Empires Of West Africa

Islam’s spread throughout 630-1600 CE was extremely rapid and sudden; however, it led to many favorable aspects. Over the span of 630-1600 CE, Islam managed to spread throughout Arabia, Mesopotamia, Persia, North Africa, Spain, and parts of Central Asia. Women and education were on a rise, socially. Also, flourishing trade contributed to Islam’s economic wealth. Furthermore, political and legal reforms were also established during its spread. Overall, the spread of Islam brought forth many positive social, political, and economic impacts.

Pre-Islamic Arabia was a culture knit together by kinship. In this society there was no emperor or ruling elite. The people of pre-Islamic Arabia were bound together by nomadic tribes who made profit by trading and most importantly “raiding”. These raids were often described as small-scale warfare and were instrumented by tribal leaders in order to increase the wealth and power of the tribe (Gordon 5). This was the society in which Islam came to power. Warfare and raiding were essential in order to be successful in pre-Islamic Arabia. The integration of warfare into the Islamic religion created a similarity among Muslims, those who follow Islam, and non-Islamic Arabian people. This relationship and common interest established by the prophet Muhammad helped in the rise of Islam among non-Islamic

“West African societies were shaped by competition for wealth and the search for independence from more powerful kingdoms” (History 2011). Most of Africa’s oldest kingdoms originated from West Africa. These old kingdoms contributed to the development and growth of Africa in many ways, especially trade and economic growth. As the new kingdoms replaced the old ones, they experienced a vast change. Conquest and warfare along caused these transformations to occur. It was also influenced by the patterns of trade. The earliest civilizations were in West Africa south of the Sahara desert. These civilisations grew at a time when most of the outside countries were experiencing The Dark Age. “After the fall of the Western half of the Roman Empire around

The spread of the Islamic faith throughout the Middle East is through the presence of these Muslim cities. As discussed in Document 4, the establishment of Medina contributed to the spread of Islam. This was where it started. Muhammad and his followers fled to Medina when the ruling class of Mecca started to persecute them. There, Muhammad was able to help the people accept the Islamic faith which helped the overall spread of Islam. Muslim cities are scatted throughout the Middle East (Document 9). The location of these holy cities allowed for a proper diffusion of the faith and is significant because, without these establishments, the spread of Islam would have come to an abrupt halt. Muslim cities are the driving force in the diffusion of Islam, and because of them, the Islamic faith has grown to become a worldwide leader in religious affairs.

Though the religion started in Mecca, Islam spread far and wide. Under the rule of Muhammad, the Four Caliphs, and the Umayyad caliphs, lands from Spain and North Africa to the Middle East became Muslim territory. (Document C). The expanding of Muslim lands exposed more people to the religion. Previously they may not have heard of Islam until the areas in which they lived in came under Muslim control. Later on, a golden opportunity for the Muslims came from their neighboring kingdoms, "Persia and Byzantium had both been engaged for decades in a long . . . series of wars with one another. Both were exhausted. (Document D). With both kingdoms, Persia and Byzantium, weakened, Muslims had a quick and effortless victory and were able to double the size of their kingdom. Altogether, the expansion of Muslim territory resulted in the spread of Islam due to more people being exposed to the Islamic

West Africa experienced social impact of Islam and its own inner progress delivered incredible creative achievements. Capable state, such a Mali and Songhay, depended more on military power and dynastic partnerships than on ethnic or social solidarity. There was the advancement of city-states, with strong merchant communities in west Africa and the Indian Ocean shoreline of east Africa that demonstrated likenesses to urban improvements of Italy and Germany in this period. Be that as it may, there were abberations between the advancements and belief systems of European and Africans and contrasts in the ways their social orders created. Northern Africa and the east African drift were somewhat fused into the Arab Muslim world. New focuses of human progress and political power emerged in sub-Saharan Africa, showing the geographic dispersion of development. Bantu relocation and the development of substantial states in the western Sudan

Imperialism is when a strong country seizes a weaker country and takes control of their economy, politics, and culture. Countries Imperialize each other because they desire more power, control over one another, and want to be superior. Europe Imperialized Africa because of three main reasons: social, political, and economic. Due to Europe going through Industrialization they went to Africa which was not very developed, so the Europeans took whatever they want because they weren’t stopped. They also began spreading christianity in Africa because of how big it was in Europe.

In the Mid-1800s the Europeans Imperialised Africa for three main reasons. Those reasons being Cultural, Political, and Economic. The Europeans were encouraged by all the resources, and a way to find a peaceful way to divide Africa up. What motive did the Europeans have about taking over Africa? The best motive for the Europeans was economic because they needed the natural resources for the benefits.

Africa was a nation that was based off of selling slaves in which the Europeans were familiar with but by 1807, slavery was abolished which made King Leopold II move onto a different resource to line his pockets. The resource he started production on was rubber because of the widespread want for rubber for tires and other manufactured goods. Around the 19th century when Leopold acquired even more land and expanded his production on rubber and sometimes ivory his managers proceeded to force labor and strip away daily cleanliness which eventually led to the widespread disease of malaria which killed as many as 10,000,000 people. With a absolute infectious disease clouding Africa and the seemingly brutal army brought up by Leopold, what really was the driving force behind European Imperialism in Africa?

In early Africa, the kingdom of Ghana was prosperous due to the trade of salt and gold. Ghana’s location benefited it in many ways. First Ghana’s location allowed them to be the center of the Gold/Salt trade. Since salt was so valuable at the time, the people of Ghana were able to sell salt for gold throughout Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Middle East. Ghana also made a lot of revenue from taxes on the Gold/Salt trade route. Since they were the center

The second Empire that was more extensive was Mali in West Africa. They were dominating in the 13th and 14th century. This empire was one of the largest trading posts in the world, which had roots in the gold of West Africa. Mali Empire flourished because of the trade above all else. This empire contained three immense gold mines within its borders unlike the Ghana Empire, which was only a transit point for gold. The taxed every single once of gold, cotton and salt that entered its borders. Mali was the source of almost half the old world’s gold exported from mines in Bambuk, Boure and Galam. The gold nuggets were the exclusive property of the mansa, and were illegal to trade within his borders. All gold was immediately handed over to the imperial treasury in return for an equal value of gold dust. The gold dust had been weighted and bagged for use at least since the reign of the Ghana Empire. The next great unit of exchange in this empire was salt. Salt was as valuable, if

Changes in political and cultural traditions during the post-classical period occurred in Africa because of intensive Islamic contact. When Arab conquerors introduced the Islamic faith into northern Africa, they expanded the region of commerce. Muslim merchants established trading centers for copper, iron, salts, and cotton textiles. The newly established trade affected traditional social and religious beliefs. After 1000 C.E., the kin-based social structure experienced difficult challenges. Increased conflict between peoples led to the creation of military forces for both offensive and defensive use. This led to the formation of chiefdoms exhibiting more formal structures of governing such as in the kingdoms of Kongo, Ghana, and Mali. Because most traders were Muslim, many African societies converted to Islam to improve their relations with the

The weak always gets taken over. That pretty much explains imperialism. Imperialism was was in 1875-1914 in Africa. What was the driving force behind European imperialism in Africa? That is that question that I aim to answer in this essay. The term driving force means reasoning or push. The word imperialism is the act of fully taking over a country. I have three main reasons for the driving force behind European imperialism in Africa: get materials, national competition and to gain more power. The main reason was so that Europeans can gain more power.

When Islam was initially introduced into West African Muslims were treated differently by the locals. Muslims were living apart from the main towns. Through trade routes, missionaries, and the military Islam began to spread. Muslim influence was positive because of the education that it provided and their willingness to help others.

There are three main West African Empires which include: Mali, Ghana, and Songhay. Each of these empires have their own cultural, economical, and political achievements. In Ghana, they had three major religions that includes Islam which was a monotheistic religion started in 622 BC, Christianity which was another monotheistic religion started in the 1st century, and the Traditional African religion which was popular in the 1950’s. The Empire of Ghana was ruled by Tenkamenin who improved music, art, and literature. Tenkamenin also helped manage the gold and salt trade and helped the empire reach it’s highest of greatness.