AP African American Studies Unit 1

Vocabulary flashcards covering early African civilizations, empires, culture, trade networks, and early European interactions from Unit 1 of AP African American Studies.

African American Studies

An academic discipline focused on the history, culture, and experiences of people of African descent.

Black Campus Movement

A movement alongside the Civil Rights Movement that pushed colleges to establish African American Studies programs during the 1960s and 1970s.

African Diaspora

The spread of African people around the world, often through migration and slavery.

Africa's Climate Regions

The continent's diverse environments, which include deserts, grasslands, tropical rainforests, and Mediterranean climates with varying temperatures and rainfall.

Bantu Migrations

A series of movements driven by population growth and the search for farmland that spread Bantu languages across Central and other parts of Africa.

Nubia

An ancient kingdom located south of Egypt known for its gold, trade, and ironworking.

Aksum

A powerful trading kingdom known for farming, trade, and Christianity.

Nok Civilization

An early West African society recognized for its terracotta sculptures and ironworking.

Ghana Empire

A West African empire that grew wealthy through control of the gold and salt trade, later declining due to wars, weakened trade, and outside attacks.

Mali Empire

A powerful West African empire enriched by the gold trade that eventually declined because of weaker leadership and attacks from other groups.

Mansa Musa

A Mali emperor whose pilgrimage to Mecca spread Mali's fame, and who supported trade, education, and Islam.

Songhai Empire

An empire that expanded through trade, military strength, and strong leaders, which declined following a Moroccan invasion and internal problems.

Timbuktu

A city in the Mali Empire that served as a major center for Islamic learning, libraries, and scholarship.

Epic of Sundiata

An oral epic that recounts the story of Mali's founder and preserves West African history.

Griots

West African storytellers who preserved history through storytelling and music; men often played instruments while women often sang and performed.

Religious Syncretism

The blending of different religious beliefs and practices, such as Islam blending with traditional beliefs in Africa or Santería blending African religions with Catholicism in the Americas.

Great Zimbabwe

An ancient southern African society whose stone architecture and walls protected important areas and demonstrated wealth and power.

Swahili Coast City-States

Trading centers that grew due to Indian Ocean trade and access to valuable goods, but were later weakened by Portuguese interference, attacks, and trade shifts.

Kingdom of Kongo

A kingdom whose adoption of Christianity connected it to European trade and altered traditional practices; its relationship with Portugal later increased the slave trade, causing internal conflict and decline.

Queen Idia

An important leader who helped defend and strengthen the kingdom of Benin.

Queen Njinga

An important African leader who fought against Portuguese expansion and defended her kingdoms.

Pre-Transatlantic African Travel to Europe

The journeys of Africans who traveled to Europe before the transatlantic slave trade grew, motivated by trade, education, diplomacy, or religious reasons.

Portuguese Enslaved Labor

A labor system expanded by Portugal to supply workers for plantations and maximize profits from sugar and other commodities.