Passport to Africa

TOPIC 1.5
State Building in Africa: Tinariwen music video
Skill: Comparison,
Goal: Explain how and why states in Africa developed and changed
over time.

THEMATIC FOCUS: Governance GOV

A variety of internal and external factors contribute to state formation, expansion, and decline.
Governments maintain order through a variety of administrative institutions, policies, and
procedures, and governments obtain, retain, and exercise power in different ways and for
different purposes.

Station 1 “Reacting to Globalization” (HIST 101: World History I Harrisburg Area

Community College)
Directions: Go to link
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/week-12-reacting-to-globalization/id458318862?i=1000
106848869
Listen 0:00-9:05

1. Interaction between regions: nomadic invasions, empires, universal religions, and the Silk
contact
Road among many other things all brought different peoples into _____________________

with one another.

2. Why can the period beginning about 1000 CE be considered an era of Globalization,

where we didn’t call it Globalization before 1000 CE? Different regions with distinct self identities were interacting

arab
3. Sea routes began to be developed by _____________________ traders as a means of

bypassing land that was controlled by rival kingdoms and as a means of moving goods

more quickly.

4. _________________________
Muslims remained the most active traders, but trade centers sprung

up on the coast of sub-Saharan Africa, India, and in China.

5. Sub-Saharan African kingdoms traded ___________, ____________, and ______________ for

Eurasian goods.
 6. In West Africa the kingdom of __________________ overtook the kingdom of

_________________ by 1200 CE.

7. Mali's most famous and wealthy ruler was _____________ ________________. He became

famous for his pilgrimage to ___________________ in which he distributed a tremendous

amount of gold along the way

Station 2: Mali: Mansa Musa Highlight the correct answer.

Watch the TED-ED,Mansa Musa, one of the wealthiest people who ever lived - Jessica Smith

1. Mansa Musa was the king of which ancient b. Diamonds and Pearls
African Empire? c. Silk and spices
a. Songhay Empire d. Leather and meat
b. Fulani Kingdom
c. Mali Empire 4. On which historical map did Mansa Musa
d. Ashanti Empire appear?
a. 1375 World Map
2. In which year did Mansa Musa come into power? b. 1375 Titan Atlas
a. 1592 c. 1375 Atlas of True Names
b. 1682 d. 1375 Catalan Atlas
c. 1776
d. 1312 5. Mansa Musa was a devout _____.
a. Buddhist
3. Select the natural resources that the Mali Empire b. Christian
was most known for. c. Muslim
a. Gold and Salt d. Jew
6. Recall what you learned about Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca and then use
imagery to describe it in your own words.

7. Summarize Mansa Musa's accomplishments and contributions to the Mali Empire upon his
return from his pilgrimage to Mecca.

8. Mansa Musa is one of many African monarchs throughout the continent's rich history. Yet,

the narratives of only a few kings and queens are featured in television and movies.

Analyze and evaluate why you think that this is the case, then create two ideas for how
 we can work to bring more positive awareness of the history of Africa's ancient and

contemporary kings and queens to students today.

One idea; One idea:

Station 2: Mali Document Analysis

* Read the primary sources at
https://tx02204767.schoolwires.net/cms/lib/TX02204767/Centricity/Domain/1984/Mansa
%20Musas%20Hajj%20MiniQ.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0Pwt1aOY0DfYBVzUgROfHh1rWvKg7mvGUl
agMN2OCGQzhVMrFWoZJrPho and answer the following questions:

1. What percentage of travelers on the hajj were

Doc Mansa Musa’s personal servants?

A: 2. Which of the numbers in this chart might be

exaggerations? Explain your thinking.

1. What is your estimate on the time it would take

Mansa Musa’s caravan to travel from Niani to
Doc Cairo? How did you reach your estimate?

B: 2. Which two commodities seem most important

to the trans-Saharan trade?

1. How is Mansa Musa described in the caption to

the right?
Doc

F 2. What might Europeans think about western

Africa after viewing The Catalan Atlas?

Station 3: The Great Zimbabwe

Watch, Who built Great Zimbabwe? And why? - Breeanna Elliott Highlight the correct answer.

1. What does Great Zimbabwe’s name in

Shona, madzimbabwe, mean?
a. City of Elites 5. What likely led to Great Zimbabwe’s
b. Land of Rolling Hills decline?
c. Big Trade Market a. Regional Warfare
d. Big House of Stone b. Overcrowding and Sanitation Issues
c. Earthquake
2. Great Zimbabwe was a major urban center d. Deforestation
in southern Africa with an estimated
population of at least 18,000. What enabled 6. Who built Great Zimbabwe?
Great Zimbabwe’s growth as an urban a. The Queen of Sheba
center? b. The Ancient Egyptians
c. Local indigenous Africans
Role in international trade
d. The Ancient Greeks

7. How did the colonial government try to hide

3. What trade items were important to Great
the fact that local Africans built Great
Zimbabwe’s economy?
Zimbabwe?
a. Gold, Ivory, and Copper They relied on myths to explain Great Zimbabwe's magnificence
b. Gold and Salt
c. Ivory and Pottery
d. Spices and Copper
8. What symbol of Great Zimbabwe is featured
4. What evidence from archeologists indicates on the Zimbabwean flag today?
Great Zimbabwe was part of an a. The Soapstone Bird
intercontinental trade network? b. The Conical Tower

Beads and from india and porcelain from china c. The Hill Complex
d. The Great Enclosure

Station 4: Swahili City States

Watch the PBS, Video clip
1. Who brought and when did Islam reach the Swahili coast

Changes and Continuities in Africa Swahili Coast).

 Changes in the Swahili coast Continuities in the Swahlii coast
(Ways in which Islam changed the Swahili (things that remained the same)
coast)

Analysis: Why did these changes or continues occur?

2. What led to the rise of Kilwa? When was Kilwa at its economic height?

Station 5: AP Classroom Questions

“The East African coast was certainly known to the people of Arabia by the eighth century b.c.e.
In fact, the ancient Southern Arabian state of Ausan traded extensively there and may have
actually held a portion of the coast. Traders who reached the coast discovered a number of
potentially valuable raw materials there. Among these were spices, tortoise shell, coconut oil,
ivory, and later, gold and slaves.

It was not until almost 1000 c.e., however, that the first important commercial city-states
emerged along the coast. These city-states fluctuated in wealth and prestige as they competed
for coastal hegemony. Because of their way of life, they tended to have a broad regional
perspective. Their destinies and fortunes were at least partly determined in distant lands by
foreign merchants and rulers.

Information on early political aspects of East African states remains very limited. We know that
they had kings or sultans, who wielded a good deal of power. Sultans were advised by councils
of princes, elders, and members of the ruling household. It seems probable that the sultan and
his close relatives controlled the religious and military offices of the state.”

Terry H. Elkiss, historian, “Kilwa Kisiwani: The Rise of an East African City-State,” article published in
African Studies Review, a scholarly journal, 1973.

1. The interregional connections of states such as those on the East African coast can best
be used as an illustration of the continued importance of which of the following?
Highlight the correct answer.
a. International diplomacy
b. Polytheistic religions
 c. Long-distance trade
d. Patriarchal gender norms

Explain your answer:

2. The coexistence of rulers and councils of elders in African states in the period circa
1200–1450 best demonstrates Highlight the correct answer.
a. an attempt to imitate the feudal governments of European states and East Asian
empires
b. the influence of indigenous African political practices
c. an adaptation to the climatic conditions of the East African coast
d. a reflection of the hardships and uncertainties faced by Muslim seaborne traders

Explain your answer:

3. The example of an ancient Arabian state that traded extensively and controlled
territories on the East African coast can best be used as evidence of Highlight the
correct answer.
a. the contributions of East Africa to the development of Eurasian religions
b. the long-term continuities in state building in coastal East Africa
c. the importance of the East African coast in the development of African national
identities
d. the technological and logistical challenges faced by Eurasian merchants trying
to reach the East African coast

Explain your answer:

Station 6: iIn a Thesis: Explain how and why states in Africa developed and changed over
time.