It became a powerful and lucrative point of trade for South Asia and the entire Mediterranean. Axum became famous for its exports of ivory, frankincense, myrrh, and slaves. In 500 A.D. the empire of Ghana emerged. It was located in the upper Niger River Valley along the West African coast. Its economy consisted of farming, gold and iron mining.
Additionally, Portugal had an unusually strong national identity, due to its natural geographic borders, allowing the pooling of the considerable economic resources necessary to fund these ambitious explorations. Additionally Portugal's extended contact with Islam, and therefore with its superior mathematical knowledge and sailing technologies, including sail shapes, hull designs, and maritime weaponry, resulted in a Portuguese fleet capable of negotiating the high Atlantic seas. As a consequence, most of the West African coast was explored in the period from 1415 into the 1600s. Preserved maps from this period show a remarkably accurate understanding of the complicated coastline. African exports consisted primarily of gold, ivory, and pepper.
Narrate the incidents during the Scramble for Africa 5. Describe the results of the Scramble for Africa 6. Identify countries that were colonies by European countries in Africa European imperialism Imperialism is a term that refers to the economic and political domination or control of one country or nation by another one which is technologically and economically more advanced. Therefore, European imperialism was the economic and political domination of other nations world over by European powers. For more than three centuries the European nations had extended their influence and imperialism into other continents such as Asia, Latin America, the West Indies, and Africa.
Although there are differences between the Arab people from Morocco to the Persian Gulf, Arab people enjoy a common bond of history, culture and tradition. It was in the Arab world where people first developed the system of writing; scientific advances were also developed. Rich cultures like Ancient Egypt, Assyria and Babylonia began in this region. The Arab culture has had many influences but Islam has shaped the culture like no other. The message of Islam appeared for the first time in the Arabian Peninsula in the early seventh century, and soon the faith expanded across North Africa, the entire Middle East and extended to the borders of China.
Mineral wealth flowed out of Moroë and luxury goods in Arabia and India flowed in When Roman Empire thrived, trans-Saharan route revived as one of the most important trading routes connecting Africa and Eurasia. During the days of this era, Africa supplied Italy with gold and wild animals, and Rome supplied luxury goods and some of the techniques from scientific product to city-building. The major change of functioning of trans-Saharan route was brought about by the use of the domesticated camel and the development of camel saddle. some camel bones have been found recently in the Senegal valley helped archeologist assume that the use of camel dates back to 300 A.D. Guide by Berber, which have begun in trade between northern Africa and kingdom of Ghana in about 500 A.D also helped the route thrive, ensuring safe trade passage. [ Through this development, the usage of trans-Saharan routes increased, and enabled Eurasian people to contact more often with southern Africa.
Colonialism in Africa: The good, the bad and the downright ugly The most parts of Africa spent two generations under colonial rule. The colonization of Africa has a long history, being most noticeable between the 19th and 20th century. The effects of colonialism fall into three categories: good, bad and downright ugly. A good aspect of colonialism in Africa was economical growth. One factor that helped economical expansion was industrialization.
Dr. Ivan Van Sertima speaks of Christopher Columbus’ diary, which spoke of his many voyages and discoveries. After his second voyage, the Portuguese informed Columbus of Africans in large boats with merchandise sailing west of the Cape Verde islands. The Portuguese were aware of African navigation because they had been in Africa since 1415. Not only did the Portuguese tell Columbus of Africans but Natives in the Olmec civilization spoke of Africans as well. The Olmec civilization, was the first civilization established in the Americas.
Colonialism is the expansion of a nation's control over territory beyond its borders and has direct political and economic control over the country and its people. European colonialism began as early as in the fifteenth century with the Portuguese and Spanish exploration of the Americas, the coasts of Africa and India. However it was not until the 17th century that Britain, France and Holland established their overseas colonies. The Berlin Conference of 1884 decided which European countries get which territories in Africa which led to the most rapid form of European expansion called the ‘Scramble for Africa’ which took place between 1886 and 1914. The countries involved in the ‘Scramble for Africa’ were Britain, France, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Germany and Italy.
Most forms of coastal art in East Africa are characterized by geometric patterns and bold, vibrant lively designs (an influence from the Islamic cultural faith and arts) This was brought upon by the trade in Africa, whereby some of the fist settlers in the coastal regions were Arabs, bringing with them their Islamic influences in terms of architecture and design. Parts of Mombasa, a coastal town in Kenya are now referred to as ‘Old Town’, and are host to many ruins of the Muslim world such as ‘Fort Jesus’. The town consists of mosques once heavily adorned in intricate designs, but now old and un-kept remain as reminders of what they once were. After the defeat of the Portuguese, the Omani Arabs controlled the coast of East Africa (1697-1888), and it is this Arabic influence that can be traced around Mombasa town. Old town for example is renowned for its impressive carved doors.
This enabled trade that region to occur faster than ever before. Another change in the Indian Ocean’s commerce came through new strains of cereals and maize found in the America’s, which became a new commodity for trade. Along with grains came another new commodity for trade: humans. During 1000-1750 AD, the Fatimid Dynasty, a Muslim government in Egypt, began to slowly take over surrounding regions in Africa. After permeating African society, Muslim merchants began capturing slaves and selling them to buyers in Arabia, where slaves were prized as status symbols.