Part I Becoming African

Chapter 1

Africa

I. A Huge and Diverse Land

Second largest continent in the world From North to South

– A succession of climatic zones– Desert, savannah, rain forest, mountain

ranges

II. Birthplace of Humanity

Fossil and genetic evidence– Out-of-Africa model

• Modern humans emerged 200,000 years ago • Migrated to the rest of the world 100,000 years

ago

– “Eve” model• All modern humans from a single African

woman

III. Ancient Civilizations

Egypt and the Nile River Valley Mesopotamia and Sumer

– Race debate• Martin Bernal

– Black Egyptians colonized ancient Greece– Became the progenitors of Western civilization

• Mary Lefkowitz– Modern racial categories irrelevant to ancient Egypt

• Egypt influenced Greek and Western civilization

Egyptian Civilization

Nile River– Annual flooding irrigates

• River banks and deposits new • Wheat, barely, goats, sheep, and cattle• Transportation and communications artery

Egyptian Society

Patrilineal/patriarchal– Male dominated

Hierarchical– Warriors, priests, merchants, artisans,

peasants– Comprehensive bureaucracy

Egyptian Society (cont.)

Women

– Owned property

– Managed household slaves

– Educated their children

– Held public office

– Served as priests

– Operated businesses

Egyptian Society (cont.)

Polytheistic religion– Re (Ra): the sun god– Osiris: god of the Nile

Immortality

– Personal and state combined in kings

• Elaborate funerary

Trade and Conquest Nubia

– Egyptian colony ~ copper and gold deposits Kush

– Nubian independent kingdom

Meroe – Africa’s first industrial center– Iron deposits and geographic location

Axum– First Christian state in sub-Saharan Africa

• Influenced by Hebrew culture

IV. West Africa Physically, ethnically, and culturally diverse

– Savannah and forest• Home to a variety of cultures and languages• Divided labor by gender• Lived in villages composed of extended families• Accorded semi-divine status to their kings• Cultivated crops• Tended domesticated animals• Produced iron tools and weapons

– Trade with North Africa• Essential part of the economy and kingdoms

Ghana First known kingdom in the western Sudan

– Founded between fourth and eight centuries CE– Warfare and iron weapons created an empire

Commerce– Camel caravans– Imported silk, cotton, glass beads, horses, mirrors,

dates, and salt– Exported pepper, slaves, and gold mined in another

region and taxed passing through– Commerce and religion destroyed Ghana in the

12th century

Empire of Mali, 1230-1468

Battle of Kirina– Sundiata

• Reigned 1210-1260 • Led the Mandinka to victory over the Sosso in 1235

Larger than Ghana – Greater rainfall– More crops – Control of Wangara gold mines– Population reached eight million

Empire of Mali (cont.) Commerce, bureaucracy and scholarship

– Most merchants and rulers • Moslems by 1210s • Converted to gain stature among Arab states

Timbuktu

– Major trading hub• Gold, slaves, and salt

– Center of Islamic learning ~13th century– 150 Islamic schools– Cosmopolitan community

• Religious and ethnic toleration common

Empire of Mali (cont.)

Mansa Musa – Reigned 1312-1337– Pilgrimage across Africa to Mecca in

Arabia– Empire declined with Musa’s death

Empire of Songhai, 1461-1591 The last and largest of the Sudanese

empires– Sunni Ali

• Reigned 1464-1492• Conquered people paid tribute• Generally ran their own affairs

Empire of Songhai (cont.)

--Askia Muhammad Toure • Reigned 1492-1528• Devout Moslem• Expanded empire

– Centralized administration of the empire– Substituted taxation for tribute– Established bureaucratic trade regulation

– Used his power to spread Islam within the empire

Empire of Songhai (cont.)

Askia Daud – Reigned 1549-1582– Songhai failed to adapt to changing political

atmosphere• Portuguese established trading centers along the Guinea

coast• Arab rulers of North Africa threatened with loss of trade• King of Morocco sent mercenaries to Songhai in 1591• Defeated the Songhai army and empire fell apart• When Moroccans left the region • West Africa without a government powerful enough to stop

the Portuguese

West African Forest Region

Cultural diversification– Patchwork of diverse ethnic groups

• Variety of languages and traditions

– Small powerful kingdoms• Benin City

– Little influenced by Islam or Christianity – Trading center

» Gold, peppers, ivory, and slaves» By 17th century dependent on slave trade

V. Kongo and Angola

Kongo-Angola region– Trade with the interior of the continent– Late 15th century rulers more welcoming of

Portuguese• Nzinga Mbemba tried to convert kingdom to

Christianity • Unrest, Portuguese greed, and slave trade

destroy the kingdom

VI. West African Society and Culture

Most were farmers– Villages and hamlets

• Extended families and clans– Some patrilineal, others matrilineal

• Produced cotton for clothes• Variety of crops

– Millet, rice, sorghum, peas, okra, watermelons– Yams replaced grains in the forest regions

Women

Served as government officials in ancient Ghana– Enslaved women in the royal court of

Dahomey also held official posts– Increased sexual freedoms– West African women could have male

friends apart from relatives

Women (cont.)

– Sande: a secret society for women • Taught sex education to girls • Initiated into adulthood

– (Poro: male secret society) • Both societies established standards of

– Male and female conduct» Emphasized female virtue and male

honor

Class and Slavery

Royalty– Landed nobles, warriors, peasants and

bureaucrats

Lower classes• Artisans and laborers: blacksmiths, butchers, tanners,

and oral historians called griots

Slavery– Common in West Africa

• More so in the savannah region than in forest areas

– Variety of forms• Not necessarily a permanent condition

Class and Slavery (cont.)

– Islamic regions• Masters responsible for slaves’ religious well-being

– Non-Islamic regions’ children of slaves • Legal rights

– Not to be sold from the land they occupied

– Slaves in royal courts or in the armies • Owned property and often held power over free people

– Agricultural slaves • Less fortunate

– Work and privilege for second and third generation offspring similar to free people

Religion

15th century West Africa– Islam

• Introduced by Arab traders– More prevalent in cosmopolitan areas– The religion of merchants and bureaucrats – Fostered learning and building mosques in

West African cities

Religion (cont.)

– Indigenous religions• Strongest in forest areas

– Polytheistic and animistic

– One creator God and a host of lesser gods – Saw the force of God in all things

» Ancestor worship, magicians, and oracles

» Ceremonies and animal sacrifices

Art and Music

Related to religious practices Excelled in woodcarving and sculpture

– Wooden masks and terra-cotta figurines• Used in funerals, medical practices, and in

coming-of-age ceremonies

Musical instruments– Drums, xylophones, bells, flutes, and

mbanzas

Literature

Oral histories, poetry, and tales– Specially trained poets and musicians

• Served kings and nobles

– Views of common people also represented• Prose tales

– Human characters

» Tales about creation, success, romance

• Animal characters– “Trickster tales”

– Entertained and taught lessons

VII. Conclusion

The history of African Americans begins in West Africa. Family organization, work habits, language, religious beliefs, legends, and more came to America and influenced the way African Americans and others lived in their new land.