African History: Empires, Trade Routes, and Cultural Shifts
Key Concepts in African History
- Almoravids & Songhai: Successive empires in West Africa.
- Ahmadu Bamba & Muridism: The founder of the Murid Sufi brotherhood.
- Berbers: Indigenous peoples of North Africa, masters of the desert.
- Swahili Coast: A center of the Indian Ocean trade network.
- Great Zimbabwe: A powerful medieval Southern African civilization.
- Sundiata & Balla Fasséké: The founder of the Mali Empire and his griot.
- Mansa Musa & Mali: The renowned emperor of the Mali Empire.
Islam’s Influence and Adaptation in Africa
The Africanization of Islam
The Africanization of Islam refers to the way the religion has been appropriated and adapted by Africans. David Robinson states that there is nothing pejorative about this concept. It provided an existential advantage by integrating customary traditions with the tenets of Islam.
Amulets and Spirits
Muslim clerics became powerful figures in both religious and political spheres through various practices:
- They created amulets to provide protection from war, bad luck, evil spirits, and accidents for both Muslims and non-Muslims. These amulets spread widely beyond Muslim communities.
- Clerics also treated, and continue to treat, people for illnesses, including mental illness and possession by evil spirits, and acted as fortune-tellers.
Islamic Architecture
The influence of Islamic architecture is visible across the continent, with notable examples including:
- Historic mosques in Mali.
- The National Mosque in Abuja, Nigeria.
The Five Pillars of Islam
- Shahadah (Declaration of Faith): To declare there is no god but God, and Muhammad is God’s Messenger.
- Salat (Prayer): To pray five times a day.
- Zakat (Charity): To give 2.5% of one’s savings to the poor and needy.
- Sawm (Fasting): To fast during the month of Ramadan.
- Hajj (Pilgrimage): To make the pilgrimage to Mecca, if able.
Notable Historical Figures
Ibn Battuta: The Great Traveler
Ibn Battuta was a Moroccan explorer of Berber descent. Over a period of thirty years, he visited most of the known Islamic world as well as many non-Muslim lands. His journeys included trips to North Africa, the Horn of Africa, West Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and China. Ibn Battuta is considered to be among the greatest travelers of all time.
Ahmadu Bamba: Founder of the Muridiyya
Aḥmadu Bàmba Mbacké was born in the village of Mbacké in the Kingdom of Baol. He was the son of a marabout from the Qadiriyya brotherhood, the oldest in Senegal, and a disciple of Sheikh Saad Buh. He is known for:
- Founding the Mouride brotherhood in 1883 and the city of Touba.
- Promoting the peaceful spread of Islam in Senegal during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
- Inventing Café Touba.
Sundiata Keita: Founder of the Mali Empire
Sundiata Keita was the son of Naré Maghann Konaté and Sogolon Condé, the “buffalo woman,” so-called because of her hunchback and perceived ugliness. Crippled from childhood, Sundiata and his mother were subjects of ridicule. Determined to walk, he miraculously stood up one day. To escape persecution, his mother took him and his sisters into exile, eventually finding asylum in Mema, where the king admired Sundiata for his courage and tenacity.
Mansa Musa: The Golden King of Mali
Mansa Musa, Mali’s most famous ruler, captured the attention of the Arab world during his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324. A devout Muslim, unlike his grandfather Sundiata, his lavish spending had a significant impact.
- He ruled for 25 years.
- During his stop in the Egyptian city of Cairo, legends say he gave away so much gold that its price fell, affecting the economy for more than a decade.
- He introduced the Mali Empire to the Islamic world, spreading its fame far and wide.
- He sponsored scholars who, upon returning from Morocco, built schools in Mali.
- His son, Maghan, was a weak leader who took over after his death.
African Independent Churches (AICs)
African Independent Churches (also known as African Indigenous, Initiated, or Instituted Churches) represent over 10,000 independent Christian denominations in Africa. Found across the continent but most documented in West and Southern Africa, these churches emphasize their establishment and leadership by Africans. A key feature of all AICs is their focus on the biblical warrant to include African cultural norms in their worship, theology, and practice, though to varying degrees.
Historic African Trade Networks
Trans-Saharan Trade
Trans-Saharan trade involved travel across the Sahara Desert to connect sub-Saharan Africa with the North African coast, Europe, and the Levant. While existing since prehistoric times, the peak of this trade extended from the 8th century until the late 16th century.
Indian Ocean Trade
The Indian Ocean trade network was a key factor in East-West exchanges. Long-distance trade in dhows and sailboats created a dynamic zone of interaction between peoples, cultures, and civilizations from Java in the East to Zanzibar and Mombasa in the West. Cities on the Indian Ocean rim looked both outward to the sea and inward to the hinterland. In the contemporary era, Asia’s re-assertion of cultural, political, and economic strength is seen in the rise of China’s economy, India’s culture industry, and Dubai as a global financial hub.
The Transatlantic Slave Trade
Prince Henry the Navigator and Portugal’s Role
Henry the Navigator was born in Porto, Portugal, in 1394. In 1415, he participated in the successful Portuguese attack on Ceuta, a Moroccan town. Henry is considered a founder of the Atlantic slave trade. He sponsored Nuno Tristão’s exploration of the African coast and Antão Gonçalves’s hunting expedition there in 1441. Within a few years, Portugal was deeply involved in the slave trade.
The Triangular Trade System
The best-known triangular trading system is the transatlantic slave trade, which operated from the late 16th to the early 19th centuries. It involved carrying enslaved people, cash crops, and manufactured goods between West Africa, the Caribbean or American colonies, and European colonial powers. The northern colonies of British North America, especially New England, sometimes took the place of Europe in this system.
Economic Effects of the Slave Trade in Africa
The slave trade increased the frequency of war in West Africa. European and American slave traders did not typically kidnap people themselves; instead, they purchased enslaved individuals from coastal kingdoms, creating a high demand that fueled conflict.
Social Effects of the Slave Trade in Africa
The slave trade and African resistance to it led to profound social and political changes. Social relations were restructured, and traditional values were subverted. The trade resulted in the development of predatory regimes and caused stagnation or regression in many areas. Many communities relocated as far as possible from slavers’ routes, hindering their technological and economic development as they focused on defense and concealment.