Kingdoms and Trading Kingdoms and Trading States of AfricaStates of Africa

Early African Societies Early African Societies

• Organized into lineages– Large families that believe to have common

ancestors

• Stateless Society – lineage groups take the place of governments – no central gov’t.

West Africa LandscapeWest Africa Landscape

• By A.D. 100-farming villages were settled and expanding

• Some would grow into towns with local rulers

• Villagers traded their surplus food and a trade network opened up

• Linked to other parts of Africa, Mediterranean and the Middle East

Trade RoutesTrade Routes

• Caravans would cross the Sahara

• Carried leather goods, kola nuts, cotton cloth, slaves, silk, steel, glass beads and horses

• Gold and Salt dominated the Sahara trade

• Cities developed along the trade routes

• Monarchs gained control of the profitable trade routes

Gold Wealth of GhanaGold Wealth of Ghana

• 800 A.D.-Kingdom of Ghana was created• King controlled gold-salt routes across

West Africa• Traders would meet in Ghana, king would

collect tolls for the goods• Ghana became known as “the land of

gold”• Islam will spread through trade and hired

officials

• Introduced new things to Ghana

• By the 1100s-Ghana will decline and be swallowed up by Mali

MaliMali

• Founded in 1250• expanded influence over gold and salt, towns

sprung up over the path of the trading route• Greatest emperor-Mansa Musa• Expanded Mali’s borders westward, pushed

north to conquer others• Converted to Islam• Based his system of justice on the Qur’an

SonghaiSonghai

• 1450-new kingdom-Songhai

• Sonni Ali-created the largest state in West Africa

• Askia Mohammad set up a Muslim dynasty, expanded the territory of the Songhai

• Set up a bureaucracy, built mosques, schools

TimbuktuTimbuktu

• 1400s-became a leading center of learning

• Prospered until 1586 when disputes led to civil war

• Morocco attacked and West Africa became splintered into small kingdoms

Other Kingdoms of West AfricaOther Kingdoms of West Africa

• Hausa-thriving trade centers

• Under the ruler Amina-came to dominate Saharan trade routes

• Benin-organized in 1300s

• Palace was elaborately decorated

• When the Portuguese arrived, the slave trade opened up

Trade Routes of East AfricaTrade Routes of East Africa

AskumAskum

• 350 A.D.-King Ezana absorbed Nubia

• Introduced Hebrew religious traditions to Askum

• Commanded a triangular trade network linking Africa, India, and the Mediterranean world

• Converted to Christianity

• 600s-Islam came to dominate North Africa

• Will slowly decline due to civil war

EthiopiaEthiopia

• Claimed descent from Solomon until the fall of the last emperor in 1974

• Survived due to Christian faith and geography (mountainous terrain)

• Absorbed many traditions

• Arabs and Persian merchants set up Muslim communities

• Bantu-speaking people migrated and adopted Islam

• Asian immigrants added to the culture

• Thriving trade (including slaves) were sold to Persia

East African City-StatesEast African City-States

• City-states will become diverse

• Islam influence will grow

Great ZimbabweGreat Zimbabwe

• Reached its height around 1300

• Created a profitable trade link with coastal cities

• Had gold resources

• God-king and bureaucracy

• By 1500 Zimbabwe was in decline