QUESTION 1

TRANSFORMATION THESIS: pg 281

- slavery was transformed and become an important component in production, mainly agriculture
- Finley and Terry talk about the slave mode of production  he expands their model
- their were changes that affected the production
- the origins and dev of various plantation systems, the use of slaves in mining and handicrafts
and the employment of slaves in livestock breeding are all manifestations of this transformation
into an instrument of production
- societies emerged
- the transformation was the development of a social formation that incorporated a slave mode of
production
- helps identify important factors  evol of slavery, including changes in the external market,
different responses to the export trade, and adjustments in the availability of slaves for domestic
assignment
- slavery could be transformed into a productive institution but social formations itself could be
transformed in diff ways
- need to consider the 3 sectors of African slave trade  1) the process of enslavement 2) the
mechanisms of slave distribution 3) the role of slaves in the social formation  theres
transformations in each of these - sometimes in combo or individual - differences are clearer
when regions contrasted
- in west central Africa, slave and trade dev that resulted in changes in the political economy
- this region became a source supply for the trans-atlantic trade, even though slavery
wasn’t transformed into a productive transformation - was more about sexual division of labour
(women did more agricultural
- slavery wasn’t crucial to production but was central to the social formation
- slaves were an item of export, and enslavement went a social control in a political system based
on tributary relationships between the military elite and dependent lineages  had lots of
systems like military conscription, marriage, funerals
- production was basd on the extraction of tribute, in the form of slaves
- in the Zaire River and the Niger Delta  transformaytion was between slavery and the
commercial infrastructure - slavers were incorporated in forms of merchants  this incomplete
transformation of slavery was connected with the export trade of slaves
-there was structural changes
-social formations  slaves were needed for the operation of business and was connected to
other goods too
-for military  the transformation of slaves was no more related to production than changes in
commerical organization or kinship relationships were
-thus, west-central Africa was the dev of plantation slavery of the americas, were slavery was the
basis of production, but where the instutions of enslavement were absent
- in the east coast region, slavery wasn’t transformed into a productive institution lost the supply,
and the use of slaves in production was far less possible

PORTUGAL SLAVE TRADE

- Portugese were the first to eshtablish ties between Europe and West Africa necause of
religious, political and commericial reasons
- They wanted to be the middlemen of Asia and Europe
 - The Arabs took high tariffs and the Portugese wanted to gain power in Europe
- They were looking for grain and gold
- In 1500, thousands of Moonish slaves in Portugal and this started the slave strade in West
Africa
- In the 15th century, slave trade was domestic – slaves could buy their own freedom and
they were considered human
- The Portugese didn’t want to colonize, but they wanted to eshtablish a secure trading
relationshuo
- They traded on African terms
- They based themselves on thousands of coast and coastal ports
o They set up factories, married local people
- more about the east African coast
- first traveled down the edge of the atlantic coast of afrixa in the 1430s and 1440s, reaching
Senegal river by 1445 - by doing so, they opened up another route that paralled the trans-Saharan
roads
- they were more interested in gold, than slaves and were willing to trade in pepper, ivory and
other products
- they had muslim middle men
- initially, they only succeeded in expanding the existing trans-Saharan trade by opening the
maritime route- later they were in internally by middlemen themselves
- they connected the sub Saharan Africa with the Medditarrian world and were in regional
commerce of West Africa
- 4 things that are like commerical patterns: 1) some slaves were taken to Southern Europe for
jobs like servants 2) some were sold to sugar planters on islands in the mediterrian and then
when it was spread, they were taken to areas on Medeira, Canaries etc 3) they brought and sold
slaves along the west African coast, transferring them from one place to another so that gold
could be purchased as a result of the profits 4) link to the trans-saharian trade is evident in the
commodities exported to west Africa - had textiles and other goods brought to North America
- Cadamosto, knew the competition with the trans-saharian trade
- there were 80 000 brought by the second half of the 15th century and P were able to establish
commerical patterns
- in the Senegambia region, they were able to buy gold which came from bamburu - these were
important sources of gold, before new and larger deposits came in the americas
- trade was easy here for P because it was well established in Senegambia - the routes crossed so
it was possible to trade to the coast (gold, slaves and other goods)
-because muslims were already trading goods, it was easy to introduce European commodities in
order to buy gold and slaves - this continued throughout the whole atlantic trade and had few
thousand slaves per year
- in west Africa, they had active trade in slaves on the Gold Coast, and were able to buy gold and
slaves - it was found in alluvial washings throughout the forest - easy for them
-because the Muslim network was well established, the P dealth with these merchants and the
actual producers of gold
-P imported slaves to buy gold
- the early contribution of P slave trade was to modify existing patterns of commerce
- they began buying slaves in the “slave rivers” in the Benin coast in 1470
- there was a great increase of slaves trades and this was related to the inclusion of the Kingdom
of Kongo into the commerical network of the P and den of Sao Thome
- King Afono formed an alliance with the P crown - he tried to increase his power through the
alliance of P and acceptance of Christianity
- had 31% of the slaves  second highest from 1700-1800
- in angola, maintained basis for rading and tradinging
- P used Luanda as a base for the raids into the interior but in 1640s, the Dutch expelled the P
- Christian Ethiopia accepted P, but it was a mixed blessing
- in West-Central Africa, the P expenditions into the interior was an attempt to expand its colony
and capture slaves
- the slave trade in angola, where portugese missionaries, traders and officials owned slaves since
the 16th century
- by the middle of the 18th century, the greatest concentration of Portugese skaves were areas
centered around Luanda
- There were more women than men
- Portugese slave owners relied on female labour in the production of food stuffs
needed to feed the trade slaves and to stock the slave ships
- They were very into slavery  their slaves had 5-10 year contracts

BRITISH SLAVE TRADE

- From 1700-1800, national carrier were british – accounted for 40.5%
- The English traded at Cabinda and Loango, which is north of Angola
- There was an expansion of the slave trade on the Bant of Bafia in the 18th century
o This expansion supposed the British ships which accounted for 85% of slave
shipments in the Night of Biafia
- Bristol and Liverpool account for this growth – resulted in the heavily 1960
population growth in British colonies and trade
- The Northern coast, which the Portugese could not control became the principle
market for the English especially after the 1670s
- The British gave most of the textile, during the height of trade in slaves
- The volume of non Slave Trade  the British were cleaver since they considered
themselves leaders in the fight against slavery
- The Futa Jallon  had a decentralized govt and allowed British to find colonies for
freed slaves
- British Govt and Boer settlement  the economy expanded and the Boers were loyal
to the British
- In 1834, the British govt tried to compose a new regime
- The British competed with France
- When the dutch company liquidated the British got control of ivory, grain and gold
- By the mid 18th century, Britain had full control of the west African trade
- They won Assento  the sole licence to ship black slaves from Africa to Spanish
countries
- Thus, they shifted into an age of colonization!
SIMILARITIES FOR BOTH  they both confined to coastal parts where they were compelled
to trade on terms eshtablished by port officials

Question One:
Explain Lovejoy's transformation thesis (10 marks) then write an essay comparing
the
British and Portuguese transatlantic slave trades. You can compare for example,
chronology, source and ethnicity of slaves, port cities, gender and age, etc., and
also
importantly the effect on Africa in the relevant regions. (30 marks)
TRANSFORMATION THESIS: pg 281
- Slavery was transformed and became an important component in production,
mainly
agriculture
- Finley and Terry talk about the slave mode of production ? he expands their model
- There were changes that affected the production
- the origins and development of various plantation systems, the use of slaves in
mining
and handicrafts and the employment of slaves in livestock breeding are all
manifestations
of this transformation into an instrument of production
- societies emerged
- the transformation was the development of a social formation that incorporated a
slave
mode of production
- helps identify important factors ? evol of slavery, including changes in the external

market, different responses to the export trade, and adjustments in the availability
of
slaves for domestic assignment
- slavery could be transformed into a productive institution but social formations
itself
could be transformed in diff ways
- need to consider the 3 sectors of African slave trade ? 1) the process of
enslavement
2) the mechanisms of slave distribution 3) the role of slaves in the social
formation ?
theres transformations in each of these - sometimes in combo or individual -
differences
are clearer when regions contrasted
- in west central Africa, slave and trade dev that resulted in changes in the political
economy
- this region became a source supply for the trans-Atlantic trade, even though
slavery
wasn?t transformed into a productive transformation - was more about sexual
division of
labour (women did more agricultural
- slavery wasn?t crucial to production but was central to the social formation
- slaves were an item of export, and enslavement went a social control in a political
system based on tributary relationships between the military elite and dependent
lineages
? had lots of systems like military conscription, marriage, funerals
- production was based on the extraction of tribute, in the form of slaves
- in the Zaire River and the Niger Delta ? transformation was between slavery and
the
commercial infrastructure - slavers were incorporated in forms of merchants ? this
incomplete transformation of slavery was connected with the export trade of slaves
-there was structural changes
-social formations ? slaves were needed for the operation of business and was
connected
to other goods too
-for military ? the transformation of slaves was no more related to production than
changes in commercial organization or kinship relationships were
-thus, west-central Africa was the dev of plantation slavery of the Americas, were
slavery was the basis of production, but where the institutions of enslavement were
absent
- in the east coast region, slavery wasn?t transformed into a productive institution
lost
the supply, and the use of slaves in production was far less possible

Portugal Slave trade:

Portuguese- the first Portuguese caravels edged down the Atlantic coast of Africa in
the
1430sand 1440s, reaching the Senegal River by 1445. The Portuguese were more
interested
in gold than slaves, although they were willing to trade in pepper, ivory, and other
products. Their investment in this exploration of the African coast was to bypass
Muslim
middlemen; the Portuguese only succeeded in expanding the existing trans-Saharan
trade by
opening the maritime route; later, they participated in internal African trade as
middlemen themselves. Structurally, therefore, both the Portuguese and the Muslim
traders
filled the same functions: they connected sub-Saharan Africa with the
Mediterranean world
and they participated in the regional commerce of West Africa.
Four ways the early Portuguese slave trade demonstrates this similarity to the
established commercial patterns. 1. Some slaves were taken to southern Europe for
employment as domestic servants, a demand like that in the Islamic countries of
North
Africa and the Middle East. 2. Salves were sold to sugar planters on islands in the
Mediterranean, and when sugar production spread into the Atlantic, to buyers on
Madeira,
the Canaries, and the Cape Verde Islands. 3. The Portuguese bought and sold slaves
along
the West African coast, merely transferring slaves from one place to another so that
gold
could be purchased as a result of the profits realized from the transit trade. 4. The
link to the trans-Saharan trade is particularly evident in the commodities exported
to
West Africa by the Portuguese; these included textiles and other goods bought in
North
Africa.
The total volume of the Portuguese slave trade along the Mauritanian, Senegambian
and
upper Guinea coast was about 80,000 for the second half of the fifteenth century.
The
modest trade of early Portuguese contact continued into the early seventeenth
century.
Estimates from the 1640?s suggest trade in the order of 1,200 slaves per year,
primarily
from Benin and its neighbours. Important ports: Benguela, Elmina, Bonny
British Slave Trade:
-From 1700-1800, national carrier were British ? accounted for 40.5%
- The English traded at Cabinda and Loango, which is north of Angola
- got almost all of their slaves from the Bight of Biafra, from here they got a
balanced
distribution of age and gender slaves, suggests fewer women and children were
retained
-British ships accounted for 85% of slave shipments in the Bight of Biafra
-The Northern coast, which the Portuguese could not control became the principle
market
for the English especially after the 1670s
-By the mid 18th century, Britain had full control of the west African trade
-British had sole licence to ship African slaves to Spanish countries
-Major Port: Calabar
Similarities between the two: they both confined to coastal ports, where they were
compelled to trade on terms established by port officials

Slavery was transformed, in part because of external influences and in part because
of the dynamics of internal forces. On the most general level, it argues that Africa
responded to outside influences to a greater extent than it influenced the outside
world. The more important question of how Africans shaped that response and the
means through which outside influence was minimized are considered in detail. The
implication of this thesis is that slavery was a central institution in many parts of
Africa, and the study examines where and when this became the case. He attempts
to explain African history from the perspective of slavery. Lovejoy points out that to
understand the legacy of slavery in Africa it is essential to study the mechanisms
and structures which developed within Africa. He suggests that commentary is
usually tempered by a description of the structure of slavery in the Americas, which
has little bearing on what happened back in Africa. Particular consideration needs to
be given to the role of enslavement itself which he claims "was not an integrated
part of the slave system" elsewhere. Lovejoy explores the changes that occurred in
Africa which allowed both the spread of slavery and its continuation long after the
abolition movement succeeded in the West.

Portugese wanted to be the middlemen in Europe and Western Africa, due to

religious, political and commercial reasons. They were looking for gold, ivory.
Portugese got rid of the moores in Europe, Portugese accustomed to Black slave
labor, Portugal had Moorish slaves so they traded with the west Africa. 1460
Portugese had went to Africa all the way to Sierra Leason. They traded with west
Africa, they traded cooking pots and pans made of brass for gold and ivory, pepper
and gum. The portugese wanted to create a fair trading relationship they traded in
coastal parts in boats. They married local women, these children considered
themselves superior than those of their minorities. They introduced many new crops
in the African region, Africans mainly had no problem trading. The portugese made
gold transportation slaves from one trading post to another trading post. Muslims
merchancts had a appetite for slaves. TransAtlantic slave trade began in the 15th
century when Portugal and subsequently expanded overseas and reach Africa,
Portugese kidnapped people from West coast of Africa and inslaved them in Europe.

British Empire led by John Hawkins in 1562, captured over 1200 Africans and sold
them as goods in the African colonies. British supplied slaves for Spanish and
Portugal colonies in America, British were separate from other European countries
as they had was in the Carribien with other European countries, therefore they now
supplied slaves to the British colonies, British took almost 10,000 voyages to Africa
for slaves. Barbados was the first settlement of British in the 1619 the Carribean in
1625, and Jamiaica in 1655, Sugar was cultivated in Barbados. British colonies were
the most valuable colonies from the European parts. They valued the slave trade
more, they had profited more of it than the Portugese, as this had helped the
industrial revolution in England to take place.

Question one: 40 marks

Explain Lovejoy's transformation thesis (10 marks) then write an essay comparing
the British and Portuguese transatlantic slave trades. You can compare for example,
chronology, source and ethnicity of slaves, port cities, gender and age, etc., and
also importantly the effect on Africa in the relevant regions. (30 marks) Note: you
will find using the chapter headings and index in Lovejoy helpful, look for example,
under Great Britain, Portugal, for ports, Luanda, Benguela, Bonny, Calabar, etc.

Part one: Lovejoy’s Thesis:

• Lovejoy attempted to describe and explain African history from the

perspective of slavery. He suggested that, although slavery was a central institution
in many parts of Africa, its development was heavily influenced by external forces -
specifically Islam and the Trans-Atlantic trade.

• Lovejoy points out that to understand the legacy of slavery in Africa it is

essential to study the mechanisms and structures which developed within Africa. He
suggests that commentary is usually tempered by a description of the structure of
slavery in the Americas, which has little bearing on what happened back in Africa.

Part two: Compare the British and Portuguese transatlantic slave trades.
As historian John Thornton remarked, "the actual motivation for European expansion
and for navigational breakthroughs was little more than to exploit the opportunity
for immediate profits made by raiding and the seizure or purchase of trade
commodities."

Portuguese Slave Trade

The beginning:

• Portuguese explorers began exploring the African coast.

o The Portuguese were the first to establish a lasting commercial tie between
Europe and Western Africa because of religious, political and commercial reasons.
Some scholars believe the Portuguese wanted to be the middlemen in the trade
between Asia and Europe.

o The Portuguese were the first to arrive. By 1471, under the patronage of
Prince Henry the Navigator, they had reached the area that was to become known
as the Gold Coast because Europeans knew the area as the source of gold that
reached Muslim North Africa by way of trade routes across the Sahara. The initial
Portuguese interest in trading for gold, ivory, and pepper so increased that in 1482
the Portuguese built their first permanent trading post on the western coast of
present-day Ghana. This fortress, Elmina Castle, constructed to protect Portuguese
trade from European competitors and hostile Africans, still stands.

• The first slaves brought to Portugal came in 1444 from Northern Mauritania
for Prince Henry.

• From Mauritania, the Portuguese moved their way down the western coast of
Africa, establishing contact all the way down to the Cape of Good Hope and around
to the other side of Africa. Through these contacts, the Portuguese initiated trade
relations that grew into the Atlantic Slave Trade.

Portugal was the first European country to attempt to conquor and exploit Africa,
establishing many forts along the coast and treaties with heads of state to help
enable this trade in human beings. Initially the trade developed with Portugal as the
hub of business, with goods and slaves traded through its capital Lisbon, with most
slaves working in cities such as Lisbon, Évora and areas such as the Algarve. By the
mid 16th century there were over 32,000 African slaves in Portugal, with the
majority owned by the aristocracy, officials and religious institutions.

INITIAL PORTUGUESE EXPLORATION OF WEST AFRICA

Prince Henry the Navigator initiated the search of the West African coast. Due to his
efforts, by 1460 the Portuguese had explored the coast of Africa all the way to
Sierra Leon. By 1498, Vasco de Gama had rounded the Cape of Good Hope. Trade
with the coastal West African middlemen included cowry shells and hardware
(cooking pots and brass pans and iron rods) in exchange for the gold, slaves, ivory,
pepper, gum Arabic, and ostrich feathers. The Portuguese purpose was not to
colonize, but to establish a secure trading relationship. They traded on African
terms. Since there was some resistance to European infiltration, and the coastline
was unsuitable to large boats, the Portuguese often based themselves on Islands off
the coast of the continent and at coastal ports. They set up factories--commercial
trading posts-- guarded by forts , spread their religion and grew sugar. Portuguese
captains often married local women and had mixed race children who completely
upset the societal hierarchy. These mixed race children often thought of themselves
as superior to their African counterparts served as middlemen in the trade. The
initial load of black slaves arrived in Portugal in 1441.

Slave port: Lisbon

By the 1470s Lisbon, Portugal's capital city, became the country's main slave port.
The Portuguese slave trade started then not as a trans-Atlantic trade but as an old
world trade, supplying slaves to Lisbon and hence onwards to Spain and Italy. In
1539 12,000 slaves were sold in the city's markets. This differed from other
European countries' experience of the trade which developed much more in their
colonies.

Lisbon also thrived off the businesses associated with slavery, with Portuguese
goods exchanged for slaves, goods traded for slaves and goods produced by the
slaves. People invested in the trade, and profited, and the Royal family took its
share through taxation. African slaves were employed in a variety of occupations
but increasingly they were to be found in urban employment such as domestic
service.

The Portugeuse explored and claimed more of the West African coast and islands,
with trade being established with Ghana, Benin, Gabon, and Mali in quick succession
in the 1470s. The Portuguese establish treaties with some nations, often trading
weapons for slaves. This had repurcussions, leading to warfare, starvation and
ultimately depopulation in some regions.

In 1443 they were able to trade one horse for 25-30 slaves, by 1500 price of slaves
rose to match the increased demand, one horse traded for 6 to 8 slaves.

Bases were established on small islands off the West Coast of Africa, the most
important being Cape Verde and Sao Thome. These were used for collecting slaves
traded from the mainland, who were then sent to Lisbon. The development of sugar
cultivation on Sao Thome provided the blueprint for the larger plantation economy
of the Americas. The free black and white populations mixed and rapidly and
became creolised, which was common to Portuguese colonies.

The Kongo was devastated by its relationship with Portugal. First contact was in
1482 and initially the Kongolese were hopeful that it might be a beneficial
relationship based on equality, and there was even an exchange of Ambassadors
and the Royal family were baptised into the Catholic Church.

Portugal was responsible for transporting over 4.5 million Africans (roughly 38.5% of
the total).

Portugal port city 1: Luanda

Luanda was Portuguese Angola's administrative centre from 1627, except during
the Dutch rule of Luanda, from 1640 to 1648, as Fort Aardenburgh. The city served
as the centre of a large slave trade to Brazil from c.1550 to 1836. The slave trade
was conducted mostly with the Portuguese colony of Brazil; Brazilian ships were the
most numerous in the ports of Luanda and Benguela. This slave trade also involved
local black merchants and warriors who profited from the trade.[3]

In the 17th century, the Imbangala became the main rivals of the Mbundu in
supplying slaves to the Luanda market. In the 1750s between 5,000 to 10,000
slaves were annually sold.[4] By this time, Angola, a Portuguese colony, was in fact
like a colony of Brazil, paradoxically another Portuguese colony.

Portugal port city 2: Benguela

Benguela, a Portuguese fort from 1587, was founded in 1617 by the Portuguese
under Manuel Cerveira Pereira, 8th Governor of Angola (1604-1607). It was long the
centre of an important trade, especially in slaves to Brazil and Cuba. Ships anchor
about a mile off the shore, in 4 to 6 fathoms (7 to 11 m) and transfer loads to
smaller boats which use five or six jetties in the town. However the nearby deep-
water sheltered harbour of Lobito is a much larger port.

)_____________

British Slave Trade

Second largest: 18.4 % of slaves
As Britain rose in naval power and settled continental North America and some
islands of the West Indies, they became the leading slave traders. At one stage the
trade was the monopoly of the Royal Africa Company, operating out of London, but
following the loss of the company's monopoly in 1689,[83] Bristol and Liverpool
merchants became increasingly involved in the trade.[84] By the late 17th century,
one out of every four ships that left Liverpool harbour was a slave trading ship.[85]
Other British cities also profited from the slave trade. Birmingham, the largest gun
producing town in Britain at the time, supplied guns to be traded for slaves. 75% of
all sugar produced in the plantations came to London to supply the highly lucrative
coffee houses there.[85

Captain John Hawkins made the first known English slaving voyage to Africa, in
1562, in the reign of Elizabeth 1. Hawkins made three such journeys over a period
of six years. He captured over 1200 Africans and sold them as goods in the Spanish
colonies in the Americas.

To start with, British traders supplied slaves for the Spanish and Portuguese
colonists in America. However, as British settlements in the Caribbean and North
America grew, often through wars with European countries such as Holland, Spain
and France, British slave traders increasingly supplied British colonies

The exact number of British ships that took part in the Slave Trade will probably
never be known but, in the 245 years between Hawkins first voyage and the
abolition of the Slave Trade in 1807, merchants in Britain despatched about 10,000
voyages to Africa for slaves, with merchants in other parts of the British Empire
perhaps fitting out a further 1,150 voyages.

Historian, Professor David Richardson, has calculated that British ships carried 3.4
million or more enslaved Africans to the Americas.

Only the Portuguese, who carried on the trade for almost 50 years after Britain had
abolished its Slave Trade, carried more enslaved Africans to the Americas than the
British (the most recent estimate suggests just over 5 million people).

Estimates, based on records of voyages in the archives of port customs and

maritime insurance records, put the total number of African slaves transported by
European traders, to at least 12 million people.
The first record of enslaved Africans being landed in the British colony of Virginia
was in 1619. Barbados became the first British settlement in the Caribbean in 1625
and the British took control of Jamaica in 1655.

The establishment of the Royal African Company in 1672 formalised the Slave Trade
under a royal charter and gave a monopoly to the port of London. The ports of
Bristol and Liverpool, in particular, lobbied to have the charter changed and, in
1698, the monopoly was taken away.

British involvement expanded rapidly in response to the demand for labour to

cultivate sugar in Barbados and other British West Indian islands. In the 1660s, the
number of slaves taken from Africa in British ships averaged 6,700 per year. By the
1760s, Britain was the foremost European country engaged in the Slave Trade. Of
the 80,000 Africans chained and shackled and transported across to the Americas
each year, 42,000 were carried by British slave ships.

The profits gained from chattel slavery helped to finance the Industrial Revolution
and the Caribbean islands became the hub of the British Empire. The sugar colonies
were Britain's most valuable colonies. By the end of the eighteenth century, four
million pounds came into Britain from its West Indian plantations, compared with
one million from the rest of the world.

Who benefited from the Transatlantic Slave Trade? (This isn’t really part
of the question)

In the Transatlantic Slave Trade, triangle ships never sailed empty and some people
made enormous profits. This Slave Trade was the richest part of Britain's trade in
the 18th century. James Houston, who worked for a firm of 18th-century slave
merchants, wrote, "What a glorious and advantageous trade this is... It is the hinge
on which all the trade of this globe moves."

Between 1750 and 1780, about 70% of the government's total income came from
taxes on goods from its colonies. The money made on the Transatlantic Slave Trade
triangle was vast and poured into Britain and other European countries involved in
slavery, changing their landscapes forever. In Britain, those who had made much of
their wealth from the trade built fine mansions, established banks such as the Bank
of England and funded new industri
Britain was one of the most successful slave-trading countries. Together with
Portugal, the two countries accounted for about 70% of all Africans transported to
the Americas. Britain was the most dominant between 1640 and 1807 and it is
estimated that Britain transported 3.1 million Africans (of whom 2.7 million arrived)
to the British colonies in the Caribbean, North and South America and to other
countries.

QUESTION 2  ISLAM IN WEST AND EAST

- Jihads resulted in the enslavement of million of people who settled in new states

WESTERN SUDEN
- Legacy of jihad was important factor in western sudan
- In 1870s, samori led to another movement in the upper niger basin so that the closing
decades of the 19th century, almost all of western suden was under the control of muslim
reformers
- There were 3 subregions 1) Senegambia and Futa Jallon 2) area incorporated into Segu
Tukulor as the consequence of the jihad of al-hajj 3)the upper niger basin
- In 1770, the expansive phase of jihad was terminated and setted a stage for the
exploitation of slaves and free peasants who worked the land along the river
- Until 1860, most slave holdings were small – farmers were considered rich if they had a
slave or 2
- Therefore, the slave market was saturated with fresh imports from the interior, and
average holdings increased
- 20% of the population were slaves
- The struggle between a the old tyeddo class of warriors and the Muslim reformers
resulted in more muslim communities and more slaves
- The muslim population there was largely involved in agriculture and used slave labour 
a route was passed near the coast- salt was formed and grains and cotton were grown as
well as textile was passed from the same route
- The growth of peanut exports encouraged the importations of slaves used in agriculture
- The completion of the railway system and after the series of world depression encouraged
peanut culturation  allowed influx of slaeves
o Changed the economy so that large slave owners had no advantage over small
owners
- Growth of trade allowed both peanut and slave production
- Spread in kajoor – lots of peanuts and slaves
- Gambia river valley, kajoor – high export so lots of slaves
- Parts of Futa Jallon, there was good plantations of bananas, cotton and yams  allowed
lots of slave villages – they were part of agriculture
- Slaves worked naked, in the sun, intimidated by the masters presence and the fear of
punishment
- Women had little clothing and children were tied to their back
- Employed in collecing dry grass, being burnt
- Slaves had their own huts, where the older wmen prepared food for the field hands – they
had gardens were the slaves fed themselves
- Language of colonial period, they weren’t called slaves, but they were called “Serfs”
- Slavery was abolished in Futa Jallon and they fled to plantations in the province of Labe
- Slaves were 2/3 and the planations grew
- Banamba grew a lot because slaves were imported from the South
- The economic developed of the state relied on exploitation of slave labour, based on
farming state lands and the taxation of peasants, who were forced to work on fields aside
from the govt
- Slaves had a vary of obligations, depending on their location and owner
- Muslim communities were absorbed in the movement (Juula reformers tried to take
power) so that eshtablished agricultural plantations expanded too
- Amoung those existing muslim towns that survived the Juula revolution was Kankan
o The fertile plain was settled around slave settlements
o By 1874, Samori controlled Kankan
o Ecnomy was based on the slaves in the north and these were used for importation
of horses and other goods
- Slaves in Buna were used for the production of Gold

EASTERN SUDEN  East of Lake Chad

- The agents of Islamic reforms came later to the region east of Lake Chad
- Dominant influence was there was external – the Turkish regime in Egypt and jihad
became important only in the 1880s
- The trend toward the greater concentrations of slaves and their use in production was
smilar to western sudan
- In the first two decades of the 19th century, Wadai and Funj were the center of slavery –
they inhabited slaves since the 17th century
- There was in influx of merchants from the Nile and the seizure of Kordofan from Senner
increased slaves
- A war allowed Wadai to export slaves and other goods across the Sahara via a new trade
route
- There were Egyptian policies that allowed lots of slaves and the domestic market was
flooded
- Egyptian solders were paid in slaves, who were then sold
- The Egyptian govt also accepted slaves as a payment of taxes – this allowed in an
increased circulation of slaves
- After the 1840s, the sudenese were able to supply slaves for themselves so that the
eygptian military importance declined
- Ethiopian highland focused on the general expansion of slavery
- Arabia and Egypt encouraged slave trade
- The commericial domination of muslim merchants meant that developments in the
creation of a slave economy were similar to those that took place in northern savanna,
although jihad only affected the Somali coast in the last decade of the century
- Muslim principles of slavery were high in the 19th century
- Slavery was essential to production
- Productive slavery was already essential to muslim savanna society, but in the 19th
century it expanded a lot
- Use of slaves in the military, govt administration and harems were used to but production
was the most used!!!!!!!

Relate to Christianity
- Islam expanded rapidly under the influence Christian colonial rulers
- Europeans a long history of conflict with muslims and didn’t want to jeapordize
administration by provoking African muslims
- Christains recognized muslim rulers as traditional rulers, mostly in western sudan even
though most of them only came into power in the 18th and 19th century
- The African muslim people had the support of colonial to encourage the conversion of
non muslims
- Islam was untainted with any association with European colonialism
- Most Christians were European and American but muslims were African
- Islam, like christainity opened up membership for Africans in a powerful, global,
religious tradition, but it allowed them to retain impt indigenous social and cultural
practices, particularily polygyny
- Islamic mysticism (Sufism) allowed the faithful to intergrate aspects of traditional rituals in
their worship
- when prophet muhammed died in 632, Muslim Arabs erupted Arabia and conqured the
lands of the east and the west but the Egyptian Copti Church had to accept themselves as
a minority
- the Baqt  Muslims travelled to Dongola and tried to seize the town, however the
Nubian obligated them to make peace (Baqt)
o most famout documents of the medieval times
o it was a peace treaty between Islam and Christainity
o agreement on accommodation that the regularized trade
- The coming of Islam in Africa (Egypt) allowed the contact between Ethiopia and Nubia
and the medittarrian world to end
- In the sub-saharian region  beyond the Sahara desert, there were non Muslims who
could be converted to Christianity and were engaged in a crusade against muslims which
Portugal had been waging for
o A situation regarding the legend of Prestor John who was surrounded by muslim
enemies - he allowed his Christian subjects to feel as though they were defending
their faith againtt the Jihad (holy war of Islam)
- City states in East Africa were a call for the Portugese, they plundered muslim inhabitats
in the name of Christ
o On Vasco de Gama’s second voyage to India, he encountered many pilgramges
returning from their hajj, and blew up these muslims passengers  evident that
theres been extended rivalry in several regions of Africa between muslims and
Christiians.
- There were many wars in Western Sudan Muslims and Christians
o Muslims believed that Jihad was good for converting Non-Muslims  they
thought this was morally correct
Slaves used in military, administration, and domestic service

names of titles, treatment of concubines and other specifics of slavery were

modified (basically the traditional meaning/role of slavery was changed by Muslims
who had slaves)

Muslims perspective of slaves were just prisoners captured in holy wars to spread
islam (meaning its not just black ppl...its anyone they fought a war with: pagan
arabs, white ppl, Asians, turks….anyonee they had a war with)

enslavement was justified on basis of religion (THIS WAS BEFORE 19th

CENTURY...AFTER 19th CENTURY, SLAVERY WAS A BUSINESS. since the question
says "emphasizing 19th century”, u can compare how before 19th century, slavery
was all based on religion, and after 19th century it was based on business)

basically those who were NOT muslim would be enslaved once defeated in war,
therefore slaved were not only limited to blacks, they also included Europeans and
Russians

Jews and CHrisitians were free since they were “ppl of the book” but the ones that
resisited the expanision of islam were enslaved

Women and children slaves were higher in demand- more likely to be incorporated
in muslim society, where as the men were put into military – and if they did good,
theyd be promoted

The requirement of slaves being pagan made Africa slaves an important source
(since in middle east, everyone was chrisitan or jew, people of the book, so they
could not be enslaved……making africa an important source to find non-muslims
who can be enslaved)

Slave trade expanded in 19th century

The master, in theory, had to convert slaves (that’s the point of having slaves in
muslims’ views) but this theory was not practiced (cause these masters were
corrupt mofos) the slaves that converted were SUPPOSED to be let go free. Corrupt
mofos didn’t wanna set them free, so they didn’t convert em

Slaves belonged to government and military wings/departments, where as in a

stateless society, theyd be just normal slaves. basically the muslim slavery system
differed from the rest of the world’s slavery system because 1) muslims allowed
their slaves to go free if they converted, which was not seen anywhere else, 2) the
slaves were used in the government and military, as well as craftsmen and stuff,
they learned SKILLS from their masters…this was not the case anywhere else in the
world where slaves were just used for cleaning and back breaking work, learning no
skills nor knowledge)
Islam allowed these slaves many ways to become free (converting, being promoted
in the military, being an administer for the government, being generals in battles
that were victorious)

There were skilled slaves for mining and crafting

Institutionalization was the major diff between muslim slavery system compared to
the worlds slavery system (this means making slaves a part of society through jobs
and high ranked positions, basically if a slave was good at military tactics, the
muslims let him be a general rather keep him as a common slave)

Before the arab wars were for political/Islamic expansion – these wars required a lot
of slaves in military
after the arabs wars were for political fragmentation – fighting each other – and
required even more slaves for military

3 patterns that prevailed that required slaves: 1) wars between muslim states and
non-muslim states 2)wars among nominally muslim governments 3) Islamic holy
wars (jihad) agasint authorities of all kinds

these 3 patterns required madddd amonunts of slaves, whether they were muslim
or Christian or whatever (although muslims were not to be enslaved, later on the
corrupt mofos enslaved muslims just cause they were short handed in
slaves……..this is why later slavery turned into a business)

muslims believed enslavement and military action is the only proper way of
converting pagans to muslims

therefore, official slave raids were made by muslims..like official official..meaning

theres plans, commanders, everythingggg. This was alllll led by rich sultans who
benefitted economically from slave trade (since its now a business)

Sultans claimed half the booty from these wars

Slaves were put in harems (the women), army (the men) and plantation (skilled
slaves) whereas the rest were sold for pappppppper (money)

Basically, the Islamic state depended on slaves for economy……it was great
business. Without slaves, economy would suck…so basically Islmic slavery changed
from CONVERTING THEM to SELLING THEM FOR MONEY

The chrisitan ethipia accepted portugese military’s help to fight off muslims who
came for slaves

Ethopian independence meant kickout out portugese too, the missionaries were
intolerant of loval Christians and were forced to leave (this is the onlyyyyy fact abt
the Christian missionaries that the question is asking abt)
Christian monarchy became weak as muslim states surrounded them

During economic hardship, slaves were a favourable commodity, slave trade to

Americas, Europe, etc

Sultans fought sultans to capture their slaves and after victory, enslaved the
muslims too…these niggas were dessssperate to get slaves. Basically, in middle
east, slave did NOT mean black Africans. It meant anyone defeated in war…sold to
get money…

All this came to an end when there was a jihad that overthrew these corrupt mofos
that were getting high off slaves. Although the rationale of slavery changed, they
were still required for daily tingz

Jihad significant as an inspiration for a new political order

Enslavement function of state

African communities became muslims

QUESTION 3

Q3. Mali: the eventual successor state to Ghana was mali which emerged during the thirteenth
century. Its origins are tied with the Bure goldfields on the Upper Niger. It was the land of the
Mande- speaking people who had long close ties with Soninke of the ghanna. Origins of Mali
are known to be based upon the epic ruler of Sundiata, or Lord lion who was a real historical
person probably born after t he turn of the thirteenth century. His clan, Keita would dominate
the empire for over two centuries, where Sundiata built his empire from the Mande farmas from
the forest and the fertile Niger valley who joined him in his conquests. In the process he
conquered the remnants of Ghana, building a much large empire on its foundations. Sundiata
took the title of Mansi of Mali and built his captal at Niani. Sundiata would become master of
the land and guardian of the ancestors, if not a d divine king, whose power was increased and
respected for his religious authority. Mali would be a larger, wealthier and more cosmopolitan
empire than its great predecessor. The administration of the empire of Mali was nothing like
Ghana. The court observed Islam, and literate muslims were secretaries and accountants.
Beyond niani, traditional chiefs ruled the land according to custom so long as they paid their
annual tribute to the mansa. The external security and internal enforcement by the state was the
responsibility of the army which consisted of elite corps of horsemen and foot soldiers
commanded by officials from the royal court. The economy of the empire was based on
agriculture, pastoralism , gold and salt trades. Mali achieved the limits of its expansion and
power in the fourteenth century symbolized by the famous pilgrimage(haj) of mansa musa to
mecca in 1324-1325. He established cultural, economic ties with the arab world and demanded
great deal of envy and respect. The wealth of the empire created a great deal of jealousy and
enemies such as tuareg nomads for example. The decline and fall of Mali was more from
internal decay than external enemies.

Kanem Bornu: largest empire in central sudan. The state appears to have been founded by a
nomadic people known as the Zaghawa, who spoke a Nilo- Saharan language and probably
emerged from the central Sahara desert. Zaghawa were speculated to have been among the first
people in the central sudan to acquire iron working technology and horses from the Berbers of
North Africa which allowed them to establish their authority over the stone tool using farmers
and fishermen of the Lake chad basin. Kanem bornu grew wealthy by dominating the sahelian
trade routes connecting north and south, did not have gold fields as it sent ivory,slaves and
animal skins north in exchange for salt from sahara, horses and manufactured foods from the
Maghrib. At the end of the 11th century, Humai ibn Salamna, founder of the Saifawa dynasty is
said to have driven the Zaghawa clansand founded the kingdom of Kamen. The immediate
predecessors to the Saifawa had been muslim converts and under Saifawa rule the religon’s
influence expanded. However as time went along, Saifawa and Bualal a powerful clan of
pastoralists. Buala would drive the saifawa out of the west across lake chaid in the late fourteenth
century. After that they would establish a new capital, Birni Gazaragmu and a new kingdom now
known as Bornu. Throughout the sixteenth century, Bornu expanded the empire and its
commerce stabilized the turbulent and encouraged the spread of islam. Saifawa would face
threats during the 17th and 18th century. Challenges also came through drought, famine and
importation of fireams across the sahara. Dynasty clunt to power until 1841.

Ghana: considered to be the land of gold, origins of Ghana were based upon a myth of an ancient
king kniown as the king of gold or magha who ruled west of niger and north of sengal rivers.
Ghana ruled over an empire that was sharply divided between city and country side. The ghanas
subjects were for the most part sonike speaking farmer fishermen and herdsmen. They were
ruled by hereditary village chiefs who were virtually autonomous so long as they acknowledged
the authority of the Ghana, paid him tribute and sent their sons as hostages to the royal court to
insure their loyalty. In return, Ghana was expected to protect his people fro the raids of desert
nomads by militia summoned from chieftains in the countryside. Ghana established a patterns of
expansion that would become characteristic of the great states of the western sudan. Their
wealth came largely from long distance commerce, empires expanded an east west axis to
monopolize the north- south trade route. It was the trading towns that represented the wealth of
the empire. Ghanas influence waned after the eleventh century, some say it was the attack by
berber almoravids who sacked the capital Koumbi Saleh and thereby dealt a terminal blow to the
coherency of the empires. The empire dissolved into rival chieftancies, political instability and
economic depression.

-sub-Saharan Africa was not dependent upon slave exports even though the revenue from the salve trade was
probably a major source of income for some merchant and some rulers.
SONGHAY + MALI

-in the 16th century slave exports from Songhay reached their peak
-songhay had a great number of slaves, while the decline in gold exports required an increase in slave exports to
make up the difference in revenue.
-there was a temporary increase in the volume of the trade, as thousands of captives were taken.
-the interaction between the external world and songhay was on a relatively equal basis until the 16th century
-morrocan invasion of songhay shifted the balancei n favour of external powers temporarily, but balance was
restored in 1600.
-african became a source of slaves but not at the expense of its political and cultural independence.
-incorporation of Islamic ideas and practices occurred gradually over man centuries in a form that as incorporated in
local context.
-aqcuisition of slaves through wars and raids were common in songhay.
-this state faces a structural problem related to the prevalence of enslavement and slavery
-slave raiding could not be carried out indefinatey without depeleting the population of the exploited sociteies,
people were seized or they fled and this mean war parties had to travel increasingly longer distances, reduing
chances of sucessfu raids.
-in Mali and Songhay warriors and politicians consolidated large empires so rulers established tributary relationships
with subjugated provinces. The tendency towards political instability, slave raiding and rivalry between
neighbouring towns was temporaly halted but when empires collapse these tendencies re-emerged.

-in mali, slave officials were appointed were appointed as earl as the 13th century and slaves were drafted into the
army.
-the uses in the military and gov’t were parallel in function to the employment of slaves.
-the participation of such African states such as mali and songhay in the slave trade occurred with the extension of
Islamic influence to sub-Saharan Africa.
-the collapse of songhay wasa tragc affair in the history of islam after the invasion of the Moroccans since both
states were musim states and any slaves were seized in the course of the battle.
-by the 16th century, soghay master had settled their slaves along the niger river, and the niger valley had become
well populated and agriculturally productive, more than ever before.
-the case of songhay revolves around the feature that wherever the slaves were exported, they were often used
domestically in large numbers.
-during this time (16th century) songhay can truly be called an empire but in 1591 when the morrocans invaded
songhay morocco was unabl to consolidate its own rule and songhay was not abl to expel the invaders.
-as a resultthe vast are that had been controlled by songhay was thrown into a state of confusion and political
instablility.

-the eventual successor state to Ghana was mali which emerged during the early 13th century.
-the origins of mali are remembered as the epid legend of a dynasty called sundaita
the decline of oral traditions of Ghana provided the opportunity for powerful sorcers called samaguru to buid his
own empire.
the dynasy leader sundiata triumphed over the sorcerers army laed the foundations of the empire.
-mali was a larger, wealthier, and more cosmopolitan empire than Ghana
-ther ewas a greater interaction with the ilamic world beyond the desert
-sunandiatta did not care much for the religion, but his son allowed islam to become the court relgion.
-the administration of mali was not like Ghana due to the itegration of islam and msulims in the court.

GHANA

-ghana emerged as a small state in 300 ce and had grown into a thriving empire approx. 600 years later.
-the origins of Ghana are enshrouded in the mythology of ancient kings known as kayamagha (the king of gold).
-by the 9th century Ghana controlled the region known as wagadu, and prospered from his royal monopoly on the
trade and slaved tht passed through the city.
-a geographer, Abu Ubayd Al-bakri, observed although muslim merhans were important in commerce and the
administration of the state, the Ghana (king) and his subjects continued to practice their traditional religions.
-the Ghana ruled over an empire that was sharply divided between city and countryside.
-the people were loyal to him and in return expected him to protect them from raids of desert nomads by a militia
summoned from chieftains in the countryside
-the states wealth came largely from the long-distance commerce, empires expanded along an east and west axis in a
bid to monopolize the nourth0south trade routes.
-to ensure all trade would come through their territory, they established an easy strategy which was to establish
control on the deserts edge.
-during this era the empire dissolved into rival chieftaincies, political instability, and economic depression
-there was a slackening of economic activity which could not feed the bloated population

Question 4

- Portugese were first to colonize Africa south of the desert

- Until then that area was shrouded in mystery there were myths about the people. Some
Europeans called all Africans south of the Sahara Desert Ethiopians

Many reasons for Portuguese colonialism

- House of Avis defeated last Muslim stronghold in Portugal in 1249 and finally took power. It
was a Christian dynasty that brought stability to Portugal
- It had a very strong country in Spain as its neighbour and there were tensions between the two
countries
- Wanted gold to finance expeditions and to defend itself
- Expeditions would also allow it to go to Asia and make money from spice trade
- Most people in North Africa were Muslim. They hoped that South of the desert there could be
people who could be converted it Islam and then used to wage crusade that portugal had been
waging for a century
- Legend of Prester John had a big impact too. Prester John was supposed to be a Christian king
who ruled among Muslims. His kingdom was in danger of being run over by Muslims. Many
said that he lived In Ethiopia. So king had to do his christian duty and come to the aid of Prester
John
- Wanted money in general. Participated in the slave trade too
- Why is this important? Helps explain motivation. It is shows us that for the most part
Europeans were confined to small outposts and did not fully explore until centuries later.

Imperialism in Africa

- The end of the slave trade was a major factor. People were getting upset at the slave trade and
wanted governments to end it. Every country in Europe abolished slave trade by 1833.
- This meant that merchants had to actually start dabbling in commerce and buy legitimate
things. So they searched for new markets and raw materials
- More people living in cities also meant that instead of things like gold and copper, there was
more demand for things like spices and soap. Growing awareness of hygiene. British therefore
protected palm oil rich area of Niger Delta
- Travels by people like
- Slowly but surely people like Joseph Thomson started to propagate a myth that emphasized the
value of the African interior and then they said that the African people desperately needed help.
This helped shape the acceptance of imperialism. "White man's burden" We have to civilize
these people. European superiority in most fields also gave them confidence. They felt that they
had to spread this great civilization across the world

European conquests

- Between 1878 and 1898 European states had partitioned conquered pretty much the entire
continent
- Industrial revolution in Europe meant that countries needed raw materials. Africa was resource
rich
- Africans were also market for European goods
- Nationalism was a major factor. Countries wanted to out do each other and become the greatest
country in Europe. Colonies were seen as status symbol. Before Germany and Italy were created
the old powers didnt care much about Africa. They refused permission to explorers who wanted
to explore further because they saw it as expensive. Britian almost abandoned its African
colonies in 1868. But the creation of Italy in 1866 and Germany in 1870 shifted balance of
power. Those new countries saw old powers having many colonies enviously. So they pushed
their rulers to get colonies. But now that they were aggressively seeking colonies the old powers
didnt want to fall behind. So they too consolidated and started to explore. The scramble then was
actually a reflex by old powers
- Diamonds discovered in Kimberly South Africa in 1867. Gold was also found in Trasvaal in
1885. This is part of modern South African but before it was a different colony. The British had
control of Kimberley. They extended railway line into Transvaal and eventually invaded. The
entire area became part of South Africa.
British started building railroad to connect these

As countries built infrastructure they needed to justify start up costs with money. Railways were
enormously expensive but they helped spread the colonial administration and it moved goods

Both economic and political considerations best explain the above. You could argue that
religious reasons do as well. Clearly, these served to underdevelop Africa. The colonial countries
went there with the intention to take as much as possible. They did not care about the people and
often brutally treated them to get what they wanted. Similarly, they divided and conquered with
little regard for the people. The European powers drew arbitrary borders that made no sense.
Suddenly you had people who were family separated by borders. Groups that never got along
before were suddenly living among each other. Basically you had people living thousands of
miles away suddenly gaining ownership of massive amounts of land with the stroke of a pen.
They relied on treaties that were obtained by false promises and threats. So they were ignorant
and had little knowledge of Africa. They were essentially misled by merchants who wanted more
access to minerals and markets and by Christian misisonary who argued that it was their duty to
civilize the Africans. These people embellised things. Lord Salisbury once said that he knew
more about the moon than Africa because he could actually see the Moon.

Question four: 15 marks

Write an essay (or use short form, this is permitted though I believe the essay
question says "write an essay") outlining the politics of the partition, scramble, and
the early processes of colonialism in Africa. The question suggests you might want
to concentrate on two places. (examples) Also, in your opinion, do economic or
political motives best explain the above and in your opinion did these processes
serve to underdevelop Africa.

The Scramble for Africa, also known as the Race for Africa[1] was a process of
invasion, attack, occupation, and annexation of African territory by European
powers during the New Imperialism period, between 1881 and World War I in 1914.

As a result of the heightened tension between European states in the last quarter of
the 19th century, the partitioning of Africa may be seen as a way for the Europeans
to eliminate the threat of a Europe-wide war over Africa.[2]

• Many African polities, states and rulers (such as the Ashanti, the Abyssinians,
the Moroccans and the Dervishes) sought to resist this wave of European
aggression.[4] However, the industrial revolution had provided the European armies
with advanced weapons such as machine guns, which African armies found difficult
to resist.[5] Also, unlike their European counterparts, African rulers, states and
people did not at first form a continental united front although within a few years, a
Pan-African movement did emerge.[6]

• Strategic rivalry

• While tropical Africa was not a large zone of investment, other regions
overseas were. The vast interior between the gold and diamond-rich Southern Africa
and Egypt, had, however, key strategic value in securing the flow of overseas trade.
Britain was thus under intense political pressure to secure lucrative markets against
encroaching rivals, in China and the British Empire's eastern colonies, most notably
India, Malaya, Australia and New Zealand. Thus, securing the key waterway
between East and West – the Suez Canal – was crucial. The rivalry between the UK,
France, Germany and the other European powers account for a large part of the
colonization. Thus, while Germany, which had been unified under Prussia's rule only
after the 1866 Battle of Sadowa and the 1870 Franco-Prussian War, was hardly a
colonial power before the New Imperialism period, it would eagerly participate in
the race. A rising industrial power close on the heels of Britain, it had not yet had
the chance to control overseas territories, mainly due to its late unification, its
fragmentation in various states, and its absence of experience in modern
navigation. This would change under Bismarck's leadership, who implemented the
Weltpolitik (World Politics) and, after putting in place the basis of France's isolation
with the Dual Alliance with Austria-Hungary and then the 1882 Triple Alliance with
Italy, called for the 1884–1885 Berlin Conference which set the rules of effective
control of a foreign territory. Germany's expansionism would lead to the Tirpitz Plan,
implemented by Admiral von Tirpitz, who would also champion the various Fleet
Acts starting in 1898, thus engaging in an arms race with Britain. By 1914, they had
given Germany the second largest naval force in the world (roughly 40% smaller
than the Royal Navy). According to von Tirpitz, this aggressive naval policy was
supported by the National Liberal Party rather than by the conservatives, thus
demonstrating that the main supports of the European nation states' imperialism
were the rising bourgeoisie classes.[9]

• The scramble for African territory also reflected a concern for the acquisition
of military and naval bases for strategic purposes and the exercise of power on an
international scene. The ability to influence international events depended largely
upon new weapons – steel ships driven by steam power – and for the maintenance
of these growing navies, coaling stations and ports of call were required. Defence
bases were also needed for the protection of sea routes and communication lines,
particularly of expensive and vital international waterways such as the Suez Canal.
[10]

• Colonies were also seen as important aspects of 'balance of power'

negotiations – useful as items of exchange at times of international bargaining.
Colonies carrying a heavy native population were also important as a source of
military power; Britain and France used large numbers of British Indian and North
African soldiers respectively in many of their colonial wars. In the great age of
nationalism there was strong pressure for a nation to acquire an empire as a status
symbol; the idea of 'greatness' became inextricably linked with the sense of 'duty'
that many European nations used to justify their imperialistic ambitions.[10]

2 examples

1 CONGO:

David Livingstone's explorations, carried on by Henry Morton Stanley, excited

imaginations. But at first, Stanley's grandiose ideas for colonisation found little
support owing to the problems and scale of action required, except from Léopold II
of Belgium, who in 1876 had organised the International African Association. From
1869 to 1874, Stanley was secretly sent by Léopold II to the Congo region, where he
made treaties with several African chiefs along the Congo River and by 1882 had
sufficient territory to form the basis of the Congo Free State. Léopold II personally
owned the colony from 1885 and used it as a source of ivory and rubber.

While Stanley was exploring Congo on behalf of Léopold II of Belgium, the Franco-
Italian marine officer Pierre de Brazza travelled into the western Congo basin and
raised the French flag over the newly founded Brazzaville in 1881, thus occupying
today's Republic of the Congo. Portugal, which also claimed the area due to old
treaties with the native Kongo Empire, made a treaty with Britain on February 26,
1884 to block off the Congo Society's access to the Atlantic.

By 1890 the Congo Free State had consolidated its control of its territory between
Leopoldville and Stanleyville and was looking to push south down the Lualaba River
from Stanleyville. At the same time the British South Africa Company of Cecil
Rhodes (who once declared, ‘all of these stars... these vast worlds that remain out
of reach. If I could, I would annex other planets’[13]) was expanding north from the
Limpopo River sending the Pioneer Column, guided by Frederick Selous, through
Matabeleland and starting a colony in Mashonaland. To the West, attention was
drawn to the land where their expansions would meet Katanga, site of the Yeke
Kingdom of Msiri. As well as being the most powerful ruler militarily in the area,
Msiri traded large quantities of copper, ivory and slaves, and rumours of gold
reached European ears. The scramble for Katanga was a prime example of the
period. Rhodes and the BSAC sent two expeditions to Msiri in 1890 led by Alfred
Sharpe, who was rebuffed, and Joseph Thomson who failed to reach Katanga. In
1891 Leopold sent four CFS expeditions. The Le Marinel Expedition could only
extract a vaguely worded letter. The Delcommune Expedition was rebuffed. The
well-armed Stairs Expedition had orders to take Katanga with or without Msiri's
consent; Msiri refused, was shot, and the expedition cut off his head and stuck it on
a pole as a 'barbaric lesson' to the people. The Bia Expedition finished off the job of
establishing an administration of sorts and a 'police presence' in Katanga.

The half million square kilometres of Katanga came into Leopold's possession and
brought his African realm up to 2,300,000 square kilometres (890,000 sq mi), about
75 times larger than Belgium. The Congo Free State imposed such a terror regime
on the colonised people, including mass killings with millions of victims, and slave
labour, that Belgium, under pressure from the Congo Reform Association, ended
Leopold II's rule and annexed it in 1908 as a colony of Belgium, known as the
Belgian Congo.
Belgian brutality in their former colony of the Congo Free State,[14][15] now the
DRC, was well documented; up to 8 million of the estimated 16 million native
inhabitants died between 1885 and 1908.[16] According to the former British
diplomat Roger Casement, this depopulation had four main causes: "indiscriminate
war", starvation, reduction of births and diseases.[17] Sleeping sickness ravaged
the country and must also be taken into account for the dramatic decrease in
population.

Estimates of the total death toll vary considerably. As the first census did not take
place until 1924, it is difficult to quantify the population loss of the period.
Casement's report set it at three million.[18] See Congo Free State for further
details including numbers of victims.

A similar situation occurred in the neighbouring French Congo. Most of the resource
extraction was run by concession companies, whose brutal methods resulted in the
loss of up to 50 percent of the indigenous population.[19] The French government
appointed a commission, headed by de Brazza, in 1905 to investigate the rumoured
abuses in the colony. However, de Brazza died on the return trip, and his "searingly
critical" report was neither acted upon nor released to the public.[20] In the 1920s,
about 20,000 forced labourers died building a railroad through the French territory.
[21]

Suez Canal

Ferdinand de Lesseps had obtained many concessions from Isma'il Pasha, the
Khedive of Egypt and Sudan, in 1854–1856, to build the Suez Canal. Some sources
estimate the workforce at 30,000,[22] but others estimate that 120,000 workers
died over the ten years of construction due to malnutrition, fatigue and disease,
especially cholera.[23] Shortly before its completion in 1869, Khedive Isma'il
borrowed enormous sums from British and French bankers at high rates of interest.
By 1875, he was facing financial difficulties and was forced to sell his block of
shares in the Suez Canal. The shares were snapped up by Britain, under its Prime
Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, who sought to give his country practical control in the
management of this strategic waterway. When Isma'il repudiated Egypt's foreign
debt in 1879, Britain and France seized joint financial control over the country,
forcing the Egyptian ruler to abdicate, and installing his eldest son Tewfik Pasha in
his place. The Egyptian and Sudanese ruling classes did not relish foreign
intervention. In 1881, the Mahdist revolt erupted in Sudan under Muhammad
Ahmad, severing Tewfik's authority in Sudan. The same year, Tewfik suffered an
even more perilous rebellion by his own Egyptian army in the form of the Urabi
Revolt. In 1882, Tewfik appealed for direct British military assistance, commencing
Britain's occupation of Egypt. A joint British-Egyptian military force ultimately
defeated the Mahdist forces in Sudan in 1898. Thereafter, Britain (rather than
Egypt) seized effective control of Sudan.
QUESTION 5
ETHNICITY AND CULTURE OF THE NUER (information based on the film assignment)
The Nuer is a documentary film, made by Hilary Harris and George Breidenbach and
produced by Hilary Harris and Robert Gardner for The Film Study Center at Harvard University.
The film is based on the Nuer people, Nilotic herdsmen of the Nile basin, in the village of Lara,
which is South west Ethiopia. It portrays the simple living of the Nuer people as their lives
revolve around cattle. The film concentrates on the images of the people as they engage in their
everyday lives with minimal narrative. Various events, such as a bride’s value, ghost marriage,
ritual to manhood (gar) and a fight against smallpox are all described in the film through
narrative. These events allow the viewers to gain a further understanding of the customs of their
tradition.
Through out the film, there are great interactions between the people and cattle. Cattle
plays a vital role in the Nuer tradition and religion and ethnicity. They are an important part of
relationships as cows are passed down from father to son as a form of happiness. In addition,
cows are sacrificed to God for important reasons such as for the longing of a cure for a sickness.
The cows are also dedicated to the ghosts of the owner’s ancestors, as well as any spirits that are
a part of them at that time. People from this community burn the ashes of the cow dung and rub
these ashes along the backs of the cow or ox through the sacrifice of the cattle. A sacrifice is
essential for the completion of every ceremony in the Nuer tradition. In addition, cattle are used
for payment of fines and debts and as bride prices in marriage. Children mold clay figures of
cows out of clay, ash, wood or any other available material. Young boys have a favorite ox that
they give a name and treat as if it was a puppy.
The Nuer’s culture was very evidently seen throughout the documentary. As Ethiopia is
one of the poorest countries in the world, these people themselves live in dry poor conditions.
Their diet consists of grains and vegetables grown by themselves. Cows are not used primarily
for food, but Nuer do drink the milk. It seemed as though meat was only eaten in important
celebrations when an animal was sacrificed. Meat was divided and was distributed to the
families.
The climate consists of wet and dry conditions; however, majority of the film portrayed
the village of Lara experiencing dry conditions. The narrator explains that during the rainy
season, the land floods and people have to move to another village of higher grounds. During this
time, the woman grow millet and maize and the men take care of the caddle. This relates to
culture as the documentary shows that both men and women take an active role for the
maintenance of the family and tradition of Nuer people.
One important ritual portrayed in the film was the tradition of gar. When a boy feels as
though he is old enough, he is marked with cuts on his forehead, symbolizing manhood. The
ritual usually begins with the man desiring for this change. His head is shaved by his sister and
he received cuts on his forehead by an older man. When a boy has gar, he is given a new name
and an ox’s dung ashes are placed within his home. In addition, he is taught to care about his
cattle. Without gar, a boy cannot get married, have children or go into battle.
The film not only portrayed many cultural rituals, but explained specific social customs.
Men often get together and drink homemade beer (cohn), which is made by their wives. Men
from the Nuer tradition only drink with members of their own age. In addition to social customs,
the Nuer highly value spirits of ghosts from their lineages. The narrator explains a story in which
a man entered a forest and did not return. They believe that his spirit resides in the village as a
ghost, as he was not buried properly. The villagers had made a house for this ghost and placed
gifts and items of jewelry. A woman is married to the ghost, bares children in his name and the
ghost resides within the woman. In addition, the ghost lives in his new home and it is claimed
that he is satisfied. As a result, a goat is sacrificed for the ghost and people. The head of the ghost
is placed within the ghost’s house and the meat is divided among the people.
Due to the high level of poverty, diseases and sickness rapidly spread. During the time of
the filming of the documentary, many children within the village of Lara were suffering from
small pox. Many bullets were shot and were sacrificed in the sky to God, in exchange for asking
for relief of small pox. This shows that the people of the village help each other out and stay
close together, resulting in a close knit community.

GENERAL AGRICULTURE/CLIMATE/GEOGRAPHY – ch 1 of Collins and Burns

- In the Nile Valley, domestic culturation of crops was evolved locally in the rich soil
deposited on the banks of the river or was borrowed from the nearby soil cresent
- Hunting was impossible because it was dangerous and only really limited to small
animals so it wasn’t sufficient
- Gathering was unrealiable because there are 20 000 species of wild plants – they are
poisonious, without nutrition and difficult to prepare
- The breeding of animals into livestock and domestification of plants were parallel
- Africa has a large number of animal species but only 6 came into modern value for
humans  they were all asian origin  camels, cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, horse
o They were the primary source of protein, providing meat and milk
- Farmers are dependent on domestic mammals for prosperity and survival – their milk
provided a continuous
o They increased the yield of crop production by their manure, the ancient realiable
fertilizer and a dependable source of fuel for the fire
o The larger domestic animals like the cow, horse and camel are usually needed to
pull the plow  they become a means for transportation
o Their wool is sheared from the skins of sheep and goats
o Leather tanned from the hides of the cattle
- The domestication of agriculture and a few animals, small and large were complementary
- The domestication of plants and animals has produced profound changes in the cultural,
political and social life of modern humans that differentiates them from their hunter and
gatherer ancestors
- Farmers requires a secondary life stye that in turn creates a more dense population
because it means that you need to have more children
- Hunter and gatherer mothers are always on the move
- Children are needed to take care of the farm  adolescence boys and girls work in the
fields and milk the cows
- The storage of stock was a reliable supply during the lean months after the harvest and if
the rain failed, the crops would be shiveled in the sun
- The more successful farmer became a member of a social and political elite by gaining
control of good production – they became “big men” who used their leisure time for
politics, the arts and wat
- CROPS  they were derived from wild varieties and the place of their identification
 indicated their origin
- Early domestication of crops  wheat, barley, chickpeas and lenyils
- Seeds of wild animals were sfrom china, the Americas and Africa
- The Ethiopians were the first to grow coffee, teff, a cereal and banana
- There was borrowing as well as independent domestication of local plants
- Egypt adopted wheat, barley and peas
- Domestication of wild plants in Egypt, West Africa or Ethiopia were more accidental
- Gatherers would collect berries, nuts and peas of the largest size whose seeds would cast
off consumption, reproduce plants over many generations whose fruits were larger, more
ediable and more nutritious
- They eat lots of carbs and find protein in meat and milk from domesticated animals and
fish as well as plants such as peas that have abundant protein
- The wheat, barley and peas of the fertile cresent and the sorghum and milley of western
Africa were annuals that die in the dry season of both regions
o These cereals provided large seeds
o These seeds were used for food
- The food supply allowed wanderers to settle in permanent regions that became villages,
gathering wild grains that led to their domestification – planting, weeding and harvesting
in fields  this became the beginning of agriculture
- Some Africans were more innovative than others in the development of agriculture and
the domestication of animals gave them an advantage in food production, procreation
etc..
- The most important food in Africa is the perennial crop called SORGHUM (it produces
small grains that came from wild grasses in the savanna west of the nile)
- Rice grows best in wet lowlands watered either by rain or rivers
- Sorghum, millet and rice provide nourishment for Africans in the African forest, but the
most abundant is yam
o Yam is high abundant in carbs but less nutritional value
- Vegetables, fish, palm oil, goats and chickens can survice in the tsetse-fly zone
DISEASE – Africa has many parasitic diseases  malaria, bilharzias, sleeping sickness,
kala-azar, and river blindness
- Disease is usually carried by insects and parasites (they carry from one host to another)
- Treatment is more spiritual than medicated
- There are 296 diseases and 3 account for the decline  sleeping sickmess, bilzaria and
malaria (the most common)
- Viral diseases  yellow fever
- Colonial rule had help the treatment of these diseases  they allowed for new drugs to
cure infectious diseases such as measles (one of the most common causes in infant
mortality), pneumonia, tuberculosis and a host of intestinal worms, guinea worm and
loiasus and skin diseases (Leprosy)
- Hospitals were built in the urban areas, through their patients were mostly colonial
officials and the African elite
- There were a shortage of trained staff
- Tropical medicines saved lifes and continues to do so in modern time
- The threat of epidemics was most prevalent in the growing colonial urban centers
- Malaria is the most common disease for Africans all through out except in the cooler and
 less humid regions
- Sleeping sickness  affects humans and domestic animals and is carried my testse flies
- Bilharzia  more insidious than sleeping sickness
o More debilitating than a killer
o Comes from parasites and are found in waters of rivers
o They need a small aquatic snail in the water and whoever interacts with that water
are infected through the skin with the snails fluke
o Second greatest deterrent to population growth in Africa
- Malaria  mosquito is the vector of the disease
o Epidemic in all regions except the cool and dry regions
o The greatest tropical disease and accounts for 2/3 of the deaths annually
CLIMATE  The climate of Africa ranges from tropical to subarctic on its highest peaks. Its
northern half is primarily desert or arid, while its central and southern areas contain both savanna
plains and very dense jungle (rainforest) regions. In between, there is a convergence where
vegetation patterns such as sahel, and steppe dominate.

In Ethiopia  Ethiopian climate varies according to the different topographical regions. The
central plateau has a moderate climate with minimal seasonal temperature variation. The mean
minimum during the coldest season is 6° C (43° F ), while the mean maximum rarely exceeds
26° C (79° F ). Temperature variations in the lowlands are much greater, and the heat in the
desert and Red Sea coastal areas is extreme, with occasional highs of 60° C (140° F ). Heavy
rainfall occurs in most of the country during June, July, and August. The High Plateau also
experiences a second, though much milder, rainy season between December and February.
Average annual precipitation on the central plateau is roughly 122 cm (48 in). The northern
provinces receive less rainfall, and the average annual precipitation in the Ogaden is less than 10
cm (4 in). The westernmost region of Ethiopia receives an annual rainfall of nearly 200 cm (80
in). Severe droughts affected the country in 1982–84,1987–88, and 1991.

Africans define their identity by the ties of family, clan, and lineage, although
colonial rules encourage them to embrace the identities of further clans and roots.
Every African belongs to a tribe which are clearly defined communities giving one a
sense of identity. One main factor which divided people into tribal groups was
language. For example the four main linguistic families in Africa were Niger-Congo,
Afro-Asiatic, Nilo-Saharan and Khoisan. In addition there were various ethnic groups
within such as the Kikuyu tribes in Kenya consisting of people who lived in the
agricultural settlements. Belonging to a tribe or ethnic group gave one the sense of
belonging when migrating. In addition, tribal affiliations were used as an aide to
find work, provide social networks, and maintain social ties within rural homelands.
For example, the Shangaans and the Zulu tribe’s powerful ties of tribal identity lead
to the diamond mines of Kimberley and the gold digging of the Witwatersrand.
During times such as war, famine and crisis, tribal solidarity offered individuals
reliable and familiar allies in the competition for recourses and security within their
community. Those who came from ruling ethnic groups gained great advantage to
resources. In this way ethnicity emerges primarily as an agent of accumulation,
both of wealth and political power.

Climate and crops within Africa have a great effect on the population rate. If
there was a limited capacity of land, the population rate stayed relatively low,
though when the climate, land and inhabitants produced large amounts of food, the
population rapidly expanded, as well as the mobility of productive people. Although
it is greatly expected that the increase in food production, and expected birth rate
would greatly increase the population of the country, the number of Africans who
had actually survived was relatively low due to tropical diseases which greatly
spread through the countries. Tropical environments as well as the climate change
of seasons greatly caused the spread of disease due to the great diversity of living
organisms. Although many diseases have spread through Africa, the three major
ones were Sleeping Sickness, Bilharzias, and Malaria. Sleeping Sickness infects
humans and domestic animals, and is carried by the testes of flies which are about
the size of house flies. These flies are found in low-lying savanna lands with tropical
climates, and spread around streams, rivers and lakes. Once a victim is infected,
the disease works through the bloodstream and may lead to death. Bilharzia
originates in the waters of lakes, rivers and canals, and is carried by aquatic snails.
It affects people through the skin who come to bathe in the waters. It has spread
from East Africa to the Nile deterring population growth. Malaria is the leading
cause of death in Africa, and is transmitted through mosquitoes found in cool and
dry regions of the earth. The spread of Malaria occurred with the expansion of
agricultural settlements which increased the number of mosquitoes. It affected
people of all ages, and women experienced premature births, deaths of embryos
and spontaneous abortions due to the disease. Once the disease has affected one
person, the cycle begins, and is transmitted to others.

Africa has greatly agricultural diversities of crops due to its different

ecologies, climate and terrain. Its agriculture can be divided into crops grown from
seeds, roots or plantains. Cereal and grains require seeds saved from previous
harvest in savanna lands which require medium rainfall. Root crops are derived
from tubers or shoots that are planted into moist soil of forest regions in humid and
heated climates. Plantains are seedless vegetables that sprout fruits such as
bananas. One famous food in Africa is durra, which produces small grains initially
gathered from wild grasses in the savanna. In addition, another important drop is
the Millet that survives in drought where as the durra does not. It survives in many
regions such as Ethiopia and Western Sahel. Lastly, rice is one of Africa’s most
used grains that grow best in wet lowlands by rain or rivers. It is commonly used
worldwide. The durra, millet and rice provide Africans with the most nourishment
needed in the savanna and along the rivers.