Africa in the Middle Ages

1. Africa in the Middle Ages A brief overview

2. Bantu Migrations • A huge group of people lived in west Africa 3,000 years ago. • Because of the need for more land & pressure from war, they began to spread southwards into Africa. • Many settled in the Congo river basin, others west further south for open pastures. • This was the largest migration in Africa & changed the make-up of the continent.

3. Culture • Animism: traditional African belief that everything in nature has a good or bad spirit. This is why many cultures there wear masks in ceremonies & rituals. • Christianity: Minority religion in North Africa after Arabic conquest. • Islam: Arabic conquest of North Africa & trade with sub-Sahara Africa led many to convert to Islam. • Drums were a part of most African music. • Stories were passed down orally, from generation to generation.

4. Rights & Responsibilities • Each region varied. • Husbands were in charge of the household. • There was either a King or tribal leaders who ruled. No democracies or republics.

5. Jobs & Trade • Most people in Africa, no matter where you lived, were farmers & ranchers. • Caravan: people travel on foot with as many as 10,000 camels that carried the supplies. This was called a camel train. At the southern edge of the Sahara, goods were transferred to humans or donkeys to travel further south. • Niger River: in west Africa. Used to navigate & irrigate crops.

6. Trade • Almost all trade happened on the coast or near a river, except for the Sahara, where people traveled from oasis to oasis. • India had spices & cotton; China had silk. • Common trade languages: Arabic in the north & Swahili in the east.

7. East Africa • They exported coffee, slaves, ivory & cloves. • The island of Zanzibar, off the coast of East Africa, is where Swahili was first spoken. • Swahili became the language of trade for East Africa. They used this language to trade with people along the coast of Africa & across the Indian Ocean to India & later, even China. It’s the # 1 language spoken in East Africa today.

8. North Africa • Many lived a nomadic lifestyle, traveling from oasis to oasis. • They had salt (to preserve food) & horses. • They exported salt, copper & horses. • North Africa would use the gold to trade with Europe & west Asia. • Mostly Muslims today.

9. West Africa • They exported gold, ivory, ebony (a dense wood) & slaves (this is eventually where the US got most of her slaves). • Became Muslims after trade brought the religion of Islam. Today, there’s a mix of Christian, Islam & traditional religions. • They were skilled metallurgists.

10. Mali • Mansa Musa: very wealthy king who went on a hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca in the 14th century. Brought so much gold & servants with him, he increased awareness of sub-Saharan Africa in Europe & north Africa. He may have been the richest man ever (net worth ≈ $400 billion). • Timbuktu: major city of Mali. Center of trans-African trade. Became a center of Islamic worship, learning & writing. It was on the banks of the Niger River.

11. Ghana • The north had salt. The south had gold. Ghana was in the middle. Ghana handled the trades. This is where the nickname “the Gold Coast” comes from. • Artists made colorful fabrics for personal use & trade. • Foods: yams, beans, rice, onions, millet, papaya, gourds, cattle, sheep, goats, poultry, cotton & peanuts.

12. The King of Ghana 1. He charged a tax on all people entering & leaving Ghana. 2. He guaranteed free trade. 3. He built a 2nd city for trade to protect the capital.

13. Songhai Kingdom • Conquered older kingdoms of Ghana & Mali in the 15th century. • Controlled the salt mines in the north & the gold mines in the south. • Traded gold, salt & slaves with Europe & other parts of Africa. • Sonni Ali the Great: King who greatly expanded Songhai’s territory.

14. Southern Africa • Great Zimbabwe (stone building): lost city built by the Shona people. • Existed from the 11th – 15th centuries. • We’re not sure who these people even were or why their kingdom declined! • Farming & grazing were common because of open plains.

15. African Languages • There are between 2,000 – 3,000 languages spoken in African, with possibly as many as 8,000 dialects. African languages are divided into five major language families: • Afro-Asiatic, Nilo-Saharan, Niger-Kordofanian, Khoi-San & Austronesian. • Nigeria alone has over 500 languages. • Only a few are used at the national level, including English & French, which aren’t native African languages.

16. English Words of African Origin • Bantu • banjo • chimpanzee • funk • zebra • zombie • West Africa • banana • bongo • chigger • cola • jazz • voodoo • yam Swahili • jamboree • jumbo • Kwanzaa

17. Africa in the Middle Ages A brief overview

18. Bantu Migrations • A huge of people lived in west Africa years ago. • Because of the need for more & pressure from war, they began to southwards into Africa. • Many settled in the river basin, others west further for open pastures. • This was the largest in Africa & changed the make-up of the continent.

19. Culture • : traditional African belief that everything in nature has a good or bad spirit. This is why many cultures there wear masks in ceremonies & rituals. • Christianity: religion in Africa after Arabic conquest. • Islam: Arabic of North Africa & trade with sub-Sahara Africa led many to to Islam. • were a part of most music. • were passed down , from generation to generation.

20. Rights & Responsibilities • Each region . • were in charge of the . • There was either a or leaders who ruled. democracies or republics.

21. Jobs & Trade • Most people in Africa, no matter where you lived, were & . • : people travel on foot with as many as 10,000 that carried the . This was called a camel train. At the southern edge of the Sahara, goods were transferred to humans or donkeys to travel further south. • River: in Africa. Used to navigate & irrigate crops.

22. Trade • Almost all trade happened on the or near a, except for the , where people traveled from to oasis. • India had & ; China had . • Common trade languages: in the north & in the east.

23. East Africa • They exported , slaves, & cloves. • The island of , off the coast of East Africa, is where Swahili was first spoken. • Swahili became the language of for East Africa. They used this language to trade with people along the coast of Africa & across the Indian Ocean to India & later, even China. It’s the # language spoken in Africa today.

24. North Africa • Many lived a lifestyle, traveling from oasis to oasis. • They had (to preserve food) & . • They salt, copper & horses. • North Africa would use the gold to trade with & west . • Mostly today.

25. West Africa • They exported , ivory, (a dense wood) & slaves (this is eventually where the got most of her slaves). • Became Muslims after brought the religion of Islam. Today, there’s a of Christian, Islam & traditional religions. • They were skilled .

26. Mali • : very wealthy king who went on a (pilgrimage) to in the 14th century. Brought so much gold & servants with him, he increased awareness of sub-Saharan Africa in Europe & north Africa. He may have been the richest man ever (net worth ≈ $ billion). • : major city of . of trans-African trade. Became a center of Islamic worship, & writing. It was on the banks of the Niger River.

27. Ghana • The north had salt. The south had gold. Ghana was in the . Ghana handled the . This is where the nickname “the Coast” comes from. • Artists made colorful for personal use & trade. • Foods: ,beans, rice, onions, millet, , gourds, cattle, sheep, , poultry, cotton & .

28. The King of Ghana 1. He charged a on all people entering & leaving . 2. He guaranteed trade. 3. He built a 2nd city for trade to the capital.

29. Songhai Kingdom • Conquered kingdoms of Ghana & Mali in the th century. • Controlled the mines in the north & the mines in the south. • Traded gold, salt & slaves with Europe & other parts of Africa. • Ali the Great: King who greatly expanded Songhai’s territory.

30. Southern Africa • Great (stone building): lost city built by the Shona people. • Existed from the 11th – 15th. • We’re not sure who these people even were or why their kingdom ! • Farming & grazing were common because of open .

31. African Languages • There are between languages spoken in African, with possibly as many as 8,000 dialects. African languages are divided into major language : • Afro-Asiatic, Nilo-Saharan, Niger-Kordofanian, Khoi-San & Austronesian. • alone has over languages. • Only a are used at the national level, including English & French, which aren’t native African languages.

32. English Words of African Origin • West Africa • Bantu Swahili