How Did Africa Before European Arrival Dbq

Africa Before European Arrival DBQ Some of the earliest humans lived in Africa. Though time, Africans have developed their way of living and has established their own successes, such as city-states and empires. Even though there is only a little knowledge of the early civilizations in Africa, the achievements of the African empires, kingdoms, and cities before the arrival of the Europeans brought both East and West Africa to prosper, due to its geography, culture, and successful trade. Like all ancient civilizations that continued to develop, Africa has grown to survive and move forward. To begin, Africa is the second largest continent in the world. The location of Africa gave the continent the advantage of sea routes, that connected

The Kingdom of Kush was one of the first major kingdoms. Influenced by the Egyptians, through trade, the Africans gained knowledge of Egyptian ways, such as the use of hieroglyphics and pyramid building. With the decline of the Kushite dynasty in the influence of Egyptians, the golden age of Meroë rose. Their favorable location and natural resources, such as iron ore, help them focused on creating tools and weapons. Later on, they became a major manufacturer, which help attract merchants. Here they traded for jewelry, glass bottles, silver lamps, and fine cotton cloth. Their wealth grew, being able to spend their money on the extravagant palaces, gold for the royal family, and the ability of kings who died to be buried in stone-faced pyramids. Between the 300s and 700s, Aksum grew power. Due to their location, they became a successful trading center. Like port cities today, Aksum was along the Red Sea, with easy access. Being a major water port, ships can easily enter to import and export goods. With different trading routes that pass through Aksum, shown in Document 1, Aksum is opened up to the different merchants and goods, as they all come from different places. Around the same time, the Axum, found in the eastern region of Africa, capital of Ethiopia, conquered Meroë. The influence of the Persian and Arab merchants brought the conversion of most to Christianity. On the other hand, the western region of Africa gained power through empires. Three major empires grew in power, the Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. The forest region of Africa had a dense amount of gold. In secrecy, miners dug up the gold. The importance of gold in trade also brought the importance and need for salt. The trade routes crossed over the Soninke people. Their king, called the Ghana, put a heavy tax on both slat and gold. This wealth led Ghana to become a well-established empire. In Document 3, the Arabs who wanted gold and the