What is a State
A State is a territory that is governed as one political unit.
In pre-colonial Africa there were two types of indigenous political organization, namely;-
1. Centralized states
2. Non-centralized states
CENTRALIZED STATE
These were the larger centralized political units which were ruled by chiefs, kings or emperor. Examples of centralized states or communities in pre-colonial Africa (in Eastern, Southern, Western and Northern Africa) included;
• The Nyamwezi of Tanzania.
• Asante of Ghana.
• The Yoruba of Nigeria.
• The Mossi of Burkina Faso.
• The Swazi and Zulu of South Africa.
• The Bunyoro and Baganda of Uganda.
FACTORS THAT GAVE RISE TO A CENTRALIZED SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT.
(General factors for state formation in pre-colonial Africa)
1. Presence of a strong army (Conquest)
- A strong army helped to conquer new areas and force the people to accept the rule of one leader. Moreover, some powerful states conquered the weaker societies and therefore making them strong and expand.
For example, Buganda conquered Bunyoro in the interlacustrine regions. Also, Chief Mirambo of Unyamwezi expanded his chiefdom using the force of Ngoni mercenaries (rugaruga).
2. Trade
-trade such as the Long-distance trade enabled the society concerned to become strong and powerful after acquiring commodities of different types including weapons which were used for strengthening their societies. Buganda got guns from the East Coast to defend and expand. The empire of the Mali, Ghana and Songhai got metal and hoes from North Africa to strengthen their military during the Trans-Saharan trade.
3. Good climate and fertile soils (soil fertility)
- It led to the increase of food and assurance of feeding which led to population increase, a factor that was very important for the state formation. For instance, heavy rainfall and fertile soil enabled production of more food and surplus in Buganda kingdom.
4. Good leadership
- Some African rulers were strong and ambitious to expand their empire so they organized their people and got support from them. For example, strong and able rulers such as Kyabagu Suna and Kabaka Mutesa I were able to unite the Baganda people and govern them.
5. Availability of iron (iron technology)
- iron promoted agricultural products and was used for making war weapons, which in turn became most important for conquering other states. For example, in Benin empire.
6. Migration
-this was a complimentary factor it happened that some people migrated to other states and brought with them new technology and skills which were used to expand and strengthen the new societies concerned.
7. Size of the kingdom.
- Kingdoms that were small such as Buganda and Ghana were easier to organize, to administer effectively and to defend unlike the larger kingdoms like the Bunyoro; the effective control was impossible.
8. Permanent cultivation (agriculture) and dense population.
Agriculture ensured people with food and led to the creation of permanent settlements which stimulated population growth which formed the basis for formation of a centralized state. For example, the Baganda cultivated banana at large.
