Download Change and Continuity Over Time Essay

Change and Continuity Over Time Essay
Topic: Religion in Sub-Saharan Africa from 1450 to the present
Beginning
 Trans-Saharan trade (gold, salt) brought
Islamic ideas into sub-Saharan Africa from
North Africa.
 Songhai Empire was a major Islamic state
(Timbuktu, Sunni Ali).
 Portuguese merchants in Kongo
introduced Roman Catholicism.
 Slave trade also introduced Christianity to
other sub-Saharan African countries like
Angola, where there was a large amount of
slaves being sent out.
 Syncretism during this time blended in
African beliefs in spirits and magic. A
significant syncretic cult was the Antonian
movement.
Middle
End
 Slave trade ended in the 1860s, but
 Decolonization was aided by the
Europeans continued to convert Africans
weakened economic power of Europe, and
into Christianity because of the "scramble"
by the 1960s most of the African countries
for Africa.
were independent.
 Many mission schools were established in  However, Africans still continued to
these colonies (the "white man's burden").
believe in the religions they converted to,
as many felt it became a part of them.
 Muslims used the creation of these new
cities in the colonies to help spread Islam  Syncretism coexists with these world
further inland.
religions today.
 Though syncretism was still presents,
policies like assimilation made it difficult
for Africans to incorporate their own
beliefs into the religion they were
converted to.
Changes: rise of Islam, introduction of Christianity, syncretism
Continuities: Christianity in Ethiopia, which had existed before this time period, and continued to be the major religion in Ethiopia despite the
surrounding Islamic influence due to its tolerance of other religions. The traditional practice of animism/other indigenous religions, which
survived (though was weakened at points) due to decentralization, and because rival tribes in the same country would ignore the other tribe and
practice their own religion.
THESIS: From 1450 to the present, sub-Saharan African religious beliefs and practices changed with the rise of Islam and Christianity and the
methods used to convert people to those religions because of trade, colonization, and decolonization, while continuities included Christianity in
Ethiopia and belief in animism due to the decentralization of Africa.