Africa

Geography• Savanna– grasslands, a desert-like area with lots of small plants

• Desert– Little to no rainfall all year, few plants

• Rain Forest– Central Africa, lots of rain, lots of trees

• Delta– Triangular shaped landform at the mouth of a river, great

for farming• Sahel– Region of savanna on the Southern border of the Sahara

EMPIRES

The Beginnings of Ghana

• 400s - a group of primarily nomadic people named the Berbers formed a kingdom just south of the Sahara desert; they called their kingdom Ghana.

• Used camels to carry goods across the Sahara• In between salt and gold trade routes

Empire of Ghana

• Controlled by the Soninke, a group of people living in the region.

• Kumbi Saleh, capital– right on the edge of the Sahara and the city

quickly became the most important southern trade center of the Saharan trade routes

• Ruled by a king called the ghana.• The king was the supreme judge of the

kingdom

Empire of Ghana• Gradually, Ghana grew very rich, due in large part

to the trans- Saharan trade.• The ghana required traders to give him a

percentage of the products they were trading. – If a trader was trading in gold, he was required to pay

the ghana part of his gold. – The ghana also placed a tax on the local goldmines.

• As Ghana grew richer, the kingdom expanded into an empire, requiring neighboring groups of people to pay tribute. This increased Ghana’s wealth and power even more.

Kumbi Saleh

• Most of the houses were built of wood and clay, but wealthy and important residents lived in homes of wood and stone.

• It was inhabited almost entirely by Arab and Berber merchants, and contained more than a dozen mosques.

• Parts of the city– Palace– Sacred grove for religious ceremonies– Center of trade

End of Ghana

• 1062 – came under attack by the Berbers– Berbers (Almoravids) wanted to gain control of

the Saharan trade routes

• 1076 – Almoravids won and converted many to Islam

Mali

• Mali, located in the Sahel, became powerful by controlling the rich trans-Saharan trade routes between northern and western Africa– Gold trade

• Agricultural rich area along the Niger River• Gold was transported up the Niger, allowing

Mali to control the trade and grow their empire

Mali’s First King

• Sundiata ruled from 1230-1255– Means “Hungering Lion”

• the empire of Mali extended over 1,000 miles from east to west and Mali took control of the gold and salt trade

• Introduced cultivation and weaving of cotton to the area

Golden Age

• Rulers were called Mansa (emperor or master)• Mansa Musa ruled from 1312-1337– Grandson of Sundiata’s half brother

• Ruled at a great time of prosperity and trade tripled

• Doubled the land area of Mali and it became bigger than any kingdom in Europe

Life under Mansa Musa

• Became an important trading center for all of West Africa

• Mali also was home to famous centers of wealth, culture, and learning

• Timbuktu– Major cultural center of Africa and the world– Vast libraries and Islamic universities were built– These became meeting places of the finest poets,

scholars, and artists of Africa and the Middle East

Mansa Musa

• Muslim• Made a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324– 60,000 people accompanied him, along with 200

camels laden with gold, food, clothing, and other goods

• As a result of Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage the world learned about the wealth of Mali

End of Mali

• Mansa Musa’s sons could not hold the empire together

• In 1430 the Berbers in the north took a lot of Mali’s territory including Timbuktu

Songhai

• Wealth can be traced back to skilled canoeists living along the Niger, south east of Gao

• 9th Century they became known as Songhai (Songhay)

• During the 14th century Songhai fell within the orbit of the Empire of Mali, but the rulers of Mali never managed to collect taxes from the people of Gao.

Rise to Power

• 15th Century – as Mali was falling Songhai was rising to power under Sonni Ali the Great– Great military leader– Expanded the territory from the Niger valley, west

to Senegal and east to Agades– Captured Timbuktu– Did not respect Islam and later Arab chroniclers

portrayed him in a bad light as a result

Height of Power

• Mohammaed Ture seized power in 1493– One of Sonni Ali’s Generals– Devout Muslim– Continued to expand Songhai– Lead jihads against Mossi, who refused to convert

even after being defeated

Fall of Songhai

• Late 16th century Songhai was involved in a civil war as well as dealing with diseases and drought

• 1591 – the Moroccan army invaded and defeated Songhai

CULTURE

The Griot

• Griot- An African storyteller

Oral History

• Most African groups did not write down their histories.

• Instead, story-tellers called griots would memorize the stories and tell them back to people.

• It’s not as accurate as written history but was still very good.

PROVERBS

Proverbs

• Proverbs are simple phrases meant to teach a lesson or idea.

• They are easy to remember.• It was a way to remember things without

writing them down.

Common English Proverbs

• “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.” -English

• “The pot calls the kettle black.” -English

Corresponding African Proverbs

• “He is a fool whose sheep runs away twice.” - African

• “The dead say to each other ‘Dead one!’” –African

Folk Tales

• A folk tale is a short story that usually involves animals.

• It is designed to teach a lesson.• Because Africa did not write most things, folk

tales were very important.• The Tortoise and the Hare – English• The Tortoise and the Antelope - African

• How are these stories the same?• How are they different?• What does the African story tell us about

working together?