East African city states were part of a larger, thriving global network of trade in the Indian Ocean. This trade was powered by predictable seasonal winds.
1s tell 2s-Why would maritime trade thrive under these conditions?
“...one of the most beautiful and well-constructed towns in the world”
Which East African city-state benefits from being at the terminus point of winter monsoon winds?
Are East African city-states the only cultures that would logically benefit from the monsoon winds?
India in the time period 1200-1450 was under the control of Islamic leaders and was called the Delhi Sultanate.
-”Sultan” refers to Islamic Rulers, “Sultanates” is one word, like Caliphates, for Islamic states.
-This state also prospered greatly from Indian Ocean Trade and proximity to the monsoon winds, and was the point of origin for many of the goods and traders in the Indian Ocean Trading Network.
What Delhi (Indian) cities seen on this map would you expect to be major trading centers?
Calicut is a perfectly secure harbor, which, like that of Ormuz, brings together merchants from every city and from every country; in it are to be found abundance of precious articles brought thither from maritime countries … the town is inhabited by Infidels (non-Muslims), and situated on a hostile shore. It contains a considerable number of Mussulmauns (Muslims), who are constant residents, and have built two mosques, in which they meet every Friday to offer up prayer … Security and justice are so firmly established in the city, that the most wealthy merchants bring thither from maritime countries considerable cargoes, which they unload, and unhesitatingly send into the markets and the bazaars, without thinking in the meantime of any necessity of checking the account or of keeping watch over the goods.
-Abd-Er-Razzák (1442-1444)
1s tell 2s-
Identify evidence of diversity in Calicut due to Indian Ocean trade.
2s tell 1s-
Identify evidence of cultural diiffusion in Calicut due to Indian Ocean trade.
Look for evidence of the spread of Islam to India in this Post-Classical map.
East African city states also sold enslaved people to Arab and Asian traders, a precedent that would dramatically affect Africa’s future.
Why does the timing of seasonal monsoon winds create a situation where cultural diffusion and cultural blending are especially likely?
Merchants, especially Chinese and Arab merchants, set up diasporic communities, meaning they spread out and settled for long periods in places far from their original home.
What do the words “diaspora” and “diasporic” mean? How does this relate to how mushrooms reproduce?
Draw out the shortest, most logical sea route between the Delhi Sultanate (India) and China, the two biggest centers of population in the Post-Classical period (and today).
Why would having a civilization bordering a strait (like the Srivijaya Kingdom shown here in green) give you an advantage in this trading network? How might these civilizations use that advantage?
Based on this 13th century artwork from the Srivijaya Empire (modern Indonesia and Malaysia), how were the lives of ordinary citizens impacted by the concentration of Indian traders moving through the Strait of Malacca and stopping to pay their fees?
The case of Srivijaya illustrates the connection between commerce and state building…the Malay kingdom of Srivijaya…dominated the critical choke point of Indian Ocean trade...a number of factors,...its access to the source of highly sought-after sources, such as cloves, nutmeg, and mace, and the taxes levied on passing ships, provided resources to fund a bureaucracy and to create the military and naval forces…
Robert W. Strayer and Eric W. Nelson, Ways of the World: A Global History With Sources, 2016
1s and 2s-
Does the secondary source support or refute the predictions we made as a class?
Based on this map showing the concentration of population in China and India, were there likely a few Chinese and Indian traders passing through the Strait of Malacca, or many?
Note the location of Borobudur near the strait of Malacca.
Right, a picture of a trading ship carved into the temple at Borobudur.
The Khmer Empire was exposed to Hinduism through Indian Ocean trade. Later, leaders adopted Buddhism, which is today the dominant religion in Cambodia.
As tell Bs-Compare the historical spread of Hinduism and Buddhism, looking for similarities.
Bs tell As-
What religion eventually became most widely practiced near the Strait of Malacca? What factors likely account for this?
Fill out the first two chunks of your Maze reading (teal). When finished, do "Monsoon Asia" Geography Practice
Mogadishu
Kilwa (aka Kilwa Kisiwani)
Mombasa
We call these cities “East African city-states”, or sometimes “Swahili city-states”.
What is a city-state?
The East African city states had a “Swahili” language, based partially on the ancient Bantu language that spread with the Bantu migration.
Combining with southern and eastern African languages, Bantu spread, then evolved into the Bantu language family as Bantu combined with the languages of the native people of Eastern and Southern Africa.
1s tell 2s-How is the evolution of the Bantu language family similar to the evolution of the Latin language family?
2s tell 1s-How is the evolution of the Bantu language family evidence of both cultural diffusion and cultural blending?
Use of Swahili in The Lion King
Which character is likely named after the swahili word for...
“Lion”?
“Friend”?
“Stupid”?
“Gift”?
Which character is named after the swahili word for...
“Lion”? Simba
“Friend”? Rafiki
“Stupid” Pumba
“Gift”? Nala
Swahili was a spoken language, but the first known written records in Swahili don’t come until after the introduction of Arabic’s phonetic alphabet.
2s tell 1s-(Review) Why are people in East Africa being exposed to Arabs and their language in this time period?
Swahili was a spoken language, but the first known written records in Swahili don’t come until after the introduction of Arabic’s phonetic alphabet.
What is a phonetic alphabet?
What languages are phonetic?
What languages are not phonetic?
East African Swahili language, written down using phonetic Arabic letters.
1s tell 2s- How might the new emphasis on literacy in East Africa be connected to population’s conversion to Islam?
2s tell 1s- How might the new emphasis on creating written records in East Africa be connected to the influence of the Golden Age of Islam and its achievements?
Swahili
Most widely spoken native African language. Many Africans today also speak European languages.
2s tell 1s-What is a possible reason that so many people in today’s Africa speak European languages, instead of native African languages?
As tell Bs-Summarize the historical patterns that explain the prevalence of Islam in East Africa today
Fill out the third chunk of your Maze reading (red). When finished, do East Africa Geography Practice.
Great Zimbabwe
“Zimbabwe” comes from a Bantu-based word.
What differentiates Great Zimbabwe from the other East African city-states that we’ve talked about as part of the Indian Ocean trading network?
How does Great Zimbabwe connect to the Indian Ocean Trading network, without having a coastal location?
Mysteries of Great Zimbabwe
Like some other African cultures, they did not leave written records.
Great Zimbabwe was connected to the Indian Ocean trading network.
Which person would be a better source to learn about Great Zimbabwe-an archaeologist or a historian?
Mysteries of Great Zimbabwe
Like some other African cultures, they did not leave written records.
Great Zimbabwe was connected to the Indian Ocean trading network.
How would an archaeologist know whether or not Great Zimbabwe was connected to the Indian Ocean Trading Network?
Mysteries of Great Zimbabwe
Archaeologists believe they were ruled by a king and know they mined iron and gold and used iron tools.
How might archaeologists conclude that Great Zimbabwe has ruled by a monarch in the absence of written records?
Why has Great Zimbabwe been widely considered to be impressive?
“However, during the European colonization of Africa, racist colonial officials claimed that the city couldn't be of African origin. Without a detailed record of Great Zimbabwe, the colonial officials relied on myths to explain the magnificence of Great Zimbabwe. Some claimed it proved the Bible story of the Queen of Sheba who lived in the city of riches. Others would argue that it was built by ancient Greeks. In the early 20th century, however, after extensive excavation at Great Zimbabwe, archaeologist David Randall- MacIver presented clear evidence that Great Zimbabwe was built by indigenous peoples.Still, the country's white minority colonial government tried to discredit this theory because it challenged the legitimacy of their rule….Over time, however, an extremely overwhelming amount of evidence showed that Great Zimbabwe was an African city built by Africans.”
Breeanna Elliott, “Who Built Great Zimbabwe, and Why?” for TedEd
Why would European colonial officials care whether Great Zimbabwe was portrayed as the achievement of native Africans versus, as they argued, a creation of the Greeks?
We must say openly that indeed the higher races have a right over the lower races ... [T]he superior races have a right because they have a duty. They have the duty to civilize the inferior races...
-Jules Ferry, French Prime Minister, “On French Colonial Expansion”, 1884
How does Great Zimbabwe challenge the narrative of alleged European supremacy?
According to Jonathan Lyons, author of “The House of Wisdom”, how are the views of Western observers about Great Zimbabwe and the Islamic World similar?