HIS 106Chapter 17

Africa 1000 - 1800

Africa

How do you see it? Had kingdoms, laws, religion, and art Received outside influences -- some

beneficial, some not:– Muslims– European– Foodstuffs– Slavery

Kingdoms

Present from 1000 to 1800 Some lasted longer than others No single power could control Africa for long Regionalism and tribal conflicts kept that

from happening

Spread of Islam in Africa

Islam spread south throughout many, but not all, areas through trade routes

Islam either co-existed or blended with traditional beliefs

Islam took hold primarily in urban trade centers

It was rare to find Islam in more remote areas

What is Islam?

Begun by Muhammad who was born in570 He resided in Mecca In 610 he began receiving revelations, he

felt, from God via the angel Gabriel These were later collected in the Muslim holy

book called the Qu’ran and became the basis of Islam

Not immediately accepted by all– Threatened the traditional Arab gods– Muhammad fled to Medina when he felt his life

was in danger– His following grew, and he returned to Mecca in

629– He was then able to convert most of the

inhabitants of Mecca to Islam

Islam united the Arab people like never before

They had a belief in one God called Allah All believers were equal before Allah The strong and wealthy were responsible for

the care of the weak and poor Muhammad and his teachings became the

basis for laws regulating the Muslim faith

In Islam, all would face a last judgment before a stern but compassionate Allah

Islam’s 5 Pillars provided the basis for underlying unity:– Acceptance of Islam– Pray 5 times daily facing Mecca – Pay a zakat to charity (tithe)– Fast during month of Ramadan– Make a hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca at least 1 time

Muhammad died in 632 His followers quarreled over succession A new leader was chosen who reunited Islam

by 633 Muslims then began to take new territory and

spread their religion to these areas There were victories in today’s Iraq, Iran, and

North Africa

Succession Problems

Succession problems led to a split in the religion

There were those who would follow the appointed leader of Islam

There were others who felt the leader should be a blood relative of Muhammad

As a result, the religion split into 2 parts: Sunnis and Shi’ites

Presence of Islam

In East Africa there were Islamic city-states along the coast in port cities

In the western and central areas, Islam arrived by overland trade routes

Some of the Muslims stayed in these trade cities Conversion campaigns led by the Almorvids swept

through Ghana, and Kumbi by 1076 Islam moved into Senegal by 1030s

African kingdoms

There were major African Kingdoms before Islamic trade routes added to their influence

From 1000 – 1600, there were 4 long-lived empires of note:– Ghana– Mali– Songhai– Kanem-Bornu

All had hierarchical societies, successful economies, and an army

There were also some Christian states in the eastern Sudan– Maqurra– Alwa– Nubia

With increasing Muslim immigration and an elitist quality to their Christianity, these Christian areas slowly changed over to Islam

European Entry

When Europeans entered Africa, change was the result

It was the Portuguese who first came and set up small trading forts or settlements near the coast (fear of disease)

They traded for African food crops, gold, salt, hides, copper, and slaves

Later, other European groups arrived wanting slaves to work on their plantations in their New World colonies

The Senegambian states provided about 1/3 of all African slaves during the 16th century

After that, slaves were primarily taken from other areas to the south

On the east coast of Africa changes were coming to their culture and languages

A Swahili culture and language was taking hold

Swahili = Arabic with Bantu So we had Muslims settling in the east and

Europeans in the west and south

Settlement of South Africa

In the 17th century the Dutch East India Company set up a station at the Cape of Good Hope

1657 – Colonization was allowed A Dutch-speaking, slave-owning, agricultural

community developed They were called the Boers, Dutch for

peasant or farmer

Each Dutch planter felt entitled to 6,000 acres

As the Dutch moved in, the Africans were pushed out

Those Africans who weren’t enslaved by the Dutch moved into other territories

This resulted in CONFLICT with other African tribes, mainly the Zulus

The whites there believed in white dominance, and some racial mixing took place resulting in a “colored race” or mixed

Boers kept pushing out the Africans who moved in on the Zulus.

The Zulus pushed back in what has been called the “Mfecane” or crushing in the 19th century

Zulus were able to remain independent until the late 1870s

Another problem arose for the Dutch As a result of the Napoleonic Wars in

Europe, the Cape of Good Hope came under British control in 1806

This caused the Dutch frustration leading to conflict in the 1800s

The result was that the British remained in control and tried to assimilate the Dutch

The Union of South Africa was formed in 1910