Africa powerpoint

AFRICAchapter 6

pages 167-173

Topography:• Much of Africa is a large plateau, but its mountains,

deserts, grassy flatlands, and jungles give it beauty

Geography:•Africa is the second largest continent•Covers nearly 1/5 of the earth’s land surface•Nearly 4 times the size of the US

History:•The Egyptians established the earliest recorded civilization in Africa•Carthage built a thriving civilization in North Africa•After the collapse of Rome, Muslims brought the region under Islamic domination

A. Ancient African Civilization

1. Earliest kingdom in northeastern Africa was Kush

a. The capital of Kush was Meroë

b. Kush grew in power and by 700 B.C. had overthrown

Egyptian rule and conquered all of Egypt and established its

own dynasty of pharaohs

c. Assyrians drove out the Kushites about 660 B.C., but

the Kushite kingdom continued for almost 1000 years longer

2. Aksum eventually conquered Kush in 330 A.D.

a. Aksum embraced Christianity

b. The kingdom’s conversion to Christianity was the

work of Frumentius who was a Syrian Christian

3. Askum became the center of the modern state of Ethiopia.

B. Central and Western Africa

1. Knowledge of the civilizations in central and western Africa is a bit vague

because histories were passed down orally instead of being written down

a. Oral tradition, archaeology, and some accounts written by non-Africans

give some picture of these cultures

2. Kingdon of Kanem-Bornu thrived on the shores of Lake Chad

a. It had profit from the camel caravan

trade and it built a strong military force

b. Kanem-Bornu lasted 1,000

years because of the trade and military

3. There were 3 important kingdoms of western Africa: Ghana, Mali, and Songhai

(each was larger than the previous)

a. All 3 built prosperous societies whose wealth derived from the gold

mines within their empires and the camel trade of gold, silver, and precious

items

b. The Niger River provided a base for these empires because its

waters drew travelers crossing the Sahara

4. Kingdom of Ghana was 1st in prominence-Its peak was from 700-1200 A.D.

a. Muslims attacked in the 11th century and weakened Ghana but were

unable to conquer the region

b. The kingdom of Mali rose in Ghana’s place, dominating from 1200-

1500

5. Most famous ruler was Mansa Musa

a. Musa was Muslim and in his pilgrimage to Mecca was great

b. He took, in his traveling group, 60,000+ men and 10,000lbs+ gold

c. Mansa’s capital, Timbuktu became the most important trade center

d. People also paid a price for Musa’s leadership-the king was

supposed to be superior to commoners and he was but he often spoke

to his court behind a curtain and no one could watch him eat

e. This emphasis on perfection meant that if he fell ill or became infirm

with age, he was expected to commit suicide or be smothered

6. In the 15th century, Songhai Empire overthrew Mali Empire

7. An invasion by the Moroccans in 1591 brought an end to Songhai and an

end to the western African empires

C. East African City-States

1. Each independent city-state had its own trading port

2. The ports continued to flourish as outlets for gold, iron, ivory, and animal

skins to Arabs and Persians

3. Kilwa was a prosperous city-state that received goods from the tribes and

kingdoms in the interior and sold them to Arab sea traders

4. The city-states grew wealthy and cultured because of their seaside locations

5. City-states shared a common culture-a mixture of Arab, Persian, and African

a. Architecture was Arab and language of city-states was Swahili with

elements of Arabic, Persian, and Indian

6. City-states enjoyed centuries of prosperity but after 1500, they were

crushed by the Europeans

D. Forest Kingdoms1. The kingdoms provided the goods for the eastern city-states to sell

2. The best known kingdoms are those with which the Europeans came into

contact with after the Middle Ages

3. Kingdom of Benin was important

a. It appeared around 1300 and lasted until the 19th century

b. Benin was more than a trade center-it produced fine statues and

relief sculptures in bronze and had great artistic accomplishments in

metalworking

E. African Culture

b. Several families could trace their decent back to a common ancestor

and they formed a clan from this knowledge (2 or more clans formed a tribe)

c. The tribe may have been the most important cultural organization

d. Many African kingdoms were dominated by one ethnic group

1. Daily life was focused on smaller social

organizations

2. Family was the most basic

a. Polygamy was common so

families were larger and more complex

than European ones

3. Religious beliefs in Africa were diverse

a. African churches declined into superstition and formalism

b. Islam had a great number of followers

c. The majority of the people kept to traditional tribal religions

d. The tribal religions taught that there was a high god who created the

universe and there were lesser gods and ancestor’s spirits below

e. People offered sacrifices to these gods to fend off illnesses and

increase crop yields (sometimes, even humans were sacrificed

4. Most Africans relied on farming or herding to provide for their families, but

trade was the basis of the kingdoms

5. Slave trade became big because the demand increased much after the

Middle Ages

a. The main point of contact for African-European relations after 1500

was slave trade

b. This traffic of human lives led to suffering and exploitation for the

Africans

6. Kingdoms displayed a level of complexity and organization that compared well

with the civilizations in Europe and Asia

7. Most Africans remained in spiritual darkness, like the Asians

Game: Are you smarter than a 5th grader•Teams would be dividing the room in half

Crossword Puzzle: homeworkFood: pass out while someone’s reading notes-each person can pass out their own food