African Empires in the Early Modern Period: (1450-1750) Essay

One of the relative topics in this time period is conglomerate building in Africa. The AP Jedi Masters want you to know sole(prenominal) one of the following (Kongo, Benin, Oyo, Dahomey, Ashanti or Songhay) so they probably are not going to ask you to variousiate two African Kingdoms since they taked you only if need to know one so they could ask you to equalise the process of empire building in Africa to that in (Asia, Latin America or Europe) but I am providing you with information from three African Empires just in case and each if from a different voice in Sub-Saharan Africa so different historical forces to consider.The Kongo (c. 14th 17th century)Located on the western seacoastal region of Central Africa along the Congo river. Centralized state with officials overseeing troops, judicial, and financial affairs. The empire was divided into regions and governors who were usually related to the King oversaw those areas some areas were allowed to continue to ru le as long as they recognise the superiority of the Kongo King they had to report to him yearly for inspection and re new-madeal of their title. The empire was financed both by the taxing of trade as well as a head tax collected by local administers and sent to the capital.Songhay (West Africa Sudanic Empire) (Mid 1400s Mid-1600s) As the power of the Mali continued in the 1400s a state within the Empire was able to obtain its independence this was called the Songhay Empire with its capital in the trading urban center of Gao. The height of the Empire came under the leadership of Sunni Ali who ruled from 1464-1493. He built an elaborate administrative and military apparatus to oversee affairs in his realm.The Kingdom of the Asante (1680-1900)The Asante were one of the Akanspeaking peoples who settled in the forest region of modern Ghana between the 11thand 13th centuries. The separate Asante chiefdoms were united by Osei Tutu in the 1670s and in 1696 he took the title of Asante hene (king) and founded the Asante empire. Asante was the only part of Africa where rich agricultural and mineral resources coincided. With its capital at Kumasia only 30 miles south of the northern forest edge it could draw on both forest and savanna produce some of the traditional crops were plantains, yams, and rice.The Lusitanian arrived in the late 15th century Kings of the Kongo converted to Christianity as a way to establish closer commercial relations with Lusitanian merchants and diplomatic relations with the Portuguese King.He appointed governors to oversee provinces and maintained a professional army, with a cavalry and navy of small boats and canoes which were able to patrol the Niger River. He extended his empire over the areas formally controlled by the Mali rulers he conquered the cities of Timbuktu and Jenne (which took him 7 years of siege warfare he finally married its Queen to solidify his rule). From the capital metropolis of Gao the Songhay rulers presid ed over a prosperous empire that participated in the transSaharan trade that brought Salt, textiles and metal goods in exchange for metal(prenominal) and slaves. Despite the fact that the rulers were Islamic and supported Islamic institutions mosques / universities the vast majority of the populace remained non-Muslim. The Songhay meet their demise in 1591 when they took on a Moroccan army armed with musket gun the defeat left point-blank an opportunity for regions to revolt against Songhay administration.Kongo Kings appreciated the fact that Christianity offered a strong endorsement of their monarchical rule the new faith was convenient also because the saints of the Roman Catholic Church were similar to spirits long recognized in Kongolese religions. For the first number of years Portugal and the Kingdom of the Kongo dealt with each other with a certain train of equality they exchanged ambassadors and a number of Portuguese went to Kongo advisors, priests, soldiers, tailor s, shoemakers, masons, and minors.One of the most important Kings of the Kongo was Nzinga Mbemba also know as King Afonso I (1506-1542) he was a devout Roman Catholic and actively sought-after(a) out to convert all his subjects to Christianity he attended religious services daily and always analyze the Bible. Trade and relations with Portugal brought wealth and foreign recognition to the Kongo items such as ivory, copper and slaves were exchanged for European textiles, weapons (guns, guns, guns) remember that during this time period (1450-1750) Europeans were colonizing the Western Hemisphere as this time period went on the requisite for slaves increased this dramatically impacted societies such as the Kongo one King during the 16th century himself had 20,000 slaves in his household.However the vast majority of wealth of the empire was in its gold deposits the Europeans would call this the Gold glide which they used to buy European guns which further solidified the po wer of the Asante over nearby regions which did not soak up access.Guns were also obtained by providing the Europeans with slaves the notorious El Mina a fortress built along the coast where slaves were housed until departure across the Atlantic was built on Ghanas coast.Other items brought by the Europeans were iron, horses, cloth, baccy and finished manufactured goods.Historians sometimes speak about Asantes metropolitan and provincial spheres. Metropolitan Asante consisted to begin with of the towns in a fifty-mile radius around Kumasi. The rulers of these towns, many of whom were related to the ruling family, participated in the enthronement of Asante kings, served on the kings advisory council, and retained considerable autonomy.Eventually the relationship between Portugal and the Kongo worsened because the Portuguese desire for more and more slave pushed them to negotiate with other regions around the Kongo some of with were enemies of the Kongo while others were protect orates the self-confidence of the Kongolese King was undermined which led to war with the two nations.The Songhay empire crumbled into a series of small regional kingdoms and with the reaching of the Europeans and the redirection of trade towards the coastline the Sudanic Empires ceased to play a prominent role in West African politics.By contrast, outlying(prenominal) regions were more clearly subordinate and were forced to pay tribute to the Asante rulers. The most distant districts of the state which were be by non-Akan people annually sent thousands of slaves to Kumasi. They placed all trade under state agencies controlled by the Asante King, and created a complex bureaucracy to govern and collect taxes. Asante achieved a high degree of administrative expertness (its wellmaintained roads, for example, were famous) and the ability to implement sophisticated fiscal policies.