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Essays on great zimbabwe
The rise and fall of great zimbabwe
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Great Zimbabwe is a ruined city in the country of modern day Zimbabwe. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986. The ruins were once the capital of a mighty empire, and they are an impressive example of ancient African construction. This paper will discuss the site and the historical context in which it was built.
Great Zimbabwe was built and had people in it from the 12th to the 15th century. At the highest point of its power and economic prosperity in the 13th and 14th centuries, the site was the largest settlement in the southern half of Africa. The people who built Great Zimbabwe were probably the Karanga, from which the Shona descended, who make up a majority of the population of modern day Zimbabwe. The cities aesthetic is dominated by imposing dry stone walls forming enclosures and in certain areas terraces and platforms create a striking image.
At its peak, the city of Great Zimbabwe was a mighty trading hub for the entire region, housing more than 10,000 people (estimates range up to 20,000). The empire traded with far-reaching cultures, and the city was the seat...
In documents one and two they explain and evaluate the trading system and routes of the African empires, kingdoms, and cities. Document one shows the layout of the Aksum trade center and the routes which lead to and from it. Aksum is an empire located right by the Red Sea, its location made it an important international trading center. African trade centers mainly focused on the exchanges of salt and gold. Since the red sea ports are controlled by the rea sea and Aksum was located right by it, its locations made it the center of the trade center. However, in document two it describes the trans-Saharan gold and salt trade. The trans-Saharan gold and salt trade was controlled by the rich and powerful Ghana kingdom. The king had shields
...e, unlike the surrounding nations which were powerful, rich empires, Africa consisted of small tribes and kingdoms. These kingdoms’ greatest exports would consist of gold, salt, and slaves, in exchange for the goods imported from the surrounding empires.
African society used bodies of water such as the Nile, the Red Sea, and many more to transport goods across the continent and generate profit. For example, the city of “Aksum reached its height between 325-360. Aksum’s location made it an important international trading center.” After analyzing the map of trade routes in Document 1, it is clear Aksum was strategically built to have ties to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. These two bodies of water give the city the freedom to import and export goods. Additionally, this work of trade did not come without reward. Cities who succeeded in the business became overly wealthy and had surpluses of gold and other riches. A king, Mansa Mansa, who expanded the Mali kingdom to be twice the size of Ghana, was not afraid to show his wealth as he showered other cities in riches out of generosity. In Cairo, Egypt, “there was no person, officer of the court, or holder of any office of the Sultanate who did not receive a sum of gold from him.” This is just one of the many examples of wealth in african cities and empires. What is impressive is the fact that before European trade became an influence, African people had already created a successful and very profitable system of
“Caravans of Gold”, a video by Basil Davison discovers and highlights numerous assets about gold and its prominent role in Africa. Additionally, the video examines some of the past and influential empires and their achievements. Davison discusses the history of Africa before the arrival of Europeans to demonstrate how Africa was already a well-flourished continent. “Caravans of Gold” also discusses many topics such as the Mali Empire, trading systems, and the use of gold which shows the audience of the video of how Africa was. In the long run, the aim of the video is to give the audience of the video an understanding of how the empires in Africa used its resource of gold to flourish.
Priscilla. “The World Economy and Africa.” JSpivey – Home – Wikispaces. 2010. 29 January 2010. .
Although it is usually 19th century European imperialism that appears in Western literature, Africans have felt pressure from outside powers for over a thousand years. By the year 1200, most of Northern Africa had adopted Islam, and the population consisted mainly of a blend of Arab and Berber peoples. It was at this time that the enslavement of black Africans along the eastern coast of the continent by Arabian pirates began. This slave trade, however, met fierce resistance from the flourishing African kingdoms of Kush and the Somali king, Nagus Yeshaq, who was a Christian Becker). Because the strength of the Arabic incursions was based mainly on conversion, the Islamic armies never penetrated deeply into sub-Saharan Africa.
By the late nineteenth century, France terminated the slave trade in French Cameroon and abolished slavery in the French colony of Martinique. Although the French removed the physical chains on people of African descent living in French territories, the remnant of slavery and colonialism continues to manifest itself through the mental enslavement and exploitation of people of continental Africa and the African Diaspora. In Jean-Marie Téno’s unorthodox documentary about the history of Cameroon, Africa, I Will Fleece You, and Euzhan Palcy’s film set on the island of Martinique, Sugar Cane Alley, they shed light on the transferable nature of slavery and colonialism in postcolonial societies. Accordingly, Téno’s, Africa, I Will Fleece You, and Palcy’s, Sugar Cane Alley, manipulate
Hughes argues that European settlers in Zimbabwe have restructure the landscape that ‘imagine the native away’ (xii), while inserting their own identity to nature. Colonial representation of landscape is empty, a place that is legitimized by occupation. “They avoided blacks, preferring instead to invest emotionally and artistical...
The Web. November 22, 2010 http://web.ebscohost.com>. Hargreaves, John. The. “The Scramble for Africa.”
Trupin, James E. West Africa - A Background Book from Ancient Kingdoms to Modern Times, Parent's Magazine Press. New York, 1991.
During Imperialistic times South Africa was a region of great resources that was greatly disputed over (Ellis). Europe’s main goal during these times was to compete against each other and played a “game” of which country can imperialize more African countries than the other. Imperialism was a curse to South Africa, because many wars, laws, and deaths were not necessary and would not have happened if South Africa were not imperialized.
The Benin artwork seen in museums around the world today was systematically plundered from Benin City by the British in 1897 as part of a punitive expedition in reprisal for the massacre of an overzealous Trade Delegation. The British acquired over 2400 objects from and around the Oba’s palace which were split between the army officers involved as ‘War Booty’ and the British Government who auctioned off many of the finest pieces to pay for the expedition.
The roots of the colonial history of Kenya travels back to the Berlin Conference in 1885, whe...
Meredith, Martin. Mugabe: power, plunder, and the struggle for Zimbabwe. New York: Public Affairs, 2007. Print.
An Economic History of West Africa. New York: Columbia UP, 1973. Print.