Africa Study Guide

What three large countries can fit in Africa?

U.S.A, China, India.

What is the largest desert in the world?

Sahara.

What is the area south of the Sahara Desert called?

Sub-Saharan Africa.

What are the three main bodies of water that surround Africa?

Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Indian Ocean.

What is the main river of West Africa?

Niger River.

What is the main river of Central Africa?

Congo River.

What is the most eastern area of Africa?

Horn of Africa.

What is the most southern tip of Africa?

Cape of Good Hope.

Did Africa have a variety of political, social, and economic systems in the 1500s-1800s?

True.

In which part of Africa is Ethiopia located?

East.

What was the title of the ruler of Ethiopia?

Emperor.

What religion did the Ethiopians adopt early in their history?

Christianity.

What is the name of Ethiopia’s indigenous church?

Ethiopian Orthodox.

What three religions influenced Ethiopia?

Christianity, Judaism, Islam.

What resulted from differences in religion and European interaction in Ethiopia?

Caused conflict with Europeans.

Where did Ethiopian trade travel across?

Sahara Desert, Overseas.

What three goods did Ethiopia trade?

Gold, Ivory, Frankincense.

What is Frankincense?

Aromatic resin used in incense and perfume.

What was Songhai’s Economy based on?

Trading slaves and gold.

What city was the cultural center of Africa?

Timbuktu.

Who conquered the city of Timbuktu?

Sunni Ali.

What religion were the rulers of Songhai?

Muslim.

What type of monarch was the ruler of Songhai?

An absolute monarch.

Which king transformed Songhai into the largest empire in West Africa?

Askia the Great.

What did the Asante trade?

Slaves and gold.

What caused Asante to become a military society?

Threats of European invasion and other African Empires.

What is the name of the Asante religion?

Akan.

Is the Asante religion polytheistic or monotheistic?

Polytheistic.

What is the name of the Asante language?

Twi.

Which king organized Asante into a meritocratic system?

King Osei Kwadwo.

What was the name of the wars fought between the British Empire and Asante?

Anglo-Asante Wars.

Who won the Anglo-Asante Wars?

The British.

What was the Kongo economy based on?

Agriculture, metallurgy, trade of ivory and slaves.

Which European country's missionaries converted the rulers of Kongo to Christianity?

Portuguese.

What type of rule did the Kongo have?

Monarchy with centralized power and bureaucracy.

Could woman rule in Kongo?

True.

What three resources did the people of the Kongo use to make their art?

Terracotta, Wood, Cloth.

Who united the Zulu into the Zulu nation?

Shaka.

What type of government did Shaka rule?

Centralized Bureaucracy.

How was historical knowledge passed down in Zulu culture?

Oral storytelling.

Is the technique of oral storytelling unreliable?

False.

What was the Zulu economy based on?

Agriculture.

What characterized the indigenous religion of the Zulu?

Ancestral Spirits, Magic.

What is the name of the creator god in Zulu religion?

Unkulunkulu.

What three actions did Shaka take with his army?

Conquered neighboring groups, fought European slave traders, fought ivory hunters.

What was the name of the Dutch colonists the Zulu fought against?

Boers.

What triggered the Anglo-Zulu War?

British invasion of Zulu territory.

What battle did the Zulu win against the British?

Battle of Isaandlwana.

What allowed the British to win the Anglo-Zulu War?

Better weaponry.

What British colony was created after the defeat of the Zulu?

South Africa.

What was the racist policy of separation of the races called?

Apartheid.