Class notes
Week 3 Notes
- Course
- HIST 1600 (HIST1600)
- Institution
- Fordham University
Provide an in-depth summary of 40+ pages of assigned reading with main topics from each section of the book.
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
Content preview
xn+1Basic Geography: climate, soil, health:
1. How do Africa’s landforms and climate affect economic development today?
2. What natural resources might Africa exploit more profitably?
3. What role has the Great Rift Valley played in African history?
Grosz-Ngate(7-31):
The Idea of Africa:
●
● Places are ideas
○ Africa is a continent and product of human imagination
● Africa took shape after the breakup of Pangaea(180 million years ago)
● Early Africa
○ Most people didn’t know the bounds of Africa, hard to imagine as a
whole)
○ One story from Greek historian Herodotus
■ 5th century BCE
■ Report of sea journey by Phoenicians organized by King Necho II
of Egypt
■ Some people were able to learn entire landmass after journey
■ Knowledge died with them
● Didn’t lead to mapping
● Roman Empire
○ During punic wars of 2nd century BCE
○ Roman empire expanded to much of Africa’s northern regions
○ Cultural/economic ties between rome and African provinces were strong
○ Name “Africa” dates back to this time
■ Comes from
Afer”
■ Phonecian language for the name of the region around Carthage
● Africa linked to rest of the world for at least last two thousand years
○ Roman coins and artifacts found in Africa
○ Early as 7th century CE, persian and arab traders had outposts along
Africa’s Indian Ocean coast
, ○ 14th century voyages of imperial chinese trading
■ Silk
■ Porcelain
○ Christian kingdom of Ethiopia exchanged emissaries with courts of
Europe
■ Example: Abu Abdullah Huhammad Ibn Battuta(“Ibn Battuta”)
■ Moroccan adventurer
■ Voyaged all across northern third of Africa
■ Reported discoveries
○ Helped to create partial geography of Africa
■ Despite various voyages and information, the transmittal of
information fell to European mapmakers
● Description as geographic totality fell to Europeans
● Accurate and inaccurate descriptions spread around the
world as European power increased
● 16th and 17th centuries
○ Europeans defined Africans as poor, uneducated, technologically
unsophisticated, underdeveloped and non-christian
○ Standard of living in Europe was rising at the time
○ Narrative came following the development of the trans-Atlantic slave
trade
● 1500s to 1800s
○ Millions of Africans transported to work in European colonies in the new
world
○ Able to pull this off by convincing themselves that Africa was populated
by people who did not warrant the concern one might have for others
○ After slave trade increased, idea spread around Europe that Fricans were
not part of common humanity
■ Created racist assumptions of African inferiority
○ Roots of anti-African racism rise as a result of the slave trade
■ Ideas became embedded and lasted longer than the slave trade
● Europe created oppositional qualities to Africa
○ White vs black
○ Good vs bad
○ Christian vs immoral
○ Sophisticated vs primitive
● Slave trade created continental perspective
○ Enslaved people came from Africa as a whole, not specified
■ Familial precise roots were lost
■ Thought of African origin
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller abrooks37. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $7.99. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
72001 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now