American History
Lesson 2
WEST AFRICA
A Connected to Europe & Asia by trade
A.
- new goods, ideas, beliefs
- Islam Æ new ideas spread quickly – not very devout!
B. Europeans arrive (1400’s)
Timbuktu – hub of all trading
- connected North & West Africa
- traders crossed the Sahara Desert
Islam – began in Arabia in 662 by prophet
Mohammed.
- did not have much influence until the 1400’s.
C Portuguese
C.
- began trading in West Africa by sea
- gold
- no longer had to cross the Sahara Desert
- began the West African slave trade.
- took over uninhabited islands Principe & Sao Tome’
Tome
to grow sugar cane. Æ slave plantations
Plantations -- grow a single crop on large scale
scale.
- used slaves for the work force
- slavery began as captives from war, but
soon traders went in search of slaves.
African Kingdoms
A Songhai 600 - 1600AD
A.
- Ghana & Mali
- controlled all W. African trade -- taxed goods
- built a military
y to expand
p
territoryy
- built cities, made laws, arts, education
1. Sunni Ali – 1464-1492 largest empire – never lost in war.
2 Askia Muhammad
2.
- master organizer, devout Muslim, scholar
- Timbuktu – very important education center
B. Benin
- forested region filled with traders
- floated goods out on the Niger River
Ewuare – mid 1400’s
-famous
famous warrior and leader
- organized govt. – districts ruled by cheifs
- industry Æ gold, brass, & other metalworking
- lots of sculpture
p
and artistry
y
C. Kongo – West Central Africa
The Manikong Æ leader during the late 1400’s
- ruled several small kingdoms
1470’s over 4 million people lived there.
- iron ore Æ tools and weapons
- Europeans thought Kongo was similar
to their world.
- several provinces ruled by one king
West African Culture
- Most were only aware of local life
(family, community, tradition)
A. Family
lineage – line of common descent
kinship – bond of related people
1. matrilineal – trace lineage through mother Æ can only
marry people of certain lineages.
lineages
2. some married outside lineage group -- complex web
of family alliances.
3. age carried rank
-oldest is in control of others – (acts as family rep.)
B. Religion
- very religious Æ ceremonies for hunting, fishing, farming, etc.
1. nature was filled with spirits
p
to them in dreams
2. ancestors spoke
3. believed in one creator, but several lesser gods
- made it easy to accept Islam or Christianity (kept old gods too)
C. Livelihood
- farming,
f
i herding,
h di hunting,
h i fishing,
fi hi mining,
i i trading
di
- family owned all the land – individuals farmed it, but the
whole family owned it.
- irrigated crops with Niger River
- planted rice in swamps
D. Slave Labor
- slaves – lowest of the social class
- could escape bondage if they married into or were
adopted by the family they served.
- not born into slavery
- slavery became a large part of African/European trade