History Term 1 Unit 4: Trading across Africa and across the Indian Ocean and beyond Flashcards
What happened after 700 AD?
Muslim Arabs who followed the new religion of Islam began to settle at some of the coastal towns of eastern Africa.
They set up homes, married local African women, and had children.
What did many African people convert to?
Many Africans converted to Islam and began to practice the Muslim religion.
What happened to the language spoken on the coast?
The languages of the African and Arab got mixed together to form a new language called Swahili.
What does Swahili mean?
People who live along the coast.
What was the Swahili way of life?
The Swahili way of life was a mixture of African and Arab languages, culture and customs.
Who did the Swahili merchants trade with?
Mapungubwe farmers.
What did the Mapungubwe farmers bring to the Swahili merchants?
The Mapungubwe farmers brought ivory and gold to the market towns on the East coast form the inland settlement.
What did the Swahili traders want?
They wanted gold and ivory, rhinoceros horn and tortoise shells from the African farmers.
Who did the Swahili traders then trade with?
Hint: It was not the Mapungubwe farmers
Swahili traders then traded with Arab merchants who sailed from the East in ships called dhows.
What did Arab traders exchange?
They exchanged goods they brought from across the Indian Ocean like Glassware, Beads, Cloth and Carpets.
What did Mapungubwe become connected to?
Mapungubwe became connected to other parts of the world by trade. This is called globalisation.
Who walked from Mapungubwe to the coast and back again?
Large groups of men.
What did the Mapungubwe men traders know?
They knew the footpaths and routes.
What did they use to find their way?
They used the stars in the night sky.
What were the Mapungubwe men traders good at?
They were good trackers and knew how to keep away from wild animals.
