Chapter 13: Tropical Africa and Asia
1200-1500
The Tropical Environment
• Falls between the Tropic of Cancer in
north & Tropic of Capricorn in the south
• Cycle of rainy & dry seasons dictated by
the monsoons
• Coastal W. Africa, west-central Africa &
southern India get abundant rain
• Arid zone-Sahara & northwest India,
southwestern Africa
• Altitude affects climate
Human Ecosystems
• Different societies adopted different means of
surviving to fit into the different ecological zones
found in the tropics
• In some places such as Central Africa, the upper
altitudes of the Himalayas & some seacoasts,
wild food & fish was so abundant that human
societies could thrive without developing
agriculture or herding
Tropical Lands & Peoples:
Human Ecosystems
• Human communities in arid areas of
tropics relied on herding & supplemented
their diets w/ grain & vegetables obtained
through trade w/ settled agriculturalists
• Most people were farmers who cultivated
crops rice, wheat sorghum, millet, etc.
depending on the conditions of soil,
climate & water
Water Systems & Irrigation
• South & SE Asia had ample water
supplies; intensive agriculture transformed
the environment & supported dense
populations
• In most parts of sub-Saharan Africa &
parts of SE Asia, farmers abandoned their
fields every few years & cleared new
areas by cutting & burning vegetation
(“slash & burn”)
Water Systems & Irrigation
• Tropics have uneven distribution of rain so
dams, irrigation canals, & reservoirs were
necessary
• Huge projects increased production but
were vulnerable to natural disasters &
political disruptions
• Smaller irrigation systems were easier to
construct & maintain so they provided
consistent long-term stability
Mineral Resources
• Tropical peoples used iron for agricultural implements,
weapons, needles
• Copper, particularly important in Africa, was used to
make wire & decorative objects
• Africa also known for its production of gold
• Metalworking & food-producing systems mobilized the
labor of ordinary people to produce surpluses that in
places supported powerful states & profitable
commercial systems
• Neither of those elite enterprises would have been
possible without the work of ordinary people
New Islamic Empires: Mali
• Islam spread to subSaharan Africa by
gradual peaceful
conversion facilitated by
commercial contacts
• In 1240, Sundiata
(Muslim leader of Malinke
people) established
kingdom of Mali
• Mali’s economy rested on
agriculture & was
supplemented by control
of regional & transSaharan trading routes &
by control of gold mines
of Niger headwaters
New Islamic Empires: Mali
• Mansa Musa (1312–
1337) demonstrated
fabulous wealth on hajii
to Mecca
• People came to Mali
• mosques & Quranic
schools built
• declined/collapsed in
mid-late 15th c.-internal
rebellions & external
attacks
• Intellectual life & trade
moved to other African
states, including Hausa
states & Kanem-Bornu
Delhi Sultanate in
India
• Between 1206-1236, divided
states of NW India defeated by
Muslim Turkish conquerors under
Sultan Iltutmish
• Muslim elite ruled India relatively
peacefully but Hindus never
forgave violence of conquest
• Iltutmish passed throne on to his
daughter, Raziya but driven out by
men unwilling to accept female
ruler
• Ala-ud-din & Muhammad ibn
Tughluq carried out aggressive
territorial expansion accompanied
(in the case of Tughluq) by policy
of religious toleration toward
Hindus but policy reversed by
Tughluq’s successor
• In general, Delhi sultans ruled by
terror; burdened their subjects
• In mid-14th c, internal rivalries &
external threats undermined
stability of sultanate-destroyed
when Timur sacked Delhi in 1398
Indian Ocean Trade: Monsoon Mariners
• Indian Ocean trade increased between 1200-1500, stimulated by
prosperity of Europe, Asia, & African & SE Asian states
• Red & Arabian Seas, trade was carried on dhows
• From India on to SE Asia, junks dominated trade routes.
• Junks were technologically advanced, had watertight compartments
& up to twelve sails, carried cargoes of up to 1,000 tons
• Junks developed in China, but during 15th c, junks also built in
Bengal & SE Asia & sailed w/ crews from those places
• Indian Ocean trade was decentralized & cooperative; various
regions supplied particular goods
• Certain ports-entrepots-functioned as major emporiums for trade in
which goods from smaller ports were stored, consolidated & shipped
onward
Africa: The Swahili Coast & Zimbabwe
• By 1500, there were thirty or forty separate city-states
along East African coast participating in Indian Ocean
trade.
• People of these coastal cities-Swahili people-spoke
African language enriched w/ Arabic & Persian
• Swahili cities-Kilwa-famous exported gold mined in or
around inland kingdom-capital was Great Zimbabwe
• Great Zimbabwe’s economy rested on agriculture, cattle
herding, & trade.
• City declined due to ecological crisis from deforestation
& overgrazing
Arabia: Aden & Red Sea
• Aden had enough rainfall to produce wheat for
export & was a central transit point for trade from
Persian Gulf, East Africa, & Egypt
• Aden’s merchants prospered on this trade & built
a wealthy & impressive city
• In general, a common interest in trade allowed
various peoples & religions of Indian Ocean
Basin to live in peace
• Violence did sometimes break out, as when
Christian Ethiopia fought w/ Muslims of Red Sea
coast over control of trade
India: Gujarat & Malabar Coast
• Gujarat prospered from Indian Ocean trade; exported cotton
textiles, indigo in return for gold & silver
• Gujarat not only commercial center-also manufacturing
center that produced textiles, leather goods, carpets, silk, &
other commodities
• Gujarat’s overseas trade dominated by Muslims, but Hindus
benefited
• Calicut & other cities of Malabar Coast exported cotton
textiles & spices & served as clearing-house for longdistance trade
• Cities of Malabar Coast unified in loose confederation-rulers
tolerant of other religious & ethnic groups
Southeast Asia: The Rise of Malacca
• Strait of Malacca is principal passage from
Indian Ocean to South China Sea.
• In 14th c. Chinese pirates preyed upon ships
• In 1407, forces of Ming dynasty crushed pirates
• Muslim ruler of Malacca used this to exert
control over strait & make Malacca into major
port & center of trade
Social & Cultural Change:
Architecture, Learning, & Religion
• Commercial contacts & spread of Islam led to variety of social &
cultural changes
• African & Indian mosques are good examples of synthesis of Middle
Eastern & local architectural styles
• Spread of Islam brought literacy to African peoples who first learned
Arabic & then used Arabic script to write their own languages
• In India, literacy already established, but spread of Islam brought
development of new Persian-influenced language (Urdu) &
papermaking technology
Social & Cultural Change:
Architecture, Learning, & Religion
• As it spread to Africa, India, & SE Asia, Islam brought Islamic law &
administration & Greek science, mathematics, & medicine
• Timbuktu, Delhi, & Malacca were 2 new centers of Islamic learning
• Islam spread peacefully; forced conversions rare. Muslim
domination of trade contributed to spread of Islam as merchants
attracted by common moral code & laws converted & as Muslim
merchants in foreign lands established households & converted
local wives & servants.
• Islamic destruction of last center of Buddhism in India contributed to
spread of Islam in India
• Islam brought social & cultural changes to communities that
converted, but Islam itself was changed, developing differently in
African, Indian, & Indonesian societies
Social & Gender Distinctions
• Gap between elites & common people widened in tropical
societies as wealthy urban elites prospered from increased
Indian Ocean trade
• Slavery increased in Africa & India
• 2.5 million African slaves exported across Sahara & Red
Sea between 1200-1500-more shipped from cities of Swahili
coast
• Most slaves trained in specific skills; hereditary military
slaves could become rich & powerful
• Other slaves worked at hard menial jobs like copper mining,
• Female slaves mostly household servants & entertainers.
• Large number of slaves meant price of slaves was low
Social & Gender Distinctions
• Not much information on possible changes in status of women in
tropics
• some scholars speculate that restrictions on women eased
somewhat in Hindu societies
• Early arranged marriage was typical for Indian women, expected to
obey strict rules of fidelity & chastity
• Women’s status was generally determined by status of male
masters.
• Women practiced certain skills other than child rearing; cooking,
spinning, pottery making, & clothing production
• Difficult to tell what effect spread of Islam had on women;
encouraged to read the Quran, but local customs dictated the
behavior & degree of public participation
• In some places, such as Mali, Muslims did not adopt Arab practice
of veiling & secluding women
Conclusion: Political
• Mali empire of western Sudan arose
among African natives who had earlier
converted to Islam voluntarily
• Dehli Sultanate of India, though providing
political unity to northern India, arose
through invasion, conquest, and violence,
and was intolerant of native religions.
Conclusion: Economic & Cultural
Comparisons
• Ships in Arabian Sea to west of India were the
dhows, carrying up to 400 tons
• Ships to east, traveling to Southeast Asia, were
larger junks, carrying over 1,000 tons
• Life in urban trading centers included more
cultural diversity than was experienced close to
centers of imperial power
• To one contemporary observer, citizens of Mali
experienced greater social justice than Indians
living under the rule of Muhammad ibn Tughluq
of the Dehli Sultanate.