African Kingdoms: Rulers and Government

African Rulers and Society

• Rulers were often isolated from their subjects, although this was less pronounced in the Sahara.
• In Ghana, drums summoned people to appear before the king.
• African rulers governed their territories by settling disputes, controlling trade, and defending their empires.
• Merchants received favors from kings and paid taxes in return.

Government of Ghana

• Ministers and advisers, often from the royal household, assisted the kings.
• Kings appointed sons of rival lords to the royal court.
• Territories were divided into provinces, each composed of villages belonging to a chief's clan.
• A clan is defined as a group of people descended from the same ancestor.

Government of Mali

• Mali had a stronger central government due to its larger population, territory, and trade volume.
• Generals controlled provinces and protected Mali from invaders.
• Rulers controlled the trans-Saharan trade with a powerful army.
• Tribute was collected from African farmers, and taxes from merchants.
• Mansa Musa secured loyalty by distributing gold, property, and horses.
• In Mali, only the king and his family were allowed to wear sewn clothing.

Government of Songhai

• Songhai built upon the political traditions of Ghana and Mali.
• The empire reached its peak under Muhammad Ture, who maintained peace and security with a navy and cavalry.
• Provinces were still governed by different leaders.
• Many people in Mali supported the generals ruling the provinces because their armies provided protection from attacks and invasions.
• The government of Songhai was organized with a king at the top, followed by a hierarchy of officials with varying levels of status.

Traditional African Religions

• Most African societies shared common religious beliefs.
• Some religions linked the creator god to lesser gods.
• God was considered forgiving if people corrected their behavior after wrongdoing.
• African religions included a belief in spirits that acted as intermediaries between humans and the divine.
• All religions provided rules for living and emphasized honoring history and ancestors.
• Islam dominates religion in the southern part of Africa.
• Traditional religions are primarily practiced in southern and western Africa.
• A common belief was the existence of one main god.

Islam Arrives in Africa

• Traditional African religions faced a challenge with the arrival of Islam in the 700s CE.
• Much of the population of Sudan converted to Islam.
• Many people along the east coast also adopted Islam.

Islam in the Ghana Empire

• Islam arrived in Ghana via the trans-Saharan trade.
• While the kings of Ghana converted to Islam, traditional religious practices remained important.
• Ibn Battuta: a young Arab lawyer from Morocco, traveled to see the Muslim world, reaching West Africa in 1352 CE.
• Some rulers and traders embraced Islam to facilitate trade with Muslim Arabs.
• Ibn Battuta observed that women did not cover their faces with veils, unlike Muslim custom.
• The image suggests that Mansa Musa was extremely wealthy.

The Journey of Mansa Musa

• Mansa Musa was devoted to spreading Islam.
• He established libraries with books from around the Muslim world.
• Mansa Musa journeyed to Makkah.
• Mansa Musa traveled in grand style during his journey.
• His caravan included many people and animals.
• Eighty camels carried two tons of gold.
• He gave away a lot of gold during his travels.

Islam in Songhai

• Islam gained followers among the Songhai people.
• Sunni Ali became a Muslim to secure the loyalty of merchants.
• Muhammad Ture, supported by Muslim townspeople, ousted Sunni Ali's family.
• Askia Muhammad created the largest empire in West Africa's history, established a famous university, and opened schools to teach the Quran.
• Islam developed slowly in East Africa.

Development of Swahili

• Swahili emerged on the eastern African island of Zanzibar.
• It is a blend of African and Muslim cultures.
• African influences on Swahili culture came from the cultures of Africa’s interior.
• Swahili culture and language are still alive today.

Islam's Effect on Africa

• Islam had a significant impact on much of Africa.
• Many were influenced by Islamic learning.
• It influenced African art and architecture.
• Askia Muhammad encouraged the growth of Islam in Songhai by:
  • Ordering local courts to follow Muslim laws.
  • Making Timbuktu a center of Islamic learning.
  • Opening schools to teach the Quran.
• The practice of Islam developed unique features in parts of Africa due to its spread by various people who told different stories.

Early African History

• Scientists believe early humans appeared in Africa 150,000 – 200,000 years ago.
• Around 7,000 – 8,000 years ago, people settled in villages and tamed animals.
• 5,000 years ago, the first civilizations of Egypt and Kush developed.
• Africa is the second-largest continent.
• The equator runs through the tropical rainforest.
• Savannahs are located north and south of the rainforest, and have high temperatures, uneven rain, and are used for farming and herding.
• The sahel, a tough area with dry grass, is north of the savannas and is mostly inhabited by hunters/herders.
• Deserts cover 40% of Africa, north and south of the Sahel grasslands; the Sahara is the largest desert in North Africa.
• The northern coast and southern tip of Africa have a Mediterranean climate with warm temperatures and fertile soil.
• Plateaus or flat lands and the Great Rift Valley with the earliest human fossils.

Rivers of Africa

• Egypt and Kush flourished along the Nile River in North Africa.
• The Niger River is important to West Africa.
• The Niger River flows through the West African savannas, sahel, and rainforest.
• The Niger River supported communication and trade throughout West Africa.

Artisans

• Trade and farming allowed towns to prosper throughout Sudan.
• Djenne-jeno emerged around 250 BCE.
• The largest trading city in West Africa traded rice, fish, cattle, iron tools, and pottery.
• Gold was sent to Europe, the Middle East, and India.

Trading Empires in Africa

• Berbers from North Africa crossed the Sahara to West Africa around 400 BCE.
• They carried goods across the Sahara on donkeys and horses, and later on Roman camels in 200 BCE.
• Berbers formed caravans to cross the Sahara between North and West Africa.
• West African merchants sent mined gold to towns, which trans-Saharan caravans carried north.
• Caravans also carried ivory, leather, and ostrich feathers from West Africa.
• Slaves were sent north; conquered people (captives) to other parts of Africa, the Mediterranean, and Asia.
• Afro-Eurasian trade network existed from 400 BCE to 1400 CE.

West African Empires

• The first great trading empire (400 CE) in West Africa was located in the Sahel.
• Grasslands stretched across North Central Africa, fertile soil and iron tools allowed enough food to be produced.
• Located between Saharan salt and gold mines of West Africa = crossroads of trade.
• Ghana controlled this trade and paid for a large army.
• Ghana reached the height of its power in 800-900 CE and was conquered in 1200 by Mali.

Mali Empire

• Wealth and power came from control of the gold and salt trade.
• Most people in Mali were farmers who grew grains.
• Griots were storytellers.
• Sundiata, "the lion prince," united Mali's people from 1230–1255 CE.
• Sundiata controlled from the Atlantic coast to Timbuktu, a commercial and educational center.
• Mali controlled the trans-Saharan trade due to gold, salt, and food.
• Muslim traders traveled to Mali influencing Arabic language, architecture, and religion.
• Mansa Musa (king) doubled Mali in size, encouraged Muslim scholars to visit his capital, used wealth to support Muslim artists, and built mosques including Timbuktu.
• Mansa Musa died in 1337, civil war erupted, and the empire collapsed in 1339.

Songhai Empire

• Songhai began in 1339, and Sunni Ali became ruler and seized Timbuktu.
• Sunni Ali gained control of Saharan salt mines and West African gold mines.
• Songhai was the largest empire (1462) in West Africa until it fell from North Africa in 1600 CE.

East Africa Kingdoms

• The Kush Kingdom on the Nile River lasted for hundreds of years.
• The Axum kingdom was an important trade route stop on the Red Sea on the way to Africa.
• Axum exported ivory, incense, and slaves while importing cloth, metal goods, and olive oil.
• In Axum, merchants brought Christianity, and in 300 AD/CE Ezana the emperor converted.

Bantu Culture

• Matrilineal: families traced their lineage through the mothers' side.
• Married women joined their husbands' families.
• Gifts to the bride's family included money, cattle, cloth, and tools.

African Education

• Boys learned to hunt, fish, clear fields, and grow crops and eventually learned trades such as blacksmithing.
• Girls learned to care for the home, agriculture, and special trades like sewing.
• Coming-of-age ceremonies occurred for both genders.

African Women

• Wives were mothers, involved in food production, traders, and members of political organizations.
• In West African Benin, they were important in the palm oil trade.
• In Sierra Leone and Senegal, women sold produce and fish in local markets.
• Queen Njinga governed in Southwestern Africa and spent 30 years fighting against the Portuguese slave trade.

The Trans-Saharan Slave Trade

• Arab conquests (600 and 700 CE) led to the expansion of the African slave trade.
• People were enslaved from the Southern Nile Valley and areas to the south and southeast of Eastern Africa.
• Purchased people were taken to trading centers along the coast and sold.
• West Africans from the Niger River to the Gulf of Guinea were forced north across the Sahara + die.
• The Trans-Saharan Slave Trade was part of the network that linked Africa to the Islamic world.
• Enslaved people were brought far away from their homes to the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia.
• Historians estimate 11-15 million Africans were enslaved from 650 to 1500.

Effects of Slavery on Africa

• First slaves were taken from the coast; as demand increased, slaves were taken from inland areas.
• Tragedy occurred on African families and tribes
• There were reduced populations which took the youngest and strongest.
• Traders worked to provide a constant supply of slaves, going deeper into Africa.
• It had a devastating effect on African states.
• The population of West African Benin declined, and warfare increased.
• Benin lost faith in their religion, and their art deteriorated.

Art, Music, and Dance

• Cave art, wood carving, and metal workers in Benin made bronze and iron statues.
• Music and dance expressed religious feelings.
• Dance rituals marked boys/girls becoming adults.
• Enslaved Africans relied on music and dance to remind them of home.
• Hardship songs would become the "blues."
• Later other music developed was Ragtime, Jazz and Rock and Roll.