Africa Flashcards
Ghana
Administration
King controls military, creates and judges laws. Tribal chiefs help enforce and collect taxes
Ghana
Pre-Islamic Culture
Pantheism, one creator and god and many lesser gods for nature. They believe in magic and talismans and ancestor veneration. Shamans and kings act as intermediaries with gods. Women can run businesses and can be warriors.
What caused Mali’s rise to power
became a trade counter for gold and ivory, making the government rich and prosperous
Trans-saharan innovations
Camels
Saddle helped to distribute the weight on a camel for carrying loads of trade. They didn’t need water for multiple days and could travel long distances, making them ideal for transportation
Trans-Saharan Innovations
Caravans
Safety against raids. Groups of people and camels that make their way through the Sahara afro trade
Caravanerai
Unable to survive the sahara without these. Stopping places for people and merchants.
Goods on Trans-Saharan Trade and Timbuktu
Salt and luxury goods in the north and gold, ivory and slaves in the west. Integrated these items into the saharan trade network in Timbuktu
Spread of Islam to West Africa
camels were brought into the region through Arabia which resulted in the trans-Saharan trade growing, which caused the diffusion of Islam.
Syncretic islam
The belief of one god, but also magic and spirits. Mix of hinduism and islam, syncretic means things influenced by two ore more styles or traditions.
Ibn Battuta
Documented the different ways people practiced religion
Mansa Musa promotes Islam
On his trip in a caravan, he became more devout to Islam and started practicing it for the religion instead of the trade benefits.
Ethiopia Religion and Rise to power
Christianity. They were unique because they resisted Islam. Axum had lots of agriculture and ocean fishing as well as knowledge of the monsoon winds to bring Arab traders.
Swahili City-states
Spread of Islam and rise to power
Merchants along the east Coast embraced Islam to increase trade.
They had many camels and their manufacture of clothes had no rivals. They became Islam to embrace trade more with Muslim merchants.
Zimbabwe’s rise to power
controls trade between coast and interior. Made money in organizing trade and alliances with local leaders. Stone buildings, mosques, palaces, and a lot of people. Ran out of gold and started to decline.
Diffusion of crops; bananas and coffee
Popular food in Ethiopia, but you weren’t able to only eat bananas when there were serious droughts in zimbabwe.
Crop exportation of Muslim coffee changed the Islamic culture to grow more coffee crops.
