Different ways of organizing communities that Africans used in the period 1200-1450
Lineage-based systems
Sodalities, brotherhoods and sisterhoods
Chieftaincy
Kingdoms with highly established bureaucracies
City-states focused on trade
Confederations, meaning alliances of several or many states
Lineage-based systems
Largely governed by groups of elders who were all related to each other by ancestry or, sometimes, by adoption
Sodalities, brotherhoods and sisterhoods
Played an important role in decision making, usually of people of similar ages
Chieftaincy
An individual had quite a bit of power to make decisions over a community
Kingdoms with highly established bureaucracies
Often including Islamic or Christian scribes and other elites, the ruler was selected from among members of the royal family or families, rather than just being chosen—as was often the case in most European monarchies—just because he or she was the ruler's first born
City-states
Focused on trade, often with merchants as their rulers
Confederations
Alliances of several or many states, often arose in regions where collective security was important
What group of people were particularly influential in the governing of Swahili city-states?
Arab and India merchants who brought goods from Asia
What kinds of factors helped individuals to elevate themselves to be chiefs and then kings in the southern African region that included Great Zimbabwe?
controlling cattle
cattle meant more wealth so more cattle = higher wealth = higher status
used this to gain lots of followers
building wealth by marrying wealthy women from royal families
wives played an important role bc they would be representing their own families in the courts of their husbands
What kinds of factors helped individuals to elevate themselves to be chiefs and then kings in the Congo River region?
population growth
made it necessary for societies to develop new ways to solve problems and maintain peacd
however, some disputes did occur
trade in cloth and metal was increasing significantly
Tyo was a Confederation. Kongo was an empire. What was the difference? What were the similarities?
Difference: Tyo was a confederation, meaning it was a loose union of independent states or territories, while Kongo was an empire, indicating a centralized political authority with control over diverse territories
Similarities: Both entities encompassed multiple territories or states and were characterized by complex political structures and interactions
Explain how and why states in Africa developed and changed over time.
States in Africa developed and changed over time due to factors such as:
Shifts in economic systems, including trade and agriculture
Military conquest and expansion
Cultural diffusion and interaction with neighboring societies
Environmental changes and resource availability
Evolution of political institutions and leadership structures
Factors that stand out as particularly distinct and important in the way communities were organized in Africa in this period
Kinship ties and clan structures
Religious and spiritual beliefs influencing social hierarchy
Role of elders and councils in decision-making
How these factors seem similar or different to other parts of the world you have studied for this period
a similarity is hierarchial social structures and reliance on communal systems, yet distinct in their cultural and religious influences compared to other regions like Europe or Asia
much of african sociey was bound to eurasia societies by trades, conflicts, and shared values and beliefs
ethopia was a christian state while other african states were muslim or held onto their indigenous belief system
a similarity between ethopia and other african states were their heirarchialpower structures