1.5 State Building in Africa (1200-1450)

Sub-Saharan Africa

• Region below the Saharan Desert.

Swahili Civilization

• Emergence: Africa's East Coast, around the 8th century.
• Structure: Collection of independent city-states.
• Rise to Prominence: Strategic location on the coast, facilitating access to the Indian Ocean trade.
• Trade Goods:
  • Exports: gold, ivory, timber, enslaved people (to a limited degree).
  • Imports: Relied on goods from the African interior (farmers and pastoralists).
• Islam's Influence:
  • Dominant belief system due to thriving trade.
  • Muslim merchants were prominent in the Indian Ocean.
  • Voluntary conversion among the Swahili elite.
  • Connected Swahili civilization to the broader economic world of Dar al-Islam.
• Swahili Language:
  • Hybrid: Bantu family of languages (indigenous) + Arabic.
• Political Structure:
  • Each city ruled by its own king.
  • Intense competition between city-states.

Comparison: Swahili States vs. Song China

• Similarities:
  • Expanded wealth via trade beyond borders.
  • Hierarchical class structure.
    • China: Confucian ideals.
    • Swahili states: Elevated merchant elite.
• Differences:
  • China: Centralized political structure with an emperor.
  • Swahili states: Lacked a unified political structure.

Great Zimbabwe

• Location: Further inland in Southern Africa.
• Economic Foundation: Participation in Indian Ocean trade via controlling coastal ports.
• Exports: Primarily gold, also farming and cattle herding formed economic base.
• Capital City:
  • Massive construction using wealth.
  • Largest structures in Africa after the Egyptian pyramids.
  • Housed royal court; seat of power.

West Africa

• State Structures: Mixture of different state structures.
• Large Centralized Empires: Ghana, Mali, and Songhai (to be discussed in Unit 2).
• Hausa Kingdoms
  • Location: Scattered throughout the region.
  • Structure: Collection of city-states, politically independent.
  • Power Source: Trans-Saharan trade network.

Comparison: Hausa Kingdoms vs. Swahili Civilization

• Similarities:
  • Urbanized and commercialized city-states.
  • Acted as middlemen for goods from the interior.
  • Integrated into trade patterns with other states in West and North Africa.
  • Ruled by kings with social hierarchies.
  • Conversion of rulers to Islam facilitated trade with Muslim merchants.

General Trend

• Adoption of Islam by influential African states to organize societies and facilitate trade within Dar al-Islam.

Ethiopia

• Exception to the Trend: Christian kingdom.
• Rule: Christian rulers commissioned construction of massive stone churches, to communicate power.
• Wealth: Grew through trade in the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean network, especially in salt.
• Structure: Centralized power with a king and stratified class hierarchy.