Download Change and Continuity Over Time Essay

Change and Continuity Over Time Essay
Topic: Describe and analyze the cultural, economic, and political impact of Islam on West Africa between 1000 CE and 1750 CE.
Make sure to discuss continuities as well as changes.
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Beginning
The Ghana Empire (which never
converted to Islam) lasts until 1224,
and soon after the Mali Empire is
established around 1235.
Muslim merchants bring Islam to West
Africa and it spreads!
Abbasid Caliphate, “golden age of
Islam”, falls in 1258 due to political
disunity.
Islam helps expand trading routes from
just the Trans-Saharan to outside of
Africa, like Europe, the Middle East,
and Asia.
The “mixing phase” begins, in which
Islamic practices are blended into
tradition West African culture.
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Middle
Timbuktu in both the Mali and
Songhai Empires becomes a major
trading hub, and renowned place for
Islamic religious studies.
Mansa Musa displays the wealth of
the Mali Empire when he makes he
pilgrimage to Mecca, and devalues
gold in Egypt for about a decade
because he spends so much.
The Mali Empire falls around 1550.
Culture flourishes under the Songhai,
the state sponsored the building of
mosques and libraries.
The Songhai falls to Morrocans in
1591, and they take many people as
slaves.
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End
The first jihad, or holy war,
movement led by Muslim scholars
begins in Mauritania in the early 18th
century. Their aim is to rid the
population of “pagan” practices and
turn all the small Islamic colonies of
West Africa into Islamic states. Jihad
movements gain more momentum in
the 19th century.
The main exports from West Africa
gold, slaves, and salt. Slaves were
taken for both the Islamic slave trade
and Trans-Atlantic. This continues
well past 1750.
The economy remains prosperous due
to Islam.
Changes: West Africa’s economy is greatly stimulated by the appearance of Islam. They are able to trade not only across the Sahara (TransSaharan trade route), but also to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. There are also several changes in which empires are ruling, with the rise
and fall of three major empires: Ghana, Mali, and the Songhai.
Continuities: The traditional culture in West Africa continued to flourish during this time, adding to it some Islamic practices. Timbuktu was
particularly known center for religious studies, and books were the most profitable import into the city. Islam also continues to spread across
Africa.
THESIS: Between 1000 and 1700, Islam caused West Africa to experience an increase in trade and economic activity, the rise and fall of
several Islamic states and empires, and provided new practices to be blended with the traditional African culture.