Africa Flashcards
effects of africa geography
- a lot of unevenly distributed natural resources -> gold and salt trade and exploitation -> europe ignoring african cultural and political boundaries when drawing borders -> conflict and stability
- diverse, many cultures develop, each extremely different, even if the groups lived only a short distance apart
- the interior sits like a large plateau, makes getting into the interior very difficult and it creates rapids and rough water for many rivers
migration push-pull factors
environmental, economic, political
where were gold and salt found
gold - west africa
salt - sahara desert
griots
storytellers (oral historians in traditional African society)
stateless societies
group of people who don’t have defined national borders, nomadic, indigenous tribes
african religion
animism
what are the effects of the bantu migration
- cultural diffusion
- spread of swahili (a mix of arabic, persian and bantu)
- spread of farming and new technologies
why did people migrate in the bantu migration
they migrated for survival, and because of push and pull factors
how did the gold-salt trade happen
the domestication of camels aided the transport of gold and salt throughout deserts
why was the gold-salt trade important
it unlocked the wealth of gold in west africa
what was the impact of the gold-salt trade
it developed three western african empires; ghana, mali, and songhai
what did ghana control
trade routes
why did many people in ghana convert to islam
because the ruler converted. ghana eventually became islamic in the 15th century
what was the impact of trade in ghana?
- there was a lot of cultural diffusion which impacted their way of life
- ghana became very wealthy because it controlled important trade routes. it was a center for the trade of gold, salt, and other goods
where is mansa musa from
mali
why did mansa musa convert to islam
to strengthen Mali’s position in trade and politics.
effects of mansa musa’s hajj to mecca
- his journey was so grand and extravagant that it made mali famous and showed the world how wealthy and powerful mali was
- it was a boost to mali’s economy because it attracted traders from across the muslim world
- mansa musa built mosques turned timbuktu into a cultural center and a center of learning and knowledge and the spread of islam also had an effect on timbuktu’s culture
ibn battuta
muslim traveler and explorer who traveled throughout africa similarly to marco polo
what led to the decline of the mali empire
- mansa musa’s death
- invasion of songhai, rise of songhai empire
- songhai took control of mali’s trade routes
what led to the decline of the songhai empire
- impact of european arrival
- they had advanced weapons
- they lost important trade routes
