1.5 State Building in Africa

What were the Swahili city-states?

A collection of independent city-states on Africa's east coast, each ruled by its own king, with no unifying central government. Competition between them was fierce.

Why did the Swahili city-states become wealthy?

Their coastal location gave them access to Indian Ocean trade. They sold gold, ivory, and timber to merchants from Arabia, Persia, and India, importing goods from farmers and pastoralists in the interior.

Where does the Swahili language come from?

A hybrid of the indigenous Bantu family of languages and Arabic brought by traders — the language itself is evidence of Islamic influence.

Why did the Swahili elite convert to Islam?

Voluntarily and for commerce. Muslim merchants dominated Indian Ocean trade, so conversion connected the Swahili to the wider economic world of Dar al-Islam.

How did Great Zimbabwe get rich?

Chiefly gold — exports and taxes on gold transport — with farming and cattle herding underneath. Though inland, it tied into Indian Ocean trade by controlling coastal ports like Kilwa and Mombasa.

What does Great Zimbabwe's capital tell you?

Rulers poured trade wealth into massive stone structures — after the Egyptian pyramids, the largest in Africa. It housed the royal court and was the seat of power.

What were the Hausa Kingdoms?

A collection of politically independent city-states in what is now Nigeria, enriched by trans-Saharan trade. Each was ruled by a king and imposed social hierarchies.

Why do the Hausa and the Swahili get compared?

Both were urbanized, commercialized, independent city-states, each ruled by a king, acting as middlemen moving interior goods into wider trade networks. The Swahili worked the Indian Ocean; the Hausa worked the Sahara.

Why is Ethiopia the exception among African states?

Most African states adopted Islam to organize society and ease trade. Ethiopia was Christian — an island of Christianity on the continent.

How did Ethiopian rulers display power?

They commissioned massive churches carved from rock, which communicated to subjects exactly who was in charge. Ethiopia also grew wealthy trading salt.

How was Ethiopia governed?

Centralized, with a king at the top and a stratified class hierarchy below him — resembling many other power structures around the world.

Which large centralized empires rose and fell in West Africa?

Ghana, Mali, and the Songhay, over the course of centuries.

What was Ghana's capital, and how did its king rule?

Koumbi Saleh. From there the king ruled a centralized government aided by nobles and an army equipped with iron weapons. Ghana sold gold and ivory for salt, copper, cloth, and tools.

Who was Sundiata?

Mali's founding ruler. Most scholars believe he was Muslim and used connections with others of his faith to build trade with North African and Arab merchants, cultivating a thriving gold trade.

Two things to know about the Great Zimbabwe wall.

It was the first large wall in Africa built without mortar — roughly 30 feet tall and 15 feet thick. Nearly 20,000 people lived inside, but overgrazing so damaged the environment that the capital was abandoned by the end of the 1400s.

How did many Sub-Saharan communities organize themselves?

Through kin-based networks — families governing themselves under a male chief who mediated conflicts. They also used age grades (age sets), dividing work by age, with younger people relying on elders' advice.