Transcript The Cultures of Russia

Kingdoms and Empires of Africa
Chapter 20, Section 2
Setting the Scene
Adulis was the most
important city in Aksum, a
bustling trade center along
the Red Sea. In the year A.D.
1, a Greek writer made a list
of things you could buy there.
“Cloth made in Egypt… and
brass, used for ornaments;
sheets of soft copper, used
for cooking utensils,
bracelets and anklets; iron,
which is made into spears…”
An East African Kingdom
• Around 3,000 years ago, African and Arab
traders settled in Aksum, in present day
Ethiopia and Eritrea.
• In time, Aksum came to control trade in the Red
Sea and eventually created a trade network
from the Mediterranean Sea to India.
Aksum
Granite obelisks mark the
tombs of Aksum’s Kings
• Goods weren’t the only
thing that traveled along
these trade routes.
Ideas, such as
Christianity, traveled to
Aksum, which became a
center of the early
African Christian church.
• As Aksum began to
decline in the 600’s,
Arabs took control of the
region’s trade.
West African Kingdoms
• Other kingdoms arose
after Aksum, but most
were in West Africa.
• The power of West
African kingdoms was
based on the trade of
salt and gold.
• People need salt to
survive, especially in
hot areas like West
Africa, but people
there had no salt.
Ghana
• West Africans did
have plenty of gold.
The opposite was true
in North Africa; they
had salt, but no gold.
• Trade between the
two regions grew and
brought power and
riches to three West
African kingdomsGhana, Mali and
Songhai.
The gold mask of a king of Ghana
Ghana
• From the 700’s to about
1100, Ghana’s kings
grew rich from the taxes
they charged on the
goods that flowed
through their lands.
• The flow of gold was so
great that Arab writers
called Ghana the “land of
gold.” After a time
though, Ghana lost
control of its trade routes.
Mali and the Spread of Islam
Mansa means “emperor”
• The kingdom of Mali
arose in the 1200’s. The
powerful kings of Mali
controlled both the gold
mines of the south and
salt from the north.
• Mali’s most famous king
was Mansa Musa, who
brought peace and order
to Mali with his laws
based on the Quran.
Mansa Musa
• In 1324, Mansa Musa made a
pilgrimage to the holy Muslim city
of Mecca.
– A pilgrimage is a religious journey.
• Musa brought 60,000 people and
80 camels with him. Each camel
carried 300 pounds of gold, which
was given to people along the way.
• Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage opened
new trading ties between Mali and
other Muslim states. It also made
him famous in far away places like
Europe.
Songhai
• Songhai eventually
became West Africa’s
most powerful kingdom.
Its rulers controlled
important trade routes
and wealthy trading
cities like Tombouctou.
• Tombouctou was a
great Muslim learning
center, and Islam still
remains important there
today.
East African City-States
• Trade also helped
East African cities to
develop.
• After Aksum declined,
traders from Africa’s
east coast carried
animal skins, ivory,
gold and other metals
to India and China.
• They brought back
goods like spices and
silks.
East African City-States
• Many of the traders in the
region were Arab Muslims.
In time, a new language,
called Swahili, developed.
– Swahili was a combination of
Bantu and Arab languages.
• Some East African cities
grew into powerful citystates.
– A city state has its own
government and controls
much of the surrounding
lands.
East African City-States
• Among the greatest city states
were Malindi, Mombasa and
Kilwa. These towns also grew
rich from taxing traders.
• Ibn Batuta, a Muslim traveler,
visited Kilwa in 1331. He had
visited China, India and West
Africa, but wrote that Kilwa was
“one of the most beautiful and
best constructed towns in the
world.”
• People there lived in three and
four story houses made of
stone and sea coral.
European Influence and African
Independence
Chapter 20, Section 3
Trade with Europeans
• Europeans and Northern
Africans had been trading
since before written history.
• Europeans traded salt and
gold for clothing, copper
and crops.
• Even before Europeans,
Africans had commonly
used other Africans as
slaves, but the enslaved
usually won their freedom
after a few years.
The Atlantic • Europeans, however, viewed
Slave Trade slaves as property. Freedom
in the future was not
considered possible.
Europe’s relationship with
Africa changed greatly after
1500.
Europeans began
transporting Africans across
the Atlantic to work on
plantations and mines in the
Americas.
The Effects of Colonization
• Portugal was the first
European country to build
an African trading post.
• The effects of slavery,
especially on West Africa,
were disastrous.
Many European nations
began to colonize Africa.
To colonize means to settle
an area and take over its
government.
The Effects of Colonization
Europeans saw Africa’s
natural resources as a new
way to build wealth and
empires.
• Africans resisted colonization,
but were overwhelmed.
• European rulers joined forces
and set up rules for how to
claim African land.
In most colonies, African
people had little power in the
governments that ruled them.
The Effects of Colonization
Europeans also gained
power by encouraging
Africans to fight each other.
They took the best land and
often forced Africans to
work under terrible
conditions.
• New political boundaries
divided some ethnic groups
and crammed others
together.
Africa is still effected by the
conflict from this time.
The Growth of African Independence
• Many Africans dreamed of
independence in the late 1800’s.
• In order to win independence from
the colonial powers, African
leaders encouraged the growth of
nationalism.
– Nationalism is a feeling of pride in
one’s homeland.
• In 1912, a political party, now
called the African National
Congress, was formed in South
Africa to win rights for black
Africans. Similar groups sprang up
all around Africa.
Paths to Independence
• A movement called PanAfricanism was formed in
the 1920’s to promote unity
and cooperation among all
Africans.
• Their motto was “Africa is
for Africans.”
• In the 1940’s, African
countries helped the Allies
defeat the Axis countries in
World War II. African
soldiers, drivers and
workers took part in the war.
Paths to Independence
•
World War II inspired many
Africans to demand their
independence. They
accomplished this in two
ways:
1. Through peaceful transition.
Some European countries let
go of their colonies peacefully,
as when Britain granted Ghana
its independence.
2. Through armed conflict. Others
had to fight for their freedom.
One example is Algeria, who
fought a six year war of
independence against France.
Ghana: From Past to Present
• In the West African colony of
the Gold Coast, Kwame
Nkruma organized protests,
strikes and boycotts against
British rule in the 50’s.
– A boycott is a refusal to buy or
use certain products or services.
• Nkruma was jailed, but the
protests continued and the
colony gained independence.
• The colony took the name
Ghana, after the great trading
kingdom of ancient times.
Nkruma became Ghana’s
first president.
The Challenges of Independence
• Africa’s new leaders had
spent many years working
for freedom, but had very
little experience governing.
• Many new African
governments were
unstable.
• In some countries, military
leaders took control. In
most of these countries,
people had few rights and
citizens were jailed for
protesting the government.
The Challenges of Independence
• Other African countries, like
Botswana, have a long history
of democracy.
• Many people believe that many
African countries are unstable
because most are only 40 years
old. They need time to develop
and stabilize their governments.
• The United States, for example,
is 200 years old and therefore
has a more stable government
than young African countries.