Africa

During time of slavery Primarily sub-

Saharan Africa Africa is not a country It is a continent! Multiple nations with

diverse and varied cultures

Some similaritiesExtended families that live and work together

PolygynyHowever, these are surface

similarities the nations remained distinct in many other ways

Two basic modes of Subsistence 1. Pastoralism 2. Agriculture -------------------------------------------------------- 1. Cattle, sheep, camels in drier lands farther

from the equator and nearer the deserts 2.

a) rice, millet, sorghum. In the savannah regions north and south of equator

b) yams, Bananas, plantains heavily wooded areas near equator

But Nigerian Yam farmers, Angloan sorghum growers in different regions all used slash and burn agriculture

Africans and the ocean

Although African's did not have ocean going ships there was a significant coastal trade

Religion

Many African groups recognized a single creator figure

Often smaller lower level deities were the focus of day to day life

Linkage between humans and deities through ancestors

Christianity was almost entirely unknown But Islam was not ~1030 King of Takur

converted The trans-Saharan trade, as seen in the case of

Songahi, brought Islam to the region were it was combined with African religious practices

Although it did not spread rapidly until the nineteenth century

Extended family was the primary focus for individuals

But these could be and were on occasion spread to Clan and occasionally by force into states or empires

At the time of the first European arrival there were several such powerful states in the region

Eg. Songhai - upper Niger river Mali Benin Kongo

African states around the time of European contact

SongahiMaliBeninKongo

Songahi On the edge of the desert held authority over

thousands of miles Its primary focus was not the Atlantic but the

Sahara Involved in trans-desert trade

Mali

1324-25 emperor Mansa Musa went on a haji to Mecca

He took a huge amount of gold –possibly 100 camel loads – so much that he devalued the economy in Mecca

Mali, like Songahi, traded across the Sahara

Trading gold for goods from the east Trading posts, such as Djenni,

became important location of exchange not only for goods but also culture as evidenced by the mud mosque opposite

Edo, Capital City of Benin Described by a Dutch

visitor as being “four miles broad” Thirty straight streets Each forty yards across All meeting at right

angles Lined with fine dwellings

Bennin is and was well known for its sculpture

Late 17th C the ruler of Benin or oba could field an army of 20,000 at a days notice

Kingdom of Kongo States had been situated around

the lower Congo river for many years

The reason for this is a geographical location known as the Pool Malebo

Above the pool the Congo river was navigable for several hundred miles

But below is a impassable cascade

Therefore control of the portage allowed for the development of a powerful community

Though to have a population of approximately half a million in 1500

And had control over, and collected tribute from, several smaller states

A contemporary snapshot of Africa Al-Hassan ibn-Muhammad al

Wavvan al-Fasi Better known as Leo Africanus raised in Fez (modern Morroco) educated in Islamic law and

worked for the Sultan of Fez went on diplomatic missions twice went to Sub-Saharan

Africa Captured by Christian pirates

and taken to Rome in 1518

Presented as a slave to Pope Leo X converted to Christianity - Given name Giovani Leone (John Leo) In 1526 completed Italian version of History and

Description of Africa became known as Leo Africanus (Leo the African)

Quotes from History and Description of Africa

Mali ‘In this Kingdom there is a large and ample

village containing more than six thousand families’

‘The region itself yields great abundance of wheat meat and cotton’

‘The inhabitants are rich and have plenty of merchandise’

‘Here is a great number of temples, clergymen, and teachers’

Timbuktu ‘Here there are many shops of artisans and

merchants, especially those who weave linen and cotton, and here Barbary merchants bring European cloth.’

‘The inhabitants, and especially resident aliens, are exceedingly rich, since the present King married both of his daughters to rich merchants’

‘The rich king of Timbuktu has many plates and scepters of gold, some of which weigh 1300 pounds, and he keeps a magnificent and well furnished court’