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unit 1: test prep material ❗

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1.5 - State Building in Africa


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Learning Objective
1.4 I
Explain how and why states in Africa developed and changed over time.


Thematic Focus: Governance
Key Concept(s)
3.2 IDi
In the Africa, as in Eurasia, and the Americas, state systems demonstrated continuity, innovation, and diversity, and expanded in scope and reach.

Related Key Terms
kin-based networks
Illustrative Examples
Great Zimbabwe
Ethiopia
Hausa Kingdoms
NOTES:
Many African societies adapted Islam into their culture
Some parts resisted Islam
Southern parts of Africa did not have much contact with Islam during this time period
shaped by Bantu-speaking people outward from west-central Africa
government: kin-based networks, communities of families governed themselves
chief - a male head of the network that was the “leader”
mediated conflicts
dealt with neighboring groups
groups of villages were districts
groups of chiefs met to solve district problems
kin-based networks became harder to govern because of growing population, leading to growth of larger kingdoms
The Hausa Kingdoms:
seven city-states
formed sometime before 1000 in present-day Nigeria
people of Hausa ethnic group formed these states
loosely connected through kinship ties
each state had a specialty (i.e. Kano grew cotton bc they were situated in the plains, Gobir defended states against attack bc they were located at the edge)
benefitted from trans-Saharan network
the states had no central authority so they were vulnerable to outside attackers
kind of like how northern India and the Rajput kingdoms - they also had no central authority

West Africa:

Kingdoms and empires of West Africa:
Kingdom of Ghana
Mali empire
Songhay empire
Ghana:
not related to modern-day Ghana
Ghana sold ivory and gold ⇆ Muslim traders sold salt, copper, cloth, and tools
centralized government with an army equipped with iron weapons
became the center of African gold trade, but this wasn’t from their region; it was imported:
imported gold from south of Ghana
imported ivory and slaves from south of Ghana
the capital of Ghana: Kolumbi Saleh
significant trading, military, and cultural center
How did the kingdom of Ghana fall?
Wars with neighboring societies weakened Ghana
Expansion northward made them vulnerable to attacks from nomads in Sahara
portions of the kingdom began to be conquered
When and how did Islam reach West Africa?
North African merchants brought it with them
West African rulers and merchants: first converts
rulers because they wanted support from Muslim states
merchants because they wanted a cultural link to their trading partners
Islamic beliefs were blended into African culture
Mali:
Mali emerged after the fall of Ghana
during the first half of the 13th century
founding ruler was Sundiata, who was Muslim
vast kingdom included Ghana and parts of other kingdoms
thrived off of trans-Saharan trade
cities of Timbuktu and Gao were the most wealthy and became centers of learning
like Baghdad’s House of Wisdom
Who was Mansa Musa and why was he so important?
he was the grandnephew of Sundiata and a devout Muslim
he performed the hajj
brought camels, slaves, and gold that was given away as freebies
so much that gold literally depreciated in value
he was important to the spread of Islam in Africa
constructed mosques
supported Muslim scholars
A continuity of the kingdoms of Ghana and Mali were their sources of wealth. Both kingdoms depended on trans-Saharan gold trade to bring them prosperity.

East Africa:

Swahili City-States:
city-states are like mini kingdoms, but too little to be a full-size kingdom
most ruled by kings
theoretically they could combine but they like their autonomy so they don’t
started with Bantu peoples that founded settlements on coasts and off-shore islands
in the 8th century maritime was revived by Islamic merchants
Swahili is an Arabic term
means “coasters”
referred to East African peoples trading with Islamic merchants
Swahili language is a Bantu language combined with words and ideas borrowed from Arabic
^ syncretic language
Swahili peoples traded in goods that they got from interior African regions (gold, slaves, ivory, exotic local goods)
Muslim merchants brought with them pottery, glass, textiles, and Muslim merchants also brought Islam to the city-states.
East Africa became wealthy from trade
Swahili city-states developed from the cities and ports that trade later became concentrated in
architecture, instead of wood/mud → coral and stone
basically they were prosperous from East African trade, and the cities that thrived the most became the Swahili city-states
Who was Ibn Battuta?
he was Muslim traveler that went all over the place
he wrote about Muslim society in the city-state of Mogadishu
so he’s important because his contribution to history
Zimbabwe:
Indian Ocean trade also reached east and central Africa—this is where Zimbabwe started
it was the best known of the kingdoms that formed through this
a zimbabwe is a house or dwelling constructed with stone
Great Zimbabwe:
this is NOT a kingdom/empire/state
this is a stone complex where kings and people close to him resided
with super tall and strong wall
kings controlled and taxed trade that came between the interior and coastal regions
How did Zimbabwe prosper?
agriculture, grazing, trade, gold
they had gold fields, and they also taxed the transport of gold
depended on trade with coastal city-states
What factors led to Zimbabwe’s fall/decline?


What are griots? How were they important to Sub-Saharan African society?
they were important because they kept the history of a village/community through oral traditions and storytelling
was a continuation of the Bantu tradition of oral storytelling
sang and used music for story-telling
they could “sing your success or sing your downfall” so they were both venerated and feared
they provided counsel to kings/people
a griot was like a library of history—they preserved a person’s/family’s history that was passed on through generations
both women and men were griots
Slavery in Sub-Saharan Africa:
most people were war captives. some were debtors, criminals
they mostly did agricultural and domestic labor
slavery wasn’t hereditary!
slavery showed one’s wealth and social status
since it was basically illegal to enslave Christians, Jews, and other Muslims, Muslims looked to Central Asia/eastern Europe for slaves. But since it's not very populous, they turn to Africa.
other villages IN AFRICA attacked other villages to enslave the people there for the slave trade (slave raiding)
What was the Zanj Revolt? How was it important?
slaves from the Swahili coast that were exported to work in Mesopotamia were called zanj
Ali Ibn Muhammad organized a revolt of about 15000 slaves
whole lot of people died
Zanj captured the city of Basra and held for about 10 years until they were defeated
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