Africa before the Arrival of the
Europeans
Warm up………..
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How many African countries can you
name???
Bantu migrations spread knowledge
of ironworking and language
Africa in the Postclassical Period
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At time of Roman Empire sub-Saharan Africa on the edge of
major centers of civilizations
Between 800-1500 contacts with the outside world
increased dramatically with the growth of the growing
international trade network
Spread of Islam had profound effects on both those who
converted and those who resisted - until 1450 Islam
provided the major external contact b/w sub-Saharan Africa
and the world
State building, ie. Songhay and Mali (although their power
derived from military strength)
Africa in the post-classical period:
◦ N. Africa and eastern Africa incorporated into the Arab world
◦ New centers of civilization and political power arose
◦ Much still remained in isolation
African Societies: Diversities
and Similarities
Differences in geography, language, religion,
politics, etc. meant that they never unified
 Stateless societies
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◦ Organized around kinship or other forms of
obligation and lacking the concentration of political
power and authority we normally associate with the
state
◦ Little concentration of authority; did have forms of
government but the authority normally held by a
ruler was held by a council of families or a community
council
◦ Drawbacks- difficult to resist external pressures,
mobilize for warfare, organize large building projects,
etc.
Common Elements in African
Societies
Bantu language- provided a linguistic base (despite
regional variances)
Animistic religion- belief in the power of natural
forces personified as spirits or gods; provided a
cosmology- view of how the universe worked
Veneration of ancestors vital
Diversity in economies- N. Africa stands apart b/c
of contact with Med. World; Sub-Saharan Africasettled agriculture, skilled ironwork specialization – basis for lively markets and large
cities
Arrival of Islam in North Africa
◦ 640-700 CE followers of Muhammad swept across north Africa
from Suez to Morocco’s Atlantic shore- by 670 Muslims ruled
Tunisia- by 711 Arab and Berber armies had crossed into Spain
◦ Conversion took place rapidly, as Abbasid dynasty had provided
political unity
◦ Berbers- peoples of the desert- formed states of their own- by
11th century reformist movement- Almoravids- moved south
against the African kingdoms of the savanna. 1130 another
reformist group- Almohadis- followed same pattern
◦ Islam attractive within Africa
 Acceptance of conquerors and new rulers acceptable since all Muslims
were equal in Islam
 Tradition of uniting the powers of the religion and the state in the caliph
appealed to some
 Despite ideals, practice differed at local levels
The Christian Kingdoms: Nubia
and Ethiopia
◦ Adopted Christianity before Roman Empire
◦ Christians of Egypt- Copts- developed rich
tradition in contact with Byzantium- were able
to maintain faith when Egypt was conquered –
eventually spread to Nubia (ancient kingdom of
Kush)
◦ Ethiopian Kingdom- grew from Axum- cut off
from Byzantium by Muslim conquest of Red Sea
coast – so turned inward- King Lalibela (died
1221) sponsored huge building project- 13-14th
centuries- Christian Ethiopian state
Kingdoms of the Grasslands
African had three important coasts of contact: the
Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, and the savanna on the
southern edge of the Sahara
 Ghana had already formed by the 8th century by
exchanging gold form the forests of west Africa
for salt or dates from the Sahara or goods from
the Med. – probably founded in 3rd century. By
10th century had converted to Islam
 Sahel- grassland belt at edge of the Saharabecame a point of exchange between the forests
to the south and north Africa- another “coast”
where ideas and goods were exchanged- several
cities developed along the “coast”
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Empire of Mali and Sudiata, the
“Lion Prince”
◦ Mali creation of the Malinke people who broke away from
Ghana in 13th century
◦ Rulers supported Islam- in return supporters were
obedient and faithful as the sermons stressed
◦ Agriculture economic basis
◦ Malinke merchants- juula
◦ Sundiata (died 1260) - leader who began Malinke
expansion- he became the mansa (emperor)
◦ Mali grew wealthy from trade
◦ Mansa Kankan Musa (1312-1337)- most famous successor,
made a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324 and brought the
attention of the Muslim world to Mali. Brought back Ishak
al-Sahili, poet and architect, who directed the building of
several important mosques (great mosque of Jenne)
City Dwellers and Villagers
◦ Towns were very commercial- Power of the
state protected traders
◦ Timbuktu
◦ 80% of population lived off land
◦ Polygamy common
◦ Farmers able to provide for the people (even
with their basic methods)
Songhay Kingdom
◦ People of Songhay dominated the middle areas of
the Niger valley
◦ Began to form in the 7th century, by 1010 capital
established at Gao on the Niger River and the
rulers had become Muslims, by 1370s Songhay
had established its independence
◦ Sunni Ali (1464-1492) great leader who forged
the empire- by mid 16th century it dominated
central Sudan
◦ 1591 Muslim army from Morocco defeated the
Songhay
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Political and Social Life in the Sudanic States
◦ Development of a unified state provided framework to
allow existing groups and communities to coexist
◦ Islam provided solidarity and trust to merchants
◦ Muslim concept of ruler as caliph reinforced the kingship
ideas in Africa
◦ Islam in the early stages accommodated pagan practices
and beliefs
◦ Women- some Songhay societies matrilineal and
recognized the role of women
◦ Slavery became a more widely diffused phenomenon and
slave trade in Africa developed on a new scale
 In theory, Muslims viewed slave trade as a stage in conversion but
in reality it did not guarantee freedom
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The Swahili Coast
Islamicized trading cities developed as a
result of contacts with trading partners
from Arabia, Persia, India, and China
 Islam provided a universal set of ethics
and beliefs that made their maritime
contacts easier
 In East Africa- Islamization slower to
reach population- compromise between
indigenous ways and new faith
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The Coastal Trading Ports
◦ From 1st to 10th century Bantu-speaking people
had made it to the coast and were mixing with
the indigenous groups there
◦ Contacts on the Indian Ocean date back to 2nd
century BCE
◦ By 13th century string of urbanized east African
trading ports
◦ Port city Kilwa flourished from 13th-15th century
(had gold from Zimbabwe) and was African city
furthest south that could be used in one
Monsoon season
The Mixture of Cultures on the Swahili Coast
◦ Islam- forged bonds of trust among traders
from Asia to Africa
◦ Islam penetrated very little into the interior
among hunters, pastoralist, and farmers
◦ Islamization was, to some extent, class-based
with the upper classes converting and not the
lower classes
◦ Swahili culture- a hybrid of Islam and African
tradition
Artists and Kings:Yoruba and
Benin
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Yoruba
 Nigeria- village of Nok- found objects demonstrating great
artistic skill dating back to 500 BCE-200 CE
 Ile-Ife artists worked with terra-cotta and bronze to create
lifelike portraits
 Yoruba origins obscure
 Yoruba spoke a non-Bantu language of west African Swa family
 Organized in small city-states, developed under authority of
regional kings, who were considered divine
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Benin
 Large city state of the Edo peoples formed sometime in the
14th century
 By 16th century- city of great population and broad avenues
and artwork
 Power of the ruler demonstrated in much of the art work
Kingdoms of Kongo and Mwene
Mutapa
◦ 13th-15th centuries CE development of kingdom Kongo
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Agricultural base
From kinship to kingship
Division of labor between men and women
Kingship hereditary but local chieftainships were not
 Bantu confederation developed among the farming and cattle-herding
peoples in the region between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers
 Began building stone houses or Zimbabwe in the 9th century
 Greatest house was the Great Zimbabwe, which was the center
of the kingdom and was associated with the bird of God
 By 15th century centralized state ruled from Great Zimbabwe
 Mwene Mutapa- great king who led period of expansion in late
15th and 16th centuries. Had dominance of internal resources like
gold, which gave them an advantage in trade
 By 16th century internal divisions split kingdom apart but control
of the gold fields still provided a source of power and trade