Africa History PDF

- Ghana rose to power during the 400s CE and it was located in the Sahel - Fertile soil and iron tools helped Ghana farmers produce enough food - Ghana was near salt and gold mines (in between) - It became an important crossroad of trade - Linked kingdoms in the...

- Ghana rose to power during the 400s CE and it was located in the Sahel - Fertile soil and iron tools helped Ghana farmers produce enough food - Ghana was near salt and gold mines (in between) - It became an important crossroad of trade - Linked kingdoms in the central African rainforest and some reached the eastern coast - Ghana kings used their military to dominate those who produced and traded salt and Trans-Saharan trade grew along with the power of the government of Ghana - Reached its height in the 800s and 900s CE - During the 1100s CE, invaders from North Africa disrupted Ghana’s trade - In the 1200s CE Ghana fell and Mali came into place Mali - Sundiata united Mali’s people during his rule from 1230 to 1255 CE - Sundiata’s conquests put Mali in control of gold mines in west Sudan - Continued to expand its influence into the 1300s CE - Doubled in size under the rule of Mansa Musa - In 1359, Mali was divided by Civil war - Weakened after the death of Mansa Musa in 1337 Songhai - Broke away from Mali’s control - Songhai controlled the salt and gold trade - In 1492, Songhai was the largest empire in West Africa - Fell to invaders from North Africa by 1600 CE - Invasion from Moroccan invaders brought down Songhai in 1591 1) Who did the empires trade with and why? - Axum was an important stop on the trading route that linked Africa, the Mediterranean, and India (1) Exported ivory, incense, and enslaved people (2)Imported cloth, metal goods, and olive oil - In the 1300s, Africa’s traders began to trade with inland states (1) Coastal traders exchanged silk, glass beads, carpets, and pottery in exchange for minerals, ivory, and coconut oil 2) How did religion impact the 3 great trading empires? - The Ashanti people of Ghana believed in a supreme God whose sons were lesser Gods - In the 700s CE traditional African religions were challenged by Islam - Rulers converted to Islam in the 1000s CE  - In the 1400s CE, much of the population believed in Islam - Mali’s society was greatly impacted/influenced by the Islamic religion - Islam made its way to Ghana through the Trans-Saharan trade - Ghana kings accepted Islam to have a better relationship with Muslims who traded goods - Kings of Ghana were Muslim but they kept traditional religious practices important - Sunni Ali became a Muslim to keep the loyalty of merchants - Askia Muhammad ordered local courts to follow Muslim laws (i) Made Timbuktu an important center of Islamic learning (ii) Set up a famous university (iii) Opened schools to teach the Quran - Islam arrived in the 700s CE but didn’t gain much followers until the 1100s and 1200s CE - A new society called Swahili is a blend of African and Muslim cultures I Can Statements 1) I can identify the 4 different climate zones of Africa and explain how Africans adapted to their environment. - Most of Africa lies in the tropics - Rainforests make up about 10% of Africa’s land area - Rainforest zones get heavy rainfall (warm year-long) - Vast grasslands stretch north and south of the rainforest - Savannas are tropical grasslands dotted with plantations (40% of Africa’s land area) - Savannas have high temperatures and uneven rainfall (enough rainfall for farming and herding) - Sahels are drier grasslands - Plants that grow in the Sahels barely provide food for people and animals - About 40% of Africa’s land is the desert - The Sahara Desert stretches across much of North Africa - Small areas of the Mediterranean make up the fifth zone - Most of Africa is covered by plateaus (areas of high and mostly flat land) - Many large river systems are found in Africa (1) Egypt and Kush flourished along the banks of the Nile River (2)The Niger River promotes the diverse climate zones of West Africa and communication - People living south of the Sahara Desert learned to make iron tools - In about 400 BCE, the Berber people of North Africa found ways to cross the Sahara desert to Sudan (West Africa) 2) I can identify the Nok and explain how iron led to the development of trading cities. - The Nok mastered ironworking the earliest - There was more surplus because iron tools were better than stone tools so they traded the surplus for things they did not have 3) I can identify what made Ghana wealthy and powerful and explain the 3 factors that caused Ghana’s decline. - Ghana kings used the military to dominate those who produced and traded salt and gold - Ghana reached its height in the 800s and 900s CE - The gold and salt trade was a big factor in what made Ghana wealthy and powerful - During the 1100s, invaders from North Africa disrupted Ghana’s trade - In the 1200s a small state named Mali conquered Ghana 4) I can identify how Sundiata came to power and how Mansa Musa brought learning and religion to Mali. - Griots credit Sundiata Keita for Mali’s rise - Sundiata united Mali’s people during his rule from 1230 to 1255 - Sundiata’s conquests put Mali in control of gold mines in West Sudan - Mali doubled in size under the rule of Mansa Musa - Mansa Musa ruled from 1312 to 1337 - Mansa Musa encouraged Muslim scholars and artists to visit Niana - Mansa Musa used the empire’s wealth to support Muslim artists and scholars building mosques and learning centers (mosque of Sankore in Timbuktu) - Mali was weakened after the death of Mansa Musa in 1337 5) I can identify what the gold and salt trade was and explain how it led to the immense wealth in West Africa. From Google - The gold and salt trade routes were important trade networks that connected sub-saharan West Africa with the Middle East and Europe - Ghana became wealthy through the gold and salt trade because of the abundance of gold in Ghana - Traders were taxed for what they brought in and what they took out 6) I can identify Sunni Ali and Askia the Great and explain the factors that led to the fall of the Songhai. - Sunni Ali became a Muslim to keep the loyalty of merchants - Askia Muhammad ordered local courts to follow Muslim laws (1) Made Timbuktu an important center of Islamic learning (2)Set up a famous university (3)Opened schools to teach the Qur’an