

To easier manage his territory, he divided the

Mali Empire into provinces, each controlled by a

governor he appointed

MANSA MUSA’S INFLUENCE

Mansa Musa was a devout Muslim and went on a hajj

to Mecca in 1324Mansa Musa passed out gold nuggets to the people

he met along the way of his long trip

This is a European map of Africa. Very little was known about Africa below the Sahara, but Mansa Musa is on the map.

Based on his image on the map, what did Europeans know about Mansa Musa?

When Mansa Musa returned from Mecca, he was filled with religious fervor

Djenne Mosque

He built many mosques throughout the Mali Empire, including one at Timbuktu

University in Timbuktu

Timbuktu became a trade city that attracted

scholars, religious leaders, and doctors

The city had a university and became an important center of learning in the world

WEST AFRICA: SONGHAI

After Mansa Musa’ reign was over, the Mali Empire

began to decline

Another neighboring kingdom, the Songhai, eventually took over Mali and formed the

Songhai Empire

WEST AFRICA: SONGHAI Songhai kings gained control of the major trade cities along the highly valuable gold-

salt trade routes

The fall of the Songhai Empire in 1591 CE ended a thousand year era of West African Empires

The Songhai grew into the largest of the West

African empires

CONCLUSIONS

African societies were transformed by two powerful forces:

Trade with outsiders

Introduction of Islam

Originally created by Brooks Baggett

Modified by Christopher Jaskowiak