(WIP) WHAP Unit 1.5 Developments in Africa 1200-1450

By 1000, large kingdoms grew in prominence along side the kin-based chiefdoms pre-established in Africa. As Islam rapidly connected Afro-Eurasia, many communities retained their local customs even after adopting the faith.

Political & Social Structures of Inland Africa

-Decentralized, kin-based communities led by a male chief who mediated internal & external conflicts

• Jobs organized by family, age, & gender (women=domestic, men=skilled)

• Districts, or consolidation of multiple villages, led by group of chiefs

• No private land

-1000: Majority adopted agriculture & needed a stronger gov. to distribute labor & yields & control competition & pop growth

Political Structures of West & East Africa

-Benefit from Trans-Saharan trade = wealth, political power, & religious diversity (Animism, Christianity, then Islam), forming large civilizations

Hausa Kingdoms

-Before 1000 Hausa ethnic group est. 7 states in Nigeria

• Benefitted from Trans-Saharan trade

• Western region specialized in military & protected the states

-Decline: 1300 domination of Islamic & other powers b/c lack of centralization

Ghana

-400 B/w Sahara & West African coast (not modern Ghana)

• Centralized gov: Based in capital Koumbi Saleh, king was aided by nobles & army equipped w/ iron weapons

• Peaked 700-1000: traded gold & ivory for Muslim traders’ salt, copper, cloth, & tools

-1100: Wars w/ neighboring states ended Ghanaian state

Mali

-Replaced Ghana as most powerful Trans-Saharan trade society under Sundiata

• Sundiata: believed to have been a Muslim who est. North African & Arab trading relationships thru connections to other followers

• Thriving gold trade

Zimbabwe

-1100-1400 Contrasted to the traditional wooden houses, 800s chiefs constructed stone houses called “zimbabwes” (Bantu word for dwellings) b/w the Zambezi & Limpopo rivers

• Prospered thru agriculture, grazing, trade & gold

  • Indian Ocean: taxes on the transport of gold to coastal cities like Mombasa, Kilwa, & Mogadishu

    • Swahili: Bantu & Arabic fusion

  • Great Zimbabwe: Capital surrounded by stone wall, the first to be built w/o a mortar in Africa, declined b/c overgrazing

-Decline: unclear

Axum Kingdom

-Northern Ethiopian highlands prospered by inland & Indian Ocean/Mediterranean trade at port Adulis, which sent Nubian Kingdom in decline in 360 by replacing it as Egypt’s main link to southern lands

• Ethiopian Christianity: Religiously diverse, but adopted from origin independently & mixed w/ local traditions

• Decline: replaced by Christian Kingdom in 1100, ordering the construction of 11 massive rock churches

Slavery

-In Southwest Asia & SSA, prisoners of war, debtors, & criminals were often subject to agricultural (~men) or domestic (~women) slavery

• More slaves = higher social status

• Indian Ocean Slave Trade: High demand in Middle East = bought Zanj (East African slaves) to work on Mesopotamian sugar plantations

  • Zanj Rebellion: 869-883 15,000 zanj & Arab workers successfully overthrew Basra & controlled for 10 yrs, ~most successful slave revolts

Chattel Slavery

-People were the legal property of the owner

• Common in the 1500-1800 Americas

• Permanent & inherited status

• No legal rights

Domestic Slavery

-People served as cooks, cleaners, or other household workers

• Common in Classical Greece & Rome, & in Middle East

• Often permanent & inherited status

• Some laws: prevented selling ppl

Debt Bondage

People became enslaved, sometimes thru mutual agreement, to repay debt

• Common in pre-1400 East Africa & American colonies

• Often permanent in practice & inherited debt

• Some laws: limit severity of punishment

Culture in Sub-Saharan Africa

-Bantu-speaking ppl migrated from West-Central Africa heavily shaped SSA cultures thru language, & farming/iron knowledge

-Griots & Griottes: Literature was oral, so storytellers often sung knowledge of family lineages & the lives of great leaders w/ drums or koras (12-string harp) at special occasions

• Kings sought their counsel regarding politics

-Ancestor Veneration: Lyrics meant communication to spirit world, often interspersed w/ percussive elements

• Metalwork: Current rulers looked to guidance to busts of past rulers