AFRICA
Did You Know?
• 2nd largest continent
in the world
• One-fifth of
Earth’s land surface
• Earliest evidence of
human beings
Africa’s
Geography
Discussion #1
• Have you ever had to move or
did someone close to you
move?
• Why did you/they move?
People on the
Move
People on the Move
• Migration: A permanent move from one
country or region to another
• Causes of migration:
• Push-pull factors: push people out of an area
or pull them into an area
• What are some examples of PUSH factors?
• What are some examples of PULL factors?
People on the Move
• Experts can trace migrations over time by
studying the spread of languages
• Most languages in Africa can be traced back to
one parent-language: Bantu
• Bantu-speaking Africans moved south & east
out of Nigeria from 3000BC- 1100AD
• Spread their language and culture
People on the Move
• Experts can trace migrations over time by
studying the spread of languages
• Most languages in Africa can be traced back to
one parent-language: Bantu
People on the Move
• Reasons for migration:
• Slash and burn farming
• Overpopulation and search for more
land
Discussion #2
• Do you have a friend you
spend a lot of time with?
• What tends to happen when
you start hanging around the
same person for a long time?
Africa: The
Influence of Trade
East Africa: Early Kingdom of Aksum
• Located on Red Sea
in present day
Ethiopia
• Through trade
(ivory!) Aksum (350AD)
absorbed many
elements of Roman culture,
including Christianity
East Africa: Coastal Trade Cities
• Bantu-speaking people established
coastal villages
• Muslim and Persian traders settled
in port cities around 639AD
• Swahili was formed: blended
language of Bantu and Arabic
• Blending of religions of Christianity,
Islam and traditional beliefs
East Africa: Coastal Trade Cities
Coastal Trade Cities & Slave Trade
• Swahili cities
became wealthy
through trade
(gold, ivory, etc)
• By 1300, more
than 35 trading
cities
Coastal Trade Cities & Slave Trade
• Muslim traders sent African slaves to
the Middle East,
India, China
• Numbers of traded
slaves remain small
(about 1,000 a year)
until the 1700s, when
Europeans start buying
slaves for colonial
plantations
Discussion #3
• Have you ever traded with
someone for something? What
factors are necessary for a
mutually successful trade?
• How do scarcity and
abundance affect trade?
West Africa:
The Gold-Salt Kingdoms
1. Ghana
2. Mali
3. Songhai
The Gold-Salt Trade
• All 3 kingdoms
controlled the
GOLD-SALT
trade at some point in time
• Occurred in west Africa near the
northern part of the Niger River
The Gold-Salt Trade
• Although rich in gold,
West Africa’s savanna
& rain forests LACKED
salt
• Fortunately, the Sahara
Desert contained large
deposits of salt
The Gold-Salt Trade
• Arab traders
crossed the Sahara
with SALT, cloth
& manufactured
goods
• West African traders collected gold
from the forested regions
The Gold-Salt Trade
• Met in trading cities where
they would
exchange
goods
Did You Know?
Arab traders from North Africa learned how to cross
the Sahara Desert with the help of the camel…
• Could cover as
much as 60 miles
a day
• Could travel more
than 10 days
without water
(twice as long as
most pack
animals)
Ghana:
The
Trading
Kingdom
(AD 500 to 1200)
Ghana: The Trading Kingdom
• Ghana’s Wealth:
• Ghana grew rich by taxing trade
that crossed through the kingdom
• Ghana’s wealth enabled the
kingdom to build a large army &
conquer neighboring regions
Ghana: The Trading Kingdom
• The king acted as a religious leader, chief,
judge, & military commander
• Only the king could own gold nuggets
– WHY?
Ghana: The Trading Kingdom
• As a result of the trade, Ghana’s
rulers converted to Islam and helped
spread the religion
Ghana: The Trading Kingdom
• Ghana’s Decline:
• War with a nearby
kingdom weakened Ghana’s
empire
• Led to internal division & eventual
decline…
The Kingdom of Mali
(AD 1235 to 1400)
• After Ghana’s
decline, no single
kingdom controlled
the Gold-Salt Trade
• Consequently the
Gold-Salt Trade
experienced a decline
The Rise of Mali
• In 1235 Mali rose
to power on the
same territory
• Quickly expanded to the Atlantic
Ocean under the rule of Sundiata
• Gained control of the Gold-Salt
Trade
Discussion #4
• What can you infer about the
man in this picture?
The Kingdom of Mali
• Mansa Musa is the most famous
African ruler
• Skilled military leader who
expanded the empire
• Under his reign Mali became very
wealthy from Gold-Salt Trade
The Kingdom of Mali
• Mansa Musa &
Religion:
• Was a devout Muslim
• In 1324 went on a hajj to Mecca
• Led to MANY changes in Mali…
The Kingdom of Mali
• Mansa Musa built
mosques, schools
& libraries where people could study
Islam
• As a result Timbuktu, the capital
city, became a cultural center for
Islam
The Kingdom of Mali
• Mali’s Decline:
• Weak rulers
after Mansa
Musa
• (Internal & external problems)
• Declines & people begin to break
away…
The Kingdom
of Songhai
(1450 to 1600)
• Mali declines
in the 1400s &
the Songhai
set up an
empire
The Kingdom of Songhai
• Sunni Ali:
• Muslim ruler who expanded the
empire by military conquest
• Built a professional army
• Conquered the city of Timbuktu
The Kingdom of Songhai
• After Sunni Ali’s death, his son took over but
faced a revolt by Muslims who thought he
didn’t practice their religion faithfully
• Askia Muhammad took control
• Created a well-organized empire,
with an efficient system of
government
• Laws were based on the Koran
The Kingdom of Songhai
• Empire was full of wealth &
learning but lacked modern
weapons leading to its collapse
• 1591, a Moroccan fighting force of
several thousand men equipped with
gunpowder & cannons crossed the
Sahara and invaded Songhai
Discussion #5
• Conclude: Describe 3 factors
that influenced the
development of early African
societies