Ch.19 Africa

Question 1

Kingdom of Kongo characteristics

Answer 1

• Tightly centralized government
• Participated actively in trade networks in the Atlantic Ocean.
• Provided effective organization.

Government,

Question 2

Political organization

Chiefdoms

Answer 2

Powerful chiefs conquered neighboring villages and consolidates their lands into small kingdoms
* Bantu communities organized military forces due to the conflicts between villages, and it encouraged the development of formal structures of government.

Question 3

Trade

Gao

Answer 3

• Terminus of caravans across the Sahara that offered access to the Niger River valley, which was a flourishing market for copper, ironware, cotton, textiles, salt, grains, and cornelian beads.

Question 4

The Kingdom of Ghana

regional state, gold

Answer 4

• Principal state of west Africa at the time of the Muslims’ arrival
• Ghana became the most important commercial site in west Africa because it was the center for trade in gold
• Muslim merchants traveled to Ghana in search for gold
  Benefited from taxes levied on trade passing
• Raids from the desert weakened the kingdom and it soon collapsed. Political leadership in west Africa fell to the Mali empire.

Question 5

Koumbi-Saleh

Ghana kingdom’s capital

Answer 5

• Had buildings of stone and more than a dozen mosques

Question 6

Ghana Islam

Kings adopted Islam

Answer 6

• Their conversion led to improved relations with Muslim merchants and nomads. It also brought them recognition and support from muslim states in north Africa.
• The kings of Ghana didn’t forcibly impose Islam on their society nor did they accept Islam exclusively even for their own purposes.

Question 7

Sundiata

prince

Answer 7

• Built the Mali empire after his return from exile
• While away from home, he made alliances with local rulers

Question 8

The Mali Empire and trade

Answer 8

• Mali controlled and taxed almost all trade passing through west Africa

Question 9

What did Mansa Musa do?

Answer 9

• Built mosques
• Pilgrimage to Mecca
• Sent students to study with distinguished Islamic scholars in north Africa
• Established religious schools

Question 10

What led to Mali decline?

Answer 10

• Provinces seceded from the empire
• Factions crippled the central goverment

Question 11

Who were the Swahili?

“Coasters”

Answer 11

• They spoke Swahili, a Bantu language supplemented with words and ideas borrowed from Arabic
• Engaged in trade along the east African coast
• Obtained gold, slaves, ivory, and exotic local products, which they traded for pottery, glass, and textiles that Muslim merchants got from Persia, India, and China

Question 12

Swahili City-states

Answer 12

• Before, Africa had buildings made of wood and dried mud, Swahili peoples began to construct large buildings of coral and later, Swahili towns had stone mosques and public buildings.

Question 13

Kilwa

City state

Answer 13

• They were prosperous enough to have multistory stone buildings and mosques
• Used copper coins for economic transactions

Question 14

Zimbabwe

Answer 14

• Great Zimbabwe was a city of stone towns, palaces, and public rivers
• Kings residing at Great Zimbabwe controlled and taxed the trade between interior and coastal regions

Question 15

Islam in East Africa

Answer 15

• Ruling elites and wealthy merchants converted to Islam. Their conversion led to political alliances with Muslim rulers in other lands. Islam served as a source of legitimacy for their rule, since they gained recognition from Islamic states in southwest Asia
• African slavery was a prominent feature of Muslim society

Question 16

Men gender work roles

Answer 16

• Leather tanning
• Blacksmiths
• They passed knowledge of their craft down to their heirs
  *Both men and women participated in the planting and harvesting of crops

Question 17

Women gender work roles

Answer 17

• Pottery
• Domestic chores
• Both men and women participated in the planting and harvesting of crops

Question 18

Slaves

Answer 18

• Most slaves were captives of war. Others came from the ranks of debtors, suspected witches, and criminals.
• Most slaves worked as agricultural laborers, although many also worked as construction laborers, miners.

Question 19

Slaves and wealth

Answer 19

• Slaves were a from of personal wealth. The accumulation of slaves enabled individuals or families to icnrease their agricultural production and also enhance their positions in society.

Question 20

What did African religion emphasize?

Answer 20

• African religion didn’t concern itself with theology, but rather, with the practical business of explaining, predicting, and controlling the experiences of individuals and groups in the world.
• The morality and proper behavior as essential to the maintenance of an orderly world. Failure to observe high moral standards would displease deities, spirits, and ancestors and ensure that misfortune befell the negligent parties.

Question 21

Ethiopian Christianity characteristics

Answer 21

• Reflected the interests of African devotees
• Ethiopian Christians carried amulets for protection against evil spirits
• African ruling elites didn’t convert purely for mercenary reasons. They built mosques, founded religious schools, invited experts in Islamic law into their lands, and displayed enthusiasm for their adopted faith.

Question 22

Africa and Islam

Answer 22

• Women didn’t have to follow rigid rules. They talked to men freely and were publicly dressed in loincloths.
• Islam supplemented rather than replace the traditional religions of sub-Saharan Africa