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Chapter 25: Africa and the Atlantic World African Politics and Society in Early Modern Times For 3 millenia, Bantu-speaking peoples migrated throughout sub-Sah Afr Villages an clans ruled by kinship rather than formal states Devised political structures and built a series of kingdoms and chiefdoms Muslims merchants brought trade and encouraged the formation of large kingdoms and empires in west Afr and thriving city states in E Afr Contniued to form states in early modern era Under the influence of maritime trade, the patterns of state dev changed Regional kingdoms replaced the imperial states of w Afr People organized to take advantage of Atl and trans-Sah trade City-states of e Africa fell under the domination of Portugal seeking commercial opportunities in the Indian Ocean Led to the formation of regional kingdoms in central Afr and south Afr Islam and Christianity grew as trade became more prominent The States of West Africa and East Africa 8th-16th, kingdoms on Savannas Earliest was Ghana Controlled and taxed the trans-Sah trade 13th, the Mali Empire replaced Ghana, continuing their policies The Songhay Empire By the 15th century the Mali had begun to weaken The Songhay emerged as the dominant power Based on Gao Early 15th, rejected Mali power and mounted raids into their territory Ruler Sunni Ali (1464-93) conquered his neighbors Brought Timbuktu and Jenne under control of the Songhay Empire (1464-1591) Songhay Administration Sunni Ali built a large admin and military apparatus to oversee affairs Appointed governors to oversee provinces and instituted a hierarchy of command Created a navy to patrol the Niger Military might enabled Sunni Ali’s successors to extend their authority Gao had 75k ppl, many o whome participated in trans-Saharan trade Emperors were all Muslims Supported mosques Schools to teach the Quran Maintained Islamic university at Timbuktu Islam as foundation of cooperation with Muslim merchants and Islamic states in North Africa Didn’t abandon traditional religious practices Fall of Songhay Dominated West Africa or most of the 16th century Last of the grassland empires 1591, a Moroccan musket-bearing army attacked and withered the Songhay Subjects revolted A series of small regional kingdoms took over Kanem-Bornu around Lake Chad Hausa establish city-states to the west Oyo and Asante people south of the grasslands Diula, Mande established states on the coast Engaged in commercial relations with European merchants Increasing Atlantic trade diminished the power of Mali and Songhay, which had relied on trans-Saharan trade to finance their empires Swahili Decline The Swahili city-states fell on hard times Vasco da Gama skirmished with local forces Forced the ruler of Kilwa to pay tribute 1505, a Portuguese naval expedition subdued all of the Swahili cities from Soala to Mombasa Port built admin centers at Mozambique and Malindi Constructed fortes throughout the region to control trade Did not succeed, but disrupted trade enough to decline the Swahili cities The Kingdoms of Central African and South Africa The Kingdom of Kongo As trade networks increased, an increasing volume of commerce encouraged state building in central and south Africa In central, principal Afican states were Kongo, Ndongo, Luba, Lunda in the Congo r. Best known was the kingdom of Kongo Emerged in 14th century Built a centralized state with officials overseeing affairs Embraced much of the modern-day Republic of Congo and Angola In 1483 a small Portuguese leet recon’d the Congo and initiated relations with the Kongo Had established political and diplomatic relations with the kingd of Kongo Supplied them with advisors, provided a military garrison, brought artisans The kings of Kongo converted to Christianity to establish better commercial relations Appreciated that Christianity consolidated their hold on power The sints of the RC church were similar to thouse of the Kongo King Nzinga Mbemba, King Afonso I, became a devout RC Tried to convert all of his subjects Slave Raiding in Kongo Relations with Portugal brought wealth and financial recognition to Kongo Eventually led to the destruction of the kingdom and the establishment of a Portuguese colony in Angola In exchange for textiles, weapons, advisors, and artisans that they brought to Kongo Sought high-value merch such as copper, ivory, and slaves Made alliances with authorities in interior regions and provided them with weapons for slaves These tactics undermined the kings, who appealed unsuccessfully to Portgual to cease or limit their trade in slaves Kongo remained strong until the mid-17th century Portugal aided Kongo in defeating invaders, but still continued to trade in slaves Over time relations between the two deteriorated, esp when Portgual started to trade in areas south of Kongo 1665, went to war, Portgual easily winning Began to withdraw from Kongo in search of more profitable business By 18th century, Kongo had largely disintegrated Kingom of Ndongo Port developed a slave trade with the kingdom of Ndongo, referred to as Angola by the Port During 16th, had rown from small chiefdom subject to the Kongo to a powerful regional kingdom Due to wealth, able to attract by trading directly w/Port merchants rather than through Kongo intermediaries Port merchants founded a small colony by 1575 After 1611, increased influence by allying with neigbors who delivered more slaves Campaigned in Ndongo to establish a colony for large-scale trade of slaves Queen Nzinga For forty years Queen Nzinga led spirited resistance against Port Mobilized central Afr against the Port Allied with Dutch mariners Wanted to remove the Port, then expel the Dutch, and create a central Afr empire Portuguese Colony of Angola Unable to oust Port Stymied their efforts to increase wealth With their weapons and wealth, Port able to exploit political divisions of cent Afr When Queen Nzinga died, Port forces faced less resistance, extending their control over Angola, the first Euro colony in SSA Regional Kingdoms in South Africa Little light on political structures of South Africa Regional kingdoms Emerged as early as 11th century, largely due to trade Merchants from Swahili coast sought gold, ivory, slaves from interior By controlling local commerce, chieftains increased their wealth and power By 1300 massive stone fortified city known as Great Zimbabwe Dominated gold-bearing plain between Zambesi and Limpopo rivers European Arrival in South Africa After 15th century, smaller kingdoms displaced the rulers of Great Zimbabwer, and Port and Dutch mariners started to play a role in S Afr affairs In search of commercial opportunities, Euros struck alliances with local peoples and intervened in disputes Aimed at supporting their allies and advancing their own interests They became active after Dutch mariners built a trading post at Cape Town in 1652 Encountered the hunting and gathering Khoikhoi people, Hottentots With use of firearms, took over Khoikhoi with ease By 1700 large number of Dutch colonists began to arrive in South Africa By mid-century had established settlements throughout the area Laid the foundation for a series of Dutch and British colonies Eventually became the most prosperous region in SSA Islam and Christianity in Early Modern Africa Indigenous religions remained influential throughout SSA in early modern times Many African people recognized a supreme, remote creator god, they devoted most of their attention to powerful spirits who were thought to intervene directly in human affairs African ppl associated many of these spirits with geographic features Others thought of them as the living dead, spirits of ancestors who roamed the world Dealt out rewards and punishment Islam in SSA Both Islam and Christianity attracted interest in SSA Islam was most popular in commercial centers of west Africa and Swahili city-states Timbuktu had a prominent Islam university Most African Muslims blended Islam w/indigenous beliefs Result was a syncretic brand of Islam that permitted men and women with each other on more familiar terms Made a place for African beliefs in spirits and magic Although it appealed to Africans, the syncretic blend was offense and impure to many Muslims The Fulani and Islam Some Muslims in SSA shared these concerns about the purity of Islam Most important was the Fulani Originally a pastoral ppl who herded in west Afr for centuries By the late 17th century, many Fulani had settled in cities Observed a strict form of Islam like that in NN Afr and Arabia Beginning about 1680 and through the 19th, the Fulani led military campaigns to establish Islam and create their own brand of Islam in E Afr Did not stamp out African religions, nor did they eliminated indigenous elements Founded powerful states in Guinea, Senegal, Mali, and north Nigeria Promoted the spread of Islam beyond the cities to the countryside Established schools in remote towns and villages to teach the Quran and Islamic doctrine Their campaigns strengthened Islam in SSA Laid a foundation for new rounds of Islamic state building and conversion efforts in the 19th and 20th centuries Christianity and SSA Christianity made compromises with traditional beliefs and customs when it spread in SSA The Portuguese community in Kongo and Angola supported priests and missionaries who introduce RC to central Africa Found strong interest among rulers such as King Afonso I of Kongo and his descendants Eagerly adopted European-style Christianity as a foundation for commercial and political alliances with Portgual Beyond the ruling courts, Christian teachings blended w/African traditions to form syncretic cults Some Africans regarded Christian missionaries as magicians and worse crosses and other Christian symbols as amulets The Antonian Movement An influential syncretic cult was the Antonian movement in Kongo Flourished in the early 18th century when the Kongo faced challenges Began in 1704 when an aristocratic woman named Dona Beatriz proclaimed St. Anthony had possessed her and chosen her to communicate his messages Extremely popular among Portuguese Christians who introduced the cult to the Kongo Dona could cure miracles and diseases, used her prominent to promote an African form of Christianity Taught Jesus was a black African man, Kongo was the true holy land, and heaven was for Africans Urged Kongolese to ignore Euro missionaries and heed her instead Tried to end wars in Kongo A serious challenge to missionary efforts in Kongo In 1706, persuaded King Pedro IV o Kongo to arrest her on heresy Was a false prophet, sentenced to death Antonian movement did not disappear Continued to strengthen the monarchy and reconstruct the Kongolese society In 1708 an army of 20k ANtonians challenged King Pedro, whom they considered unworthy Social Change in Early Modern Africa Intro Despite increased state-building activity and political turmoil, Afr society followed longestablished patterns Kinship groups were still the most important social unit and sometimes political organization Within farming villages, clans under the leadership of prominent individuals organized the affairs of their kinship groups, disciplining those who violated community standards In regions where kingdoms and empires had not emerged, clan leaders consulted with one another and governed large regions In lands ruled by formal states, clan leaders implemented state policy at the village level Interaction with Euro brought change to African society in early modern times Brought access to European textiles and metal goods Africans had produced textiles and high-quality steel for centuries before the arrival of Portuguese mariners European products of different materials and styles became popular as complements to native Afr wares American Foods Crops in SSA Trade brought new food crops to SSA In the mid-16th century, American crops such as manioc, maize, and peanuts arrived in Africa aboard Portuguese ships Supplemented bananas, yams, rice, and millet, the principal staple foods of SSA The most important American crop was Manioc because of its high yield and it thrived in tropical soils not well suited to cultivation of other crops Population Growth By the 18th century, bread made from manioc became a staple food in many areas of west and central Africa In 1500 ce, the pop of SSA was 34 mil B 1600 it had increased by 1/3 to 44 mil, 52 in 1700 and 60 in 1800 This strong demographic expansion is all the more remarkable because it took place when millions of African underwent involuntary, force migration to the Caribbean and the Americas Despite the migrations, American food crops supported expanding populations in all regions of SSA during early modern times The Atlantic Slave Trade Intro Most momentous connection of Afr to the rest of the world was the Atlantic slave trade From the 15th-19th century, Euros looked to Afr as a source of labor for sprawling plantations that they established in the western hem In exchange for slaves, Afr received manufactured products, most noteably firearms Only in the early 19th century did the Atl slave trade come to an end Most states abolished slavery during the course of the 19th century Foundations of the Slave Trade Slavery in Africa The institution of slavery appeared in antiquity, until the 19th cent many farming peoples made place for slaves Common throughout Africa after the Bantu migrations spread farming Most slaves in Afr came the ranks of war captives, although criminals and individuals expelled from their clans also did too Usually worked as main far from home, although some were admin, soldiers, or advisors Songhay used slaves as administrators since they mistrusted free nobles (ambitious and undependable) Agriccultural plantations in the Songhay had hundreds of slave laborers, many of them working under the management of slave admin Law and society made Afr slavery different from bondage in other areas Did not recognize private property, but rather vested ownership of land in communities Wealth and power in Afr came not from the possession of land but from control over the human labor Slaves were a form of private investment, heritable property, and a means of measuring wealth Those who controlled large numbers of individuals were able to harvest more crops and accumulate more wealth than others Routinely purchased slaves into their kinship groups Within a generation a slave might obtain freedom and an honorable position in a new family or clan The Islamic Slave Trade After the 8th century, Muslims merchants sought Afr slaves for sale and distribution Found ready markets for slaves When traditional sources were insiufficient, they created new supplies by raiding villages, capturing innocent individuals,and forcing them into servitude States sometimes allied with the merchants by providing cavalry forces to mount lightning raids on undefended communities Merchants then transported the slaves across the Sahara by camel for distribution in the Med basin or on ships at Swahili port cities During a millennium or more of the Islamic Slave Trade, ten million Africans may have left their homeland in servitude By the time Euros ventured to SSA in the 15th and 16th centuries, traffic in slaves was a feature of African society, and a system for capturing, selling, and distributing slaves had functioned for 500 years When Euros began to pursue commercial interests in Afr and the Americas, the slave trade expanded dramatically After 1450, European peoples tapped existing networks and expanded commerce into the Atlantic Ocean Brought about numerous amounts of involuntary migration Human Cargoes The Atlantic slave trade began small but grew to an enormous proportion The earliest were Portuguese on the west Afr coast 1441, took 12 Afr men Encountered stiff resistance when they attempted to capture slaves Thousands of poison-tipped arrows Quickly learned they could purchase slaves rather than capturing them By 1460 they were delivering 500 slaves per year to Port and Spain Worked as miners, porters, or domestic servants The Early Slave Trade Delivered slaves to the islands in the Atl owned by Portugal No indigenous pop and the port pop was too small Sugar planters on the island of Sao Tome called for slaves in increasing quantities Relied on slave labor, and production soared along with the demand for sugar in Europe 2000 per year went to Sao Tome by 1520s Extended to South America Imported slaves to Brazil Meanwhile, Spanish explorers sought laborers Disease ravaged the indigenous pop Natives frequently revolted against their overlords or escaped to the hinterlands Began to rely on imported Afr slaves as laborers In 1518 the first shipment went Introduced slaves to Mexican mines in 1520s By early-17th, English colonists had introduced slaves to North America Triangular Trade Demand for labor in western hem stimulated a profitable commerce known as the triangular trade First leg, carried horses and and manufactured goods to SSA for slaves Second leg took slaves to Caribbean and America Exchanged slaves for cash, or sometimes sugar or molasses Filled their vessels with American products before embarking on their voyage back to Europe Brutal and inhumane Original capture of slaves in Afr was almost always violent Some Afr chieftains organized raiding parties Wars for the purpose of capturing victims Snatched individuals out of their homes The Middle Passage Forced march to coast and into holding pens The Middle Passage, traveling below decks in cramped quarters Some forced to lie in chains on shelves Many slaves attempted to starve themselves or mounted revolts Crews treated them with cruelty and contempt 4-6 weeks trip Could see 50% mortality rate Built larger ships, carried more water, provided better nourishment and facilities for their cargo; got it down to about 5% Total was 25% The Impact of Slave Trade in Africa Volume of the Slave Trade Before 1600 small sacale trade 2k annually 17th, 20k pear year Euros settled into the western hemisphere 18th, 55k per year During the 1780s, slave arrival was 88k per year Some years were 12 million Some 4 million died resisted seizure The impact of the slave trade varied over time and from society The kingdoms of Rwanda and Bugunda on the great lakes and the herding of Masai and Turkana largely esaped the slave trade Resisted but were also distant from slave ports Others benefited from slave trade Those who raided profited as did port cities and states that coordinated trade Asante, Dahomey, Oyo purchased firearms and built powerful states in west Africa In 19th century, after the abolition of slavery, some African merchants complained about losing their livelihood and tried to end British patrols of the Atl Social Effects of the Slave Trade Suffered serious losses in SSA Deprived societies of 16 million individuals Total population rose due to new American crops, several individual societies experienced severe losses due to slave trade West Afr societies between Senegal and Angola were vulnerable Gender and Slavery Slave trade distorted sex ratios in borth the Americas and Africa 2/3 of all slaves were young men Reflected European preferences Could provide heavy labor Also showed desire to keep female slaves for use in households Resulting gender imbalance militated against slaves reproducing in most placed of colonial America Made it imperative to continuously look for new slaves Esp in Caribbean where death rates were high Preference for males had implications in SSA By late 18th century, 2/3 of pop was female in Angola Polygyny Took on duties of men Political Effects of the Slave Trade Slave trade brought turmoil to Afr societies Fought many wars in general, but added new desires to engage in conflict Violence escalated in the late 17th century when Afr ppl increasingly exchanged slaves for firearms Dahomey used weapons to expand rapidly and absorbed neighboring societies by increasing its firearms Became a slave-raiding force, even with women soldiers The African Diaspora Intro Some slaves worked as urban laborers or domestic servants, or miners in Mexico or Peru Vast majority of the were agricultural workers Cultivated cash crops that made their way that would go throughout the Atlantic Ocean basin Often resisted their bondage Built hybrid cultural traditions Most societies ended slavery and slave trade during the 19th century By that time the African diaspora- left a permanent mark throughout the western hemisphere Plantation Societies Intro Most Afr slaves went to plantations in trop/subtrop western hem Europeans created plantations to satisfy increasing Euro demand for sugar and other commodities 1st plantation in 1516 on Hispaniola Extended into Mexico By early 17th, Portugal, English, Dutch, and French plantations had appeared in the Caribbean and Americas Cash Crops Most produced sugar Tobacco rivaled sugar in 17th century as a profitable product Indigo as well By 18th, cotton was main concentration, and coffee emerged Caribbean and American plantations all had certain elements in common Often maintained gardens that produced food for the local community Goal was to profit from production and export of commercial crops To stay profitable, relied almost exclusively on slave labor Featured a sharp division of labor based on race Euro/Euro-Americans governed plantation affairs Large number of Africans/Afro-Americans performed most of the physical labor Regional Differences Plantation societies differed considerably from one region to another In the Caribbean and South America, slave pops were unable to sustain their numbers by natural means Many fell victim to tropical diseases Faced brutal conditions Low rates of reproduction since mostly males were imported Required continuous importation of slaves from Africa Half went to Africa, 1/3 went to Brazil 5% went to north America Disease in North Am were less threatening than in the Caribbean and Brazil Conditions of slaves’ lives were less harsh Imported more female slaves to form families Especially strong support for families in 18th century when slave prices went up Resistance to Slavery Slaves resisted in many areas Some were simple Worked slower Sabotaged plantation equipment Running away was more serious Maroons gathered in mountainous, forested, or swampy regions and built their own communities Often raided nearby plantations Many maroons had military experience in Africa Flourished throughout slave-holding regions Slave Revolts Most dramatic form of resistance to slavery was the slave revolt Far outnumbered others on plantations Brought fear to plantation owners, often resulting in death and destruction Slave revolts almost never brought slavery to and end Euro leaders had access to arms, horses, and military forces to extinguish most rebellions Only on Saint-Domingue did a slave revolt abolish slavery as a result (1793) Declared independence from France, renamed the land Haiti, and established a republic in 1804 Terrified slave owners and inspired slaves throughout the hemisphere, but no others matched its accomplishments Slavery and Economic Development Physical labor of slaves made crucial contributions to new societies in the Americas and the early modern world as a whole Cultivated many of the crops and extracted many of the minerals that made their way around the world Slaves did not enjoy any of their labors, which flowed mostly to Europeans The Making of African-American Cultural Traditions Intro Enslaved Africans didn’t enjoy the luxury of maintain their inherited cultural traditions Preserved African traditions, but had to adapt to societies compounded of Euro and American elements Constructed distinctive African-American cultural traditions African and Creole Languages Euro languages were the dominant tongues in the slave societies African languages influenced communication Sometimes, enough slaves from same region of Africa were together and could speak among themselves Other times, spoke creole tongue that drew on several European and African languages Georgia and South Carolina slaves, about ¾ of the pop, spoke Gullah and Geechee languages African-American Religions Like their languages, slaves’ religions combined elements from different societies Slaves religions combined elements from different societies Some shipped out of Africa were Christians Others converted to Christianity after their arrival in the west Most Africans practiced syncretic Christianity Used African interests and traditions Developed mostly in plantation with slavery Usually did not create an institutional structure or establish a hierarchy of priests or church officials In several cases- Voudou in Haiti, Santeria in Cuba, and Candomble in Brazil- they became popular among slaves All the syncretic religions drew inspiration from Christianity Met in parish churches, sought personal salvation, made use of European Christian paraphernalia Holy water, candles, statues Preserved African traditions Associated African deities with Christian saints Relied heavily on Afr rituals (drumming, dancing, sacrificing animals) Core of these faiths was participation in rituals Preserved beliefs in spirits and supernatural powers Magic, sorcery, witchcraft, spirit possession African-American Music Slaves relied on their Afr traditions in creating musical forms for the plantation For many of these laborers, the playing of African music brought a sense of home and community Represented what the slaves had lost- cultural grounding and belonging Afr slaves in the Americas adapted Afr musical traditions, both rhythmic and oratorical Managed to create musical forms that made their influence felt throughout societies in the Caribbean and Americas New sense of identity by using west Afr instruments and musical instruments to Euro languages, Christianity, and the work routines Drums and banjos similar to African instruments Call-and-response patterns Found its way into spirituals Some slaveowners sought to ban the music African-American Cultural Traditions Introduced Afr foods to Caribb and Ameri societies Hybrid cuisines Gumbo Rice cultivation West African style houses, fashioned clay pots, grass baskets The End of the Slave Trade and the Abolition of Slavery Intro Almost as old as slave trade was abolition attempts Am and Fr revolutions stimulated abolition Oluaudah Equiano Africans took up the struggle to abolish slave trade Slave revolts made slavery expensive and dangerous Books were written by freed slaves exposing brutality of slavery Most notable was Olaudah Equiano (1745097) Published an autobiography detailing his experiences as a slave and free man Gave speeches and denounced slavery as an evil institution Lobbied gov’t officials and members of Parliament Strengthened the antislavery movement in England The Economic Costs of Slavery Economic forces helped end slavery and the trade Gradually became clear slavery was no longer cheap Possibility of rebellion forced slave societies to maintain expensive military forces Rapid expansion of sugar production in 18th century le to declining prices African slave traders and Euro merchants also increased their prices As profitability of slavery declined, Euros began to shift their investments from sugar and slaves to new manufacturing industries Found that wage labor in factories was cheaper than slave labor Free workers spend much of their income on those very same manufactured goods Realized that leaving Africans in Africa where they could get the Euros raw materials was good business African was no longer just a source of slave labor End of the Slave Trade 1803, Denmark abolished the trade in slaves GB in 1807 US in 1808 France in 1814 Netherlands in 1817 Spain in 1845 Did not abolish the institution itself As long as plantation slavery continued, trade shipped slaves across the Atlantic British naval squadrons patrolled the coasts of Africa, slowly grinding the trade to a halt Last ship arrived in 1867 The Abolition of Slavery Abolition of slavery was drawn-out 1833 in British colonies 1848 in French 1865 in US 1886 in Cuba 1888 in Brazil Saudi Arabia and Angola in 1960s Millions of people live in slavery even today Debt bondage, contract labor, sham adoptions, servile marriages, mostly in Afr, south Asia, and Latin America Legacy of Atlantic slave trade remains visible throughout much of the western hem, where the African diaspora gave rise to African-American communities