Africa

Empires, Kingdoms & Ministates Sudanic civilization emerged 9000b.c. in eastern West Africa traveling westward based on : Domesticated cattle 8500-7500 b.c. Cultivation of sorghum and millet 7500-7000 b.c. Cultivation of cotton and production of cotton cloth 6500-3500 b.c. Copper and iron production 2500-1000 b.c. States were stratified and ruled by kings and princes; monotheistic religion was distinct from Christianity, Islam & Judaism

African Empires Ghana Empire-used camels to create trade routes across the Sahara to North Africa Mali Empire (13th century) & Songhai Empire (15th century) ---similar to Aztecs & Incas relying in military might to control trade routes Gold was cornerstone of international trade—abundant in West Africa—constituted ½ to 2/3 of all the gold in circulation in Europe, North Africa and Asia by 1450

Kingdoms & Mini-states Resource-rich lower savanna and tropical rainforest of West Africa was home to many kingdoms Comparable to Italy’s city-states Densely populated; relied on yam cultivation and gathering Also fought frequently in a competition for local power

Trade By mid-15th century, a new coastal trade with Europeans brought option fro smaller states along West African coast European traders had to negotiate contracts on local terms, but welcomed chance to trade Asian and European goods for West Africa’s resources including gold, grain, and ivory East of Africa’s Gold Coast was an early center of the slave trade; came to be called the Slave Coast

Slave Trade Slavery was widespread in Africa Used as agricultural labor, concubines or military recruits A key commodity of exchange Central to trans-Saharan trade Between a.d. 700-1900, estimated 9 million Africans were sold in the trans-Saharan slave trade 1482-Portuguese merchants exploited & redirected the existing slave trade Enslaved Africans to work on sugar plantations After 1550, the Atlantic slave trade expanded enormously as Europeans established sugar plantations in Brazil and the West Indies