Modern Democratic Republic of the Congo Third largest country in Africa Congo River Home to Africas Rainforest Mineral deposits of gold diamonds manganese copper First settlers in the Congo area were hunter gatherer tribes called Pygmies some still live in the rainforests t ID: 635700
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Slide1
The Early Congo
Ms. Vargas MWHSlide2
Modern Democratic Republic of the CongoSlide3
Third largest country in Africa
Congo River
Home to Africa’s Rainforest
Mineral deposits of gold, diamonds, manganese, copperSlide4
First settlers in the Congo area were “hunter –gatherer” tribes called Pygmies – some still live in the rainforests to this day – 40,000 BCE
Bantu tribes from the West moved in and pushed out many
Pygmie
tribes beginning in 500 BCE
Could smelt iron and make tools
Nilotes
moved into the area from SudanKnowledge of farming, fishing, herding animalsBy 600 CE there were three distinct groups living in the Congo area
Early Congo Tribes Slide5
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/socsci/ca/books/bkf3/imaps/AC_06_206_bantu/
AC_06_206_bantu.html
Bantu Migration MapSlide6
Commonalities:
Religion: worship of multiple spirits that are associated with a Supreme Being
Prayer to the dead who can influence spirits
Leaders derive their power from religious practices
ReligionSlide7
These groups lives in the Savannah south of the Congo River –
environment
was able to support dense populations
Trading networks to access copper mines in the South and salt from the east
Luba
,
Lunda, and the KongoSlide8
By the 1480s Portuguese Ships had reached the mouth of the Congo river (center of the
Kongo
Kingdom)
Initially the
Kongo
were glad to trade – new markets for their goods
But eventually, the Portuguese determined that the Kongo could not provide the volume of gold, copper, and other resources that they wantedThey found slaves to be a more easily accessible commodity
Slave Trading Slide9
Slavery had existed throughout the continent of Africa but it was different from later European imposed slavery
Prisoners of wars, in debt
Allowed to marry and own land, earn money
Ability for later generations to assimilate into society
But this does not mean that there was not abuse or a desire for freedom by those enslaved
African SlaverySlide10
Intensity of conflicts – searching for captives
Introduction of guns and manufactured goods
Example of King Alfonso I (1506) – pleads for end to the slave trade
Many tribes abandoned previous practices in order to focus solely on the slave trade
Effects of Slave Trade on African SocietySlide11
By the 1800s slaves were arriving to be sold on the coast from as far inland as 700 miles
Change in power shifts from coastal kingdoms to middleman traders
Chokwe
and the
Lunda
gain prominence over the
KongoSlave Trade IntensifiesSlide12
European Views of AfricaSlide13
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-
16295827
Human ZoosSlide14
It was there that
Baartman
, scarcely more than a teenager, was left both orphaned and widowed after a European-led commando ambushed her betrothal celebration, killing her father and husband. She was taken to Cape Town where she worked for
Cesars
and his wife as a house servant and wet nurse. Eventually,
Cesars
and Alexander Dunlop, a British military doctor, smuggled her into England in hopes that her oversized posterior would make their fortune. Baartman was thrust onto the stage in Piccadilly, in a skintight, flesh-colored get-up, complete with a panoply of African beads and ostrich feathers. Baartman’s
seminaked
display left little to the imagination and reinforced England’s obsession with bottoms, both literally and figuratively.
Hottentot Venus
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/14/books/review/Elkins.t.html?_r=
0