History

D#3: Core Assessment: Global Economy (Eastern Hemisphere) THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD

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Africa has been characterized as the Dark Continent, that it is, it is accused of being on the periphery of the ancient and medieval worlds’ economies.

Using the Geography Power Point  Download Geography Power Point and the Power Points on  4b Medieval West Africa ( Download Medieval West Africa (Trans-Saharan Trade, Empires of Ghana, Mali, & Songhai, Mansa Kankan Musa, and Introduction of Islam), And4c East and Southern Africa Download 4c East and Southern Africa, Discuss and PROVE that Africa was Central to Global Trade in the Eastern Hemisphere during the MEDIEVAL PERIOD which is AD300 through AD 1325.

TIMELINE: from AD 300 through AD 1400

THESIS STATEMENT:  Africa was central to Global Trade during the Medieval Period AD 300-1400.

PROOF:  Must include Date, Location, Activity, Global Trade includes Ideas and Products transmitted to Africa from the Eastern Hemisphere AND Ideas and Products transmitted From Africa to the Eastern Hemisphere showing HOW Africa was Central to Global Trade in the Eastern Hemisphere during the Medieval Period.

1 TRADE POINT #1:  AD 300 Trade from the West African Interior to the North African Coast (Kingdoms/Empires Ghana, Mali, Songhai) HOW does Ghana CONTROL the Trans-Saharan Trade  

2 IDEAS/CULTURE POINTS #1-#4:  INTRODUCTION OF ISLAM (Religion created in AD 622):  HOW, WHEN & WHY? to Axum, HOW, WHEN, AND WHY? to North Africa, HOW, WHEN, AND WHY? to the West African Interior, and HOW, WHEN, AND WHY? to the East African Trading City States (WHAT is a TRADE DIASPORA?);  WHO is MANSA KANKAN MUSA c. 1324-1325?  What did he do?

3. IDEAS/CULTURE POINT #5:  Use of the Arabic Alphabet (based on the 22-consonant Phoenician Alphabet) in West and North Africa.
4. IDEAS/CULTURE POINT #6: HOW, WHEN, WHY?  Creation of a NEW Language:  Ki-Swahili  in East Africa
5. TRADE POINT #2:  Trade from the interior to the Southern African Coast (Kingdom/Empire Zimbabwe) c. AD 1000 Gold trade through Sofola

The Assessment Power Point Download Assessment Power Pointtells the story. (If you cannot open the Link, Go to Module #1, DOCUMENTS, Last item Before Links/Videos. )

Due by midnight February 13, 2023

 

 

Example Below

1 TRADE POINT #1:  AD 300 Trade from the West African Interior to the North African Coast (Kingdoms/Empires Ghana, Mali, Songhai) HOW does Ghana CONTROL the Trans-Saharan Trade  

– As of AD 300, Ghana featured Soninke-speakers and established their empire at the headwaters of the Senegal and Niger Rivers. Ghana controlled trade in their region by taxing travelers heading north via gold, and those heading south were taxed via salt. Berber-speaking traders imported salt to the empire of Ghana and took gold back up north to the Mediterranean region. This was all done via the Camel Caravan Trade. This country was also the owner of all slaves through old-world slavery. This type of slavery meant that if a person was captured during war or conflict, that person became a slave.

– Mali was founded by Sunidata Keita, a Maninka-speaker and non-Muslim, in AD 1235. This empire was a successor state to Ghana and controlled the population similarly through marriage or hostage diplomacy. Where Ghana did not control the salt and gold fields of Boure and Banbuk, Mali did. Ghana was only in control of the trade routes to and from the fields. Traders, urbanites, royals, and some rural farmers converted to Islam as it grew in West Africa. Mali eventually fell due to internal revolts over who was the successor to the kingship.

– A successor state to Mali and Ghana, the Songhai empire lasted from AD 1400-1591. Following the same population control as Ghana and Mali, Songhai was the largest of the three kingdoms, with its capital at Gao (AD 800), with the central trade city being Timbuktu. Sunni Ali Ber, a Songhai-speaker, was caught in hostage diplomacy and used his knowledge of the falling Mali Empire to usher in the Songhai Empire. Askia Mohammed Toure I, a Muslim Soninke-speaker, then overthrow him. His sons later governed, with the last being Askia Ishaq I. All Askia (Emperors) declared that all rural people must become Muslim during this time. In 1592, Sognhai found itself in a civil war which prompted Morocco to send its army into the fray to control the gold fields of West Africa. Sultan Ahmad I al-Mansur failed in his conquest and returned to Morocco in 1661 after realizing the impossibility of controlling the areas and the supporting logistics necessary. From 1591 to 1901, many Askias attempted to continue the traditions of the old empire, but they had to be re-established. In 1901, French colonial forces conquered the state and were placed under colonial rule.

 

2 IDEAS/CULTURE POINTS #1-#4:  INTRODUCTION OF ISLAM (Religion created in AD 622):  HOW, WHEN & WHY? to Axum, HOW, WHEN, AND WHY? to North Africa, HOW, WHEN, AND WHY? to the West African Interior, and HOW, WHEN, AND WHY? to the East African Trading City States (WHAT is a TRADE DIASPORA?);  WHO is MANSA KANKAN MUSA c. 1324-1325? What did he do?

– In Circa AD 622, Mohammed sends a colony of his people on a journey across the Red Sea into Axum to protect his New One God Religion (God of Abraham). This spread of Islam is done via migration. Around ad 647, Arabs began a conquest against the Berbers, which finished in the eighth century (c. AD 750). Though conquest is a form of spreading religion and culture, the Berbers were not converted. They were, however, taxed for not being Muslim. Ergo, Islam gained new supporters and followers as many wanted to avoid paying the tax. However, the Arab’s main focus was converting Berber children to Islam. Converted Berber traders and non-converted Berber traders (who were accompanied by Muslim Clerics) continued the spread of Islam to West Africa via trade from c. AD 750 to c. 1200. About the East African Trading City-States, Islam was brought by Arab settlers who married into ruling families. Lastly, the Trade diaspora is where traders maintained two families. Traders had a family at their place of origin and another in the trading states, which they married into.

– Mansa Kankan Musa was a Muslim who performed a pilgrimage from AD 1324 to 1325 from Timbuktu to Mecca. He was the ninth Mansa, or King, of the Mali Empire. His expedition featured a caravan of 80-100 camels whose cargo mainly consisted of gold. Roughly 500 slaves accompanied Mansa Musa on his journey, and they each carried a gold staff weighing about 4 pounds. The supporting team of Mansa Musa’s travels equaled over 1000 people; for every top made, gold was given to the people. His action depreciated the value of gold in the Mediterranean Basin for ten years. During his travels, Europeans grew interested in his actions as gold was their currency, and Mansa Musa indirectly showed that Mali had abundant minerals. Upon his arrival home, he brought back Arab and Muslim clerics to teach Black Africans to become Muslim clerics themselves at what is known as Sankore University in Timbuktu.

 

3. IDEAS/CULTURE POINT #5: Use the Arabic Alphabet (based on the 22-consonant Phoenician Alphabet) in West and North Africa.

– The Arabic Alphabet was created in AD 350 as a spin of the Phoenician Alphabet of 1000 BC. Ghana grew a considerable interest in this writing system as Berber traders brought it to West Africa in the eighth century along with Muslim Clerics. The empire then hired clerics to keep records for them. Arab Clerics themselves could not live in Kumbi Saleh, the capital of Ghana, because a non-Muslim could not rule them. Therefore, they created a Muslim version of Kumbi Saleh. The king of the Ghana empire was not Muslim, but many of the population converted to Islam to be part of international trade dealings. In addition to being part of trade wealth, many converted for increased literacy.

 

4. IDEAS/CULTURE POINT #6: HOW, WHEN, WHY? Creation of a NEW Language:  Ki-Swahili  in East Africa

– Ki-Swahili is a blend of Arabic and African languages, meaning People of the Coast. As traders from the east came to East Africa, they were essentially forced to stay in the city-states until the winds blew away from Africa beginning in April. Therefore, languages and cultures collided, paving the way for the Ki-Swahili language. Arab settlers who married into ruling families of the east also contributed to the creation of the new language. These ruling families converted to Islam to take advantage of the growing international trade. In Kilwa, Arabic and Ki-Swahili speakers dominated the region with wealthy merchants by acting as advisors.

 

5. TRADE POINT #2: Trade from the interior to the Southern African Coast (Kingdom/Empire Zimbabwe) c. AD 1000 Gold trade through Sofola

– The Zimbabwe Empire lasted from 11th -14^th centuries AD. Founded by Shona speakers, the term “Zimbabwe” means stone enclosure. Kilwa and Zimbabwe conducted trade with one another through the state of Sofola. Though Zimbabwe’s economy featured cattle keeping, agriculture, woven imported cloth, and iron, the most sought-after business was gold mining and gold smithing for jewelry. Gold items dealt in trades were found in the Indian Ocean Basin trade. Kilwa became the most important of the 40 East African City-States because of the gold trade business conducted with Great Zimbabwe.

Edited by James Buco on Feb 11 at 1:31pm