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Islam and the Sudan culture

Africa History

Posted on March 8, 2021April 14, 2022 by hyperrestaurant

The history of Africa from ancient times to the present has been characterized by contact and trade with the outside world. The first civilizations grew in contact with cultures in the Middle East and since the cultures around the Mediterranean. Over the centuries, trade routes across the Sahara and down the East African coast promoted the emergence of states and culture. The arrival of Europeans and eventually colonization shaped the states as we know them today.

Overview

Modern man was developed in Africa some 300,000 years ago. 5,000 years ago, one of the first great civilizations here also emerged, ancient Egypt. For 3000 years, this civilization extended from the Mediterranean to the present-day Sudan, linking early communities in the Sahara and Mediterranean cultures. According to Allcitycodes, Cairo is the capital city of Egypt and 20 is the area code of Egypt.

Around 800 years before our time, the Phoenicians controlled the western part of the Mediterranean. Their headquarters was Carthage in today’s Tunisia. The Greeks also settled on the North African coast, including the Kyrene of today’s Libya. In 332 BCE. Alexander conquered the great Egypt.

The increased influence of the Roman Empire around the Mediterranean was to affect Africa as well, and after the three Punic wars, Carthage finally fell to Rome in 146 BCE. North Africa’s connection to the Mediterranean and the cultures here also laid the foundation for a network of commerce and eventually ideas that would last for centuries. Two world religions, first Christianity and then Islam, also spread along these routes.

In the first centuries of our era, a number of kingdoms grew up just south of the Sahara, known as the Sudan culture. These soon came into contact with traders who crossed the Sahara from the emerging Islamic kingdom just north of the desert.

Also further south, in Central and East Africa, state formation emerged, often linked to trade routes north or along the coast of East Africa. Goods such as gold and ivory were gradually followed by slaves. After the arrival of the Europeans on the West African coast towards the end of the 1400s, the slave trade was to dominate.

The extensive slave trade led to wars and many of the existing kingdoms went down or were greatly weakened. Eventually, the continent also became the scene of a growing European rivalry. When the slave trade was stopped, this rivalry led to a race for control of trade routes and resources. The race ended with the European states agreeing to share the continent during the Berlin Conference. Towards the end of the 19th century, European influence expanded into the interior of the continent. In many places the race and colonization led to local uprisings.

In the early 1900s, most of the continent was under European control, but with the exception of southern Africa and Algeria, where control was followed by European settlement, the colonial rule was usually very superficial. The colony’s economy was closely linked to the colony’s need for resources.

First and Second World War was partly fought in Africa. The experiences of Africans during both world wars fueled a new desire for independence in several parts of the continent. During the 1950s and 1960s, most African countries became independent.

African Countries

Country Main export goods Largest trading partner
Algeria natural gas, oil, dates, metals, phosphates, iron ore France, China, USA, Italy, Spain, Germany
Angola crude oil, diamonds 1 China, Portugal, USA, South Africa, India (2013)
Benin cotton, coconuts, cashews, shea butter, textiles, oil palm products, seafood Bangladesh, India, China, France, Togo, Nigeria
Botswana diamonds, copper, nickel, textiles, meat, potash, salt South Africa, UK
Burkina Faso gold, cotton, sheanuts Ivory Coast, France, China
Burundi coffee, tea, sugar cane, gold, precious stones (2017) India, China, Kenya, United Arab Emirates, Congo-Kinshasa, Switzerland (2017)
Central African Republic diamonds, timber, cotton, coffee China, Belgium, Congo-Brazzaville, South Korea, the Netherlands
Comoros cloves, ylang-ylang (for perfume essence), vanilla France, Turkey, United Arab Emirates
Djibouti re-export of goods, livestock, hides and skins Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, China, United Arab Emirates (2016)
Egypt oil, food, clothing, textiles, cotton yarn, iron and steel products EU, USA, Libya, Saudi Arabia, China
Equatorial Guinea oil, oil products, natural gas, timber (2018) USA, China, France, Japan, Spain (2018)
Ivory Coast cocoa, timber, coffee, canned fish, cotton EU, USA
Eritrea copper, gold, leather, cotton (2016) China, Italy, India, Saudi Arabia, Canada (2016)
Ethiopia coffee, oilseeds, live animals, leather goods, gold, pearls, precious stones (2017) China, USA, Somalia, India, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Netherlands (2017)
Gabon oil China, USA, France (2017)
Gambia peanut products, fruits and vegetables, fish India, Great Britain, France, China, Senegal
Ghana oil, gold, cocoa, wood products, manganese, diamonds The Netherlands, Great Britain, France, USA, China, Nigeria, Ivory Coast
Guinea bauxite, aluminum, gold China, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, India
Guinea-Bissau cashews, fruit, crude oil, fish India, Portugal, Singapore, Vietnam
Cameroon oil, oil products, timber, cocoa, cotton, coffee (2017) China, France, Italy, Spain, India, Belgium (2017)
Cape Verde re – export of fuel 2 Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands
Kenya tea, cut flowers, coffee, oil products, cement, fruits, vegetables Uganda, China, India, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Netherlands
Congo-Brazzaville oil, timber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds USA, China, France, India, Italy
Congo-Kinshasa copper, cobalt, wood, crude oil, gold, coffee China, South Africa, Zambia, South Korea
Lesotho water, hydropower, textiles, diamonds South Africa, USA
Liberia rubber, timber Germany, USA, South Africa, Japan, China
Libya crude oil, oil products, natural gas Italy, Germany, France, Spain, China
Madagascar Vanilla, clothing and textiles, nickel, cobalt, cloves, shellfish (2018) France, China, USA, United Arab Emirates (2018)
Malawi tobacco, tea, sugar, rice, cotton South Africa, China, India, France, Germany, Egypt, Zimbabwe
Mali gold, cotton, cattle Senegal, South Africa, China, Switzerland-Liechtenstein, France (2016)
Morocco textiles and leather goods, phosphoric acid and crude phosphate, fish, fruit and vegetables France, Spain, India, USA, China
Mauritania Fish, iron ore, copper, gold, oil (2018) China, EU countries, USA (informally Senegal and Morocco)
Mauritius miscellaneous industrial goods, especially textiles and clothing, sugar, flowers and fish EU, South Africa, India, China, USA
Mozambique aluminum, electricity, shrimp, tobacco, sugar, cotton, cashews South Africa, Zimbabwe, the Netherlands, Portugal, USA
Namibia diamonds, uranium, other minerals, fish South Africa, Switzerland, Botswana, Angola
Niger uranium, gold, oil, livestock, vegetables (2018) France, China, Thailand, Nigeria (2018)
Nigeria oil, liquefied natural gas USA, China, India, Brazil, Spain, Netherlands, France
Rwanda coffee, tea, precious stones, metals (2018) China, India, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Congo-Kinshasa, Hong Kong, Switzerland-Liechtenstein (2018)
São Tomé and Príncipe cocoa, copra, coffee (2019) Portugal, Angola, China, Belgium, Netherlands (2019)
Senegal fish, peanuts, phosphate, chemicals Mali, India, France, Italy, Nigeria, Germany
Seychelles canned tuna, re-export of petroleum products France, Great Britain, United Arab Emirates, Italy, Spain (2012)
Sierra Leone iron, diamonds, rutile, bauxite China, Great Britain, Benin, Senegal
Somalia livestock, livestock products, bananas Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Djibouti, Kenya
Sudan Oil and oil products, gold, sesame seeds (2019) China, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, India (2018)
Swaziland fruit concentrate, sugar, textiles, cotton yarn, refrigerator, citrus fruits, canned fruit South Africa, USA, EU
South Africa minerals, metals, vehicles, machinery, food (2019) China, Germany, USA and UK (2019)
South Sudan Oil China, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia
Tanzania gold, other metals, precious stones and pearls, agricultural products (2018) India, China, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Switzerland (2018)
Chad oil, gold, cotton (2016) USA, France, Cameroon, United Arab Emirates (2016)
Togo cotton, phosphate, coffee, cocoa (2017) China, France, Japan, Netherlands, Burkina Faso, Benin, Ghana (2017)
Tunisia textile and clothing products, foodstuffs (mainly olive oil), oil, oil products, phosphoric acid, chemical products, phosphate France, Germany, Libya, Spain (2010)
Uganda coffee, fish, gold, tea Kenya, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, India
Zambia copper, cobalt, electricity South Africa, China, Congo-Kinshasa, Switzerland
Zimbabwe tobacco, cotton, gold, platinum, steel and iron alloys South Africa, China, Congo-Kinshasa, Botswana, Zambia

Islam and the Sudan culture

Islam and the Sudan culture

In the late 600s, the Arabs conquered North Africa. The Berber people in the west soon turned to Islam. In Maghreb, the Arab conquest led to strong economic and cultural progress, and it was not long before independent Berber dynasties emerged. Arabic language and culture gradually penetrated all over North Africa, although the Arab population was relatively small, especially in the western regions.

The Fatimids were a Shiite Muslim caliphate that originated in North Africa. They ruled for a time a kingdom that extended from the Atlantic to Mesopotamia. The almoravids were also a caliphate based in North Africa; their influence extended from Spain in the north to Niger in the south. In Egypt, the real power soon came into the hands of the caliphate military aristocracy Mameluk, which was recruited from Turkish slave markets in Asia.

Sudan culture is the name of a whole series of kingdoms that originated in the Sahel belt south of the Sahara, from today’s Senegal to the Red Sea. Islam also spread in the areas of Sudan culture as a religion for the ruling class and the trade people. Among the early kingdoms where Islam became the dominant religion was Kano in today’s Nigeria and Kanem by the Chad. The political center of gravity shifted in the late Middle Ages to other realms in the Niger region, such as the Kingdom of Mali (1250–1450) Songhai (1450–1700) and the Hausa states of Northern Nigeria. Trade through the Sahara flourished, and the foremost urban states of the Sudan culture as Timbuktu, Kano and Katsina, gained reputation as centers of learning in the Islamic world. These cities were also important terminals for the cross-Saharan trade. Among the coveted items were textiles, gold, salt and slaves.

State formation in tropical Africa

Also in the West African forest belt south of the Guinea coast, urban states were formed at this time. A bronze casting technique was practiced in Ife and Benin, which seems to have its roots back to the enough culture in Northern Nigeria. See other related countries on Countryaah.

Metalwork was also central to the states that grew further south, in mineral-rich parts of Central Africa. In Katanga, in today’s Democratic Republic of the Congo, archaeological finds from Lake Kisale testify to a numerous and highly specialized population as early as the 800-900s, and from the late Middle Ages we see state formation under the leadership of the Luba and Lunda dynasties throughout the southern savannah. West of Luba and Lunda, the Kingdom of Congo was formed.

Already in the first century of our era, Greek sources can tell of a well-established trading network down the east coast of Africa. Ivory and slaves were standard goods in the East African trade from the beginning, but around the year 1000 AD gold and copper from the rich rents in Central Africa became the most important commodities. The trade was partly driven by Arab merchants, but also by merchants from the large Swahili cities of La mu, Zanzibar and Kilwa.

The monarchy monarchy south of Zambezi expanded in the 15th century over much of the area that now constitutes Zimbabwe. The historic name has landed from a collection of stone citizens, known as the largest stone buildings in sub-Saharan Africa.

The World Wars in Africa

The World Wars in Africa

World War I was partly fought in Africa. It did not change the Africa map itself, but Germany had to give up its colonies, with which the League of Nations gave other states supervisory authority. Accordingly, Belgium was given responsibility for Rwanda-Urundi (Rwanda and Burundi), France was given control of Togo, while Cameroon was divided between France and the United Kingdom. Tanganyika was left to the United Kingdom, and South Africa took over the administration of South West Africa (Namibia). Prior to the war, Italy conquered the coastal areas of what later became Libya from the Ottoman Empire, which disintegrated as a result of the World War.

Italian dictator Benito Mussolini had ambitions of several African colonies. Italy used Somaliland and Eritrea as a springboard to invade Abyssinia, present-day Ethiopia, in 1936. In 1939, Libya was incorporated into Italy as a province. During World War II, Abyssinia was invaded by Britain, and Italy abandoned its territory in 1941. The following year, the Italian and German forces were driven out of Libya by British troops. Tripolitania and Kyrenaika came under British military administration, Fezzan under French. The decisive battle was at the Egyptian village of El Alamein in the fall of 1942.

As part of the 1947 peace treaty, Italy lost all rights to Italian Somaliland, and in 1950 Italy was given the task of leading the territory, now a UN mandate, to independence – which happened in 1960. Eritrea’s future became a case for the UN, which in 1950 ruled that Eritrea should be incorporated as an autonomous entity in Ethiopia. After the war, the Allies failed to agree on Libya’s future, and the question was put to the UN, which in 1951 decided to merge Tripolitania, Kyrenaika and Fezzan and to give the territory independence.

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