1.5 - State Building in Africa

• Swahili civilization emerged on Africa's East Coast around the 8th Century
• Swahili civilization


  • Collection of independent city-states
  • Rose to prominence due to strategic location on the coast which gave them access to the bustling Indian Ocean trade
• Swahili city-states focused mostly on trade, importing many goods from the African interior
• Islam


  Became a dominant belief system in the Swahili civilization, with conversion among the Swahili Elite taking place voluntarily
• Swahili language


  Hybrid between the Bantu family of languages and Arabic
• Swahili city-states


  • Ruled by their own King
  • Fierce competition between them due to International Trade being the main source of wealth
• Swahili city-states and Song China

  • Both expanded their wealth by participating in trade beyond their borders
  • Both featured a hierarchical class structure that organized their societies
• Differences between Swahili city-states and Song China


  • China's political structure was highly centralized with an emperor, while there was no larger political structure that unified the Swahili States
• Great Zimbabwe rose as a commercial African State, exporting gold and relying on farming and cattle as economic activities
• Great Zimbabwe rulers constructed a massive capital city, which was the largest structure in Africa after the pyramids in Egypt
• Hausa Kingdoms in West Africa

  • Collection of independent city-states that gained power through trade across the trans-saharan Trade Network
  • Resembled the Swahili city-states in being urbanized, commercialized, and acting as middlemen for goods
• Hausa Kingdoms' rulers eventually converted to Islam, which facilitated trade with Muslim merchants
• Ethiopia was a Christian kingdom that grew wealthy through trade in the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean network, particularly by trading salt
• Ethiopia

  • Centralized power with a king at the top and a stratified class hierarchy
  • Commissioned the construction of massive Stone churches to communicate the ruler's power
• In general, more influential and Powerful African States during this period adopted Islam to organize their societies and facilitate trade
• Ethiopia was an exception, remaining Christian despite the general trend of Islamic conversion among powerful African states