Slide 1

Source: Leo Africanus: Description of Timbuktu from The Description of Africa (1526)

The women of the city maintain the custom of veiling their faces, except for the slaves who sell all the foodstuffs. The inhabitants are very rich, especially the strangers who have settled in the country; so much so that the current king has given two of his daughters in marriage to two brothers, both businessmen, on account of their wealth…

This document indicates the incorporation of Muslim customs (veiling) and the ability of the visiting merchants to assimilate into African society through marriage, directly related to their status in the community and based upon their relationship to trade. The point of view is from an outsider visiting and describing a foreign culture and its relationship to the outsider’s own culture.

DOCUMENT 1


	Here is the first document. Note that the sections in red relate to the information we need to answer the prompt. (Note to teacher: Take some time to discuss the sections in red.)

	Here is the “assessment” for the chart: Check box “A” for Africa, and indicate as briefly as possible the main points that refer to the prompt (for example, women use the veiling process, the visiting merchants settle and marry into prominent African families). A possible point of view would center on an outsider’s assessment or perception of what is happening; it might therefore be a little “ethnocentric” in its evaluation.