CH. 15TROPICAL AFRICA AND ASIA

Tropical Lands and Peoples

Afro-Asian tropics have cycle of rainy & dry seasons = caused by winds

Africa: west coast rainfall, except in Dec/JanIndian Ocean Monsoons: Dec-March is

southern Asia’s dry season; April-Aug is wet season

Environmental variations from wind, rain, altitude

Rivers redistribute rainfall

Human Ecosystems

• Adaptation essential• Hunting (C.

Africa/Himalyas), fishing (E. Africa/SE Asia), pastoralism (NE Africa/Arabia)

• Farming dominant way of life b/t 1200-1500

• Bananas, yams, coffee to the tropics

• Extensive vs. intensive agriculture: ext = soil exhaustion moved farmers; slash and burn

Water Systems & Irrigation• Uneven distribution of rainfall • Farmers moved water to

crops via conservation• Terraced hillsides; water

storage & irrigation• Largest irrigation systems

were gov’t public works• Crops grown throughout

year• Delhi, Ceylon, Angkor • Disruption when gov’ts faltered• Village-based vs. gov’t systems• Iron most abundant; copper/gold in

Africa;

Ibn Battuta

• Moroccan Muslim scholar (1304-1369)

• Visited Islamic lands: Dar al Islam from China to Spain and Western Sudan

• Traveled 73,000 miles; Islam provided safe passage

• Details of the cosmopolitan nature of 14th century Islam

NEW ISLAMIC EMPIRES

Mali and the Delhi Sultanate

Mali

• Islam not forced into western AfricaIslam in Sub-Saharan Africa thru gradual

& peaceful conversion; commercial contacts

Sundiata established Mali empire 1230sBased on agriculture and trans-Sahara

trade, fostered by IslamGold & Copper trade controlled; prosperity

and power for rulers

Mansa Kankan Musa

• Ruled from 1312-1337• Pilgrimage to Mecca showed Mali’s wealth• Traveled with huge entourage:

Wife and “other ladies” and slaves 60,000 porters and tons of gold

So much gold to Cairo that it depressed its value there for years

The Delhi Sultanate of India

Compare Islam in India vs. Islam in West Africa… Turkish dynasty from Central Asia captured

Lahore and Delhi Hindu gods/temples replaced w/ Muslim

mosques1206-1236: northern India controlled by Muslim

invaders; looting, enslavement, destruction of Hindus

Brutal conquest turned into benign rulershipHindus protected if paid a tax

The Sultans of Delhi

ڻ Iltutmish: 1211-1236; recognized by caliph of Baghdad; consolidated northern India

ڻ Raziya: Iltut’s daughter; 1236-1240; killed for being a woman, though more able than anyone to rule

ڻ Ala-ud-din Khalji: 1296-1316; frontier raids & high taxes; seized Gujarat, extended to south India

ڻ ibn Tughluq: 1325-1351 expansion; religious toleration to win loyalty of Hindus;

ڻ Firuz Shah: 1351-1388; taxed Brahmins and alienated Hindus

Sultanate ruled thru terror & high taxes; conflicts b/t Muslims & with Hindus led to its downfall

INDIAN OCEAN TRADE

Africa

The Swahili Coast• Sawahil al-sudan; East

African portion of Indian Ocean trade network

• Mogadishu-Kilwa• Commercial expansion w/

arrival of Arab & Iranian merchants

• Gold in Kilwa passed thru Great Zimbabwe

Great Zimbabwe• 1250-1450 peak• Mixed farming & cattle

herding• Gold trade brought great

wealth = had to pass thru GZ to get to Swahili coast and beyond

• Depletion of nearby forests & overgrazing led to decline

Arabia: Aden and the Red Sea

• Location ideal for monsoons and trade w/ India, Persian Gulf, East Africa, Egypt

• Merchants very wealthy• Generally good relations

among diff’t religions and cultures

• Commercial interests above all else

Goods from… India: cotton cloth, beadsSoutheast Asia: spicesArabia/Ethiopia: horses,

slaves, gold,ivoryRed Sea: pearlsCairo: luxury

manufacturesHinterland: grain, opium,

dyes

IndiaGujarat: Cambay• Increased trade after land

trade disrupted• Export of cotton

textiles/indigo; gold/silver in return

• Spread Islam to Malacca• Manufacturing: large

markets in Eur, Africa, ME

Malabar Coast: Calicut• Rulers tolerant; location

key to trade prosperity• Clearing-houses in long

distance trade; locally grown grains and spices

Southeast Asia: the Rise of Malacca

Geography: eastern end of Indian Ocean & main passage to South China Sea

• Commercial Choke Point!!! Meeting point for traders

Political: Malacca became important thru alliances• Subject to Siam (Thailand) and China• Conversion from H to I promoted trade w/

Muslim merchants• Emporium for SE Asian trade• Cosmopolitan residents; 1500 peak

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CHANGE

TIMBUKTU

Architecture, Learning, & Religion

• Islam the major force for change in tropics; most change noticed in urban areas

• Islam blended w/ local styles and resources for mosques• Mosques, churches, temples centers of education; Sub-

Saharan Africa: Islam & literacy together• Timbuktu and Malacca: 1500s major centers of Islamic

learning• Spread of Islam thru example & persuasion; Long-

distance trade/markets• Marriage: merchants were single men who married local

women, thus conversions increased• Rural conversions: some saw forced inequalities of

Hinduism as hopeless; variations in diff’t areas

Social and Gender Distinctions

SlaverySlavery

India: product of wars of expansion (Hindus)

Africa: wars of expansion & export of slaves

Most slaves trained in skilled trades & military

Slaves as servants for wealthy

WomenWomen

Hindu Sati optional• Status based on male

master- dad, husband, owner

• Not active in commerce, admin, religion

• Food preparation key; brewing for rituals

• Much of farm work; pottery; spinning; selling work in local markets