User:Can7f5/Urbanization in Africa

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Urbanization in Africa

edit summary: Will be working on the Pre-colonial times

Early History[edit]
The process of urbanization required some initial conditions to be met before the process could begin. The purpose of towns was to support the labor of those who were not in agriculture, whether that be craftsmen, priests, traders, landlords, etc. According to Catherine Coquery-Vidrovitch, there are three conditions needed for urbanization to begin. First, there must be a food surplus to feed those who are not employed in agriculture. Second, there must be a ruling class that facilitates the movement of this food surplus from those who create it to those living within the city. Finally, there must be merchants and traders to supply this new working class with the materials necessary to accomplish their work. The structure of many African cities is quite different from the normal western city, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa but also in the Nile Valley The structure of the city did not include stone structures, and if they did, it was sparsely in the city center. This kind of city was called a "Giant Village," and it allowed the city to move when resources became depleted. Most of the structures built were made of wattle and daub, often even the chiefs quarters. These "Giant Village's" were characterized by very low population density and very large cities in area; at most, they had up to 50,000 people living in these cities.

Africa has long struggled with poor and corrupt leadership. Often times, traditional and outdated leadership would lead to economic collapse, which significantly delayed much of African urbanization. Mansa Musa, the king of the Mali Empire in the 14th century, gave out so much gold to civilians that he collapsed the gold market. Economic crises like this weren't uncommon in pre-colonial Africa. It is unclear whether pre-colonial Africa had corruption or not, but it is likely that leadership had a large impact on limiting growth in Africa compared to other continents. In pre-colonial Africa, young men would often challenge the authority of their elders. This could often times create tension between the tribes and a constant struggle for who has authority over one another. Constant struggle in this manner doesn't allow for growth and innovation.

Nile Valley[edit]
The earliest known cities of Africa emerged around the Nile Valley. Alexandria was founded in Egypt in 331 BC and is famous for the lighthouse Pharos, for a legendary library, and for the martyrdom of Hypatia of Alexandria. While more Ancient Greek papyri were preserved in the sands of Egypt than anywhere else in the ancient world, relatively few from Alexandria still remain. There were also many early cities in Sub-Saharan Africa. Meroe (present-day Sudan) was one of the major cities in the Kush kingdom. For several centuries after the sacking of Napata in 590 BC, the Meroitic kingdom developed independently of Egypt, reaching its height in the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. Meroe advanced in iron technology, and building construction dates back to at least 900 BC. Meroe was a great center of agriculture at its height.

Africa north of the Sahara has long had political and cultural contact with people outside of Africa. It is physically separated from the rest of the continent as well, making for quite a difference between the people in North Africa and the rest of the continent. North Africa and the Nile Valley urbanized rapidly compared to the rest of Africa, and this exposure to other cultures had a large impact on growth.

West Africa[edit]
Between AD 700 to 1600, cities in the West African savanna emerged from the trans-Saharan trade. Some of the more prominent were Kumbi Saleh, Timbuktu, Djenné and Gao. Arabic scholars like Ibn Khaldun have been a very important source of historical accounts from this area and period. Gold mining, iron technology, pottery making and textile production were the important technologies. In the commercial and capital center of Ghana Empire (not present Ghana) Kumbi Saleh an elaborate economic system including taxation was developed. The growth and strength of the 3 kingdoms of Mali, Ghana, and Songhai can be attributed to their fertile and easily farmable environment. This allowed them to create a surplus of rice, as well as their long-distance trade of salt and gold.

In the West African forest region, cities developed among the Yoruba, Fulani, Hausa people as well as in the Ashanti Empire and Benin kingdom. As well as being commercial and political centers they worked as spiritual centers. One of the largest cities in the region was Old Oyo, a "Great Village" with an area of 5252.5 ha, and an estimated population of 100,000.

Central Africa[edit]
In the central African equatorial region cities could be found in what is today Congo, DR Congo, Angola, Zambia, Rwanda and Burundi. In what is now DR Congo, Musumba was the capitol city of Lunda. In the Mangbetu Kingdom districts changed their structure to fit the need of the kingdom. There is evidence of equal dispersion of villages of equal sizes transforming into larger clumped villages in times of war or when trade route were diverted through the village and then reverted back when those times have passed back to equally dispersed villages of equal sizes.

Important cities:


 * M'banza-Kongo, capital of the Kongo Empire
 * Ryamurari, capital of the Ndorwa kingdom (Rwanda)
 * Kiguba, capital of the Buganda kingdom (Uganda)

East Africa
The Ethiopian Empire amassed a large number of trade networks and acquired western goods as a result. Although Ethiopia had these successful trade networks, limits to urbanization were closely connected to societal limits on surplus accumulation. Cities were forced to remain small, with an average population typically not exceeding 2000 to 4000 inhabitants.

Axum, capital of the Ethiopian kingdom lasted from the first century AD until about the 10th century AD. It had an extensive trade network with the Roman Mediterranean, south Arabia and India, trading ivory, precious metals, clothing and spices. Axumian stone artwork (monoliths has been preserved, and bear proof of their advances in quarrying, stone carving, terracing, building construction and irrigation.

Coastal East Africa
The lack of fertile ground in East Africa is made up for with its vast access to the sea and its resources, with limited available land cities had to be compact and with the creation of two storied houses it shows evidence of a scarcer land market than other regions.

In this region a Swahili Angli Moslemic culture emerged.

Important cities:

Many of these cities were likely closely interrelated with one another, especially when looking at historical Swahili culture villages and settlements.
 * Barawa
 * Gedi (present Kenya)
 * Kilwa (present Tanzania)
 * Mafia
 * Malindi (present Kenya)
 * Mogadishu
 * Mombasa (present Kenya)
 * Mozambique
 * Pate
 * Pemba
 * Quelimane
 * Sofala
 * Zanzibar (present Tanzania)

Technological developments included coin minting, copper works, building craftsmanship, boat building, cotton textile. External trade was very active and important with Asia and Arabia.

Southern Africa
Stone-built ruins are numerous and widely spread in southern Africa. Zimbabwe testifies to an urban Shona civilization that left many ruins, even showing evidence for complex agriculture. Great Zimbabwe is one of the more famous pre-colonial cities of Africa. Its Great Enclosure is considered the largest single prehistoric structure in Africa. The earliest inhabitants of the Angola area are believed to have been Khoisan hunter-gatherers whose remains date back to the Old Stone Age.

See Also:


 * List of African territories and states by date of colonization
 * List of pre-colonial African cities