Get premium membership and access revision papers with marking schemes, video lessons and live classes.

Processing. Please wait.

Factors that led to the collapse of early urban centres in pre-colonial Africa.

Answer Text:
Factors that led to the collapse of early urban centres in pre-colonial Africa.
(a) Collapse of state system and kingdoms for example Kush collapse and the coastal city states.
(b) Collapse of trade and their economic systems e.g. the trans-Saharan trade and long distance trade.
(c) Collapse of Arab influence I east Africa and east Africa.
(d) Impact of Portuguese conquest leading to destruction of towns like manda and decline of others.
(e) Introduction of new types of trade e.g. legitimate trade which replaced slave trade.
(f) European colonization brought in a new social political and economic order.
(g) Exhaustion of mineral resources e.g. gold as in case of sofala and Kilwa as well as Meroe. Some minerals lost value.