HIST103 Study Guide
Unit 3: Early Modern Africa and the Wider World
3a. Identify features of African societies such as the Mali and Songhai Empires
- Where were the Mali and Songhai Empires?
- What was the economic focus and political structure of each empire?
The Mali (c.1235-1670) and Songhai (1464-1591) Empires were economic powerhouses centered around Islam that brought wealth, power, and prestige to the region via trans-Saharan trade.
The Mali Empire spanned today's Mali, Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea, and sections of Burkina Faso and Niger. It traded in gold, ivory, and salt and was a seat of Islamic learning in Timbuktu and other cities. The Mansa ruled the empire as a semi-federal system with administrative and ceremonial power over a collection of city-states.
The Songhai Empire was located in today's Mali, Nigeria, and Niger. The Emperor's centralized authority and a bureaucracy of officials and ministers improved the region's agriculture, infrastructure, and trade networks. The Empire was famous for its strong army and navy. Its military and economic prowess made the Songhai Empire one of the most powerful of its time.
To review, see:
3b. Examine the effect the spread of Islam had on West Africa and East Africa
- How did Islam impact West and East Africa?
- How was the spread of Islam connected to trade and commerce?
- How did it impact learning and education?
- Why were mosques important to the spread and establishment of Islam in Africa?
Islamic merchants traded extensively with Africa and promoted the spread of Islam. Its converts benefitted from its lucrative trading system, Islamic architecture, art, and education. Centers of learning, such as Timbuktu, drew intellectuals from around the world. Its traditions create unique hybrid cultures with pre-Islamic Africa. For example, the Swahili language combines Arabic with the language of the indigenous Bantu people. Cities like Mombasa, Zanzibar, and Kilwa were shining examples of the impact of Islamic influence, which we can see in the architecture, culture, and social organization of the cities today.
Mosques were built throughout Africa with the spread of Islam. These worship centers served as important meeting places for conducting commerce and offering educational opportunities. They displayed the unique cultural characteristics of the communities where they were built. For example, the Great Mosque of Djenné in Mali is built from adobe bricks. Like mosques throughout Africa, it was an amalgam of Islamic and indigenous traditions and emblematic of the cultural blending key to the spread of Islam in Africa.
To review, see Swahili Mosques.
3c. Discuss the trans-Saharan slave trade in Africa with attention to its unique features
- What was the trans-Saharan slave trade in Africa?
- How was it regulated by Islamic slave traders?
- What was unique about this slave system? How did it end?
The Trans-Saharan slave trade (also called the Islamic Slave Trade) connected Africa and the Middle East via the Saharan Desert from the eighth to 19th centuries. Empires like Kanem-Bornu in central Africa benefited. There was equal demand for men and women, with Arab, Berber, and enslaved Africans from a variety of tribes and cultures. While the system was dehumanizing, enslaved people were not considered chattel or movable property, and racial categories did not define legal rights, such as during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade in the Americas. Enslaved people often remained with their families and could become free during their lifetimes. They were absorbed into society and afforded upward social mobility. Some even became politically active and powerful.
To review, see The Trans-Saharan Slave Trade and Before the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
Unit 3 Vocabulary
- Bantu people
- Berber
- chattel
- Great Mosque of Djenné
- Islam
- Islamic merchants
- Kanem-Bornu
- Kilwa
- Mali Empire
- Mansa
- Mombasa
- mosque
- Saharan Desert
- semi-federal system
- social mobility
- Songhai Empire
- Swahili
- Timbuktu
- Trans-Saharan slave trade
- Zanzibar