Traditions and Encounters, 4th Edition (Bentley)

Chapter 26: AFRICA AND THE ATLANTIC WORLD

Internet Activities: Descriptions of Africa

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/leo_africanus.html

1
Who is Leo Africanus? How would you describe his cultural background? Why does that matter when considering this text?
2
How does he describe the city of Timbuktu? What can you learn about the city from his description? What, if anything, can we learn about European culture of this era from this text?
3
Now read this excerpt from Richard Eden's Decades of the New World (1555) (http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/eden.html). What, if anything, surprises you about this European encounter with an African king? How would you describe the author's impressions of the king? What evidence in the text leads you to this opinion?
4
Why do you think pepper was so valuable to these traders?
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