Unit 1: Origins of the African Diaspora

What climate zones are found in Africa?

desert, semiarid, savanna grassland, tropical rainforest, Mediterranean

What region is the semiarid climate part of?

Sahel

What linguistic group is found in southern Africa?

Khosian

What linguistic group is found in northern Africa?

Afro-Asiatic

What linguistic group is found in north-central Africa?

Nilo-Saharan

What linguistic group is found in equatorial and southern Africa?

Niger-Congo

What is the majority of the Niger-Congo linguistic group?

Bantu

Where did the Bantu people originate?

Present-day eastern Nigeria and southern Cameroon (Central Africa)

What did early Bantu people farm?

root crops such as cassava and maize

What was the Bantu migration?

The migration of Bantu peoples to southern and southeastern Africa, likely as a result of the Sahara’s grasslands drying up and population growth.

What are some languages in the Bantu group?

Xhosa, Swahili, Kikongo, Zulu

What were the roles of a pharaoh in Ancient Egypt?

Spiritual and political leaders who were governed by divine authority and maintained peace.

What did yearly taxation allow the Egyptian government to do?

Become more centralized and support a military

Why is Ancient Egypt controversial?

Euro-Americans tried to claim Egyptian history and separate it from Africa. Ancient Egypt didn’t have the same race based categories.

Where was Ancient Egypt located?

Primarily the Nile River Basin, but extended to present-day Syria and Sudan

What did Nubia export?

Minerals, especially gold, incense, ivory, and ebony

What did Nubia do in 750 BCE?

Defeat Egypt and established the 25th dynasty (Black Pharaohs)

Where was Nubia/Kush located?

Along the Nile River, present-day Egypt and Sudan

Where was Axum/Aksum located?

On the Red Sea, present-day Ethiopia and Eritrea

What contributed to Axum’s development?

Its strategic location helped them develop trade networks

What is the Aksumite script called?

Ge’ez

What did Axum export?

Gold and ivory, among many other goods

What did Axum import?

Textiles, weapons, jewelry, spices, steel

What was Axum the first African empire to do?

Mint their own coins and adopt Christianity

What is the Ezana Stone?

A steele that documents King Ezana converting to Christianity, which proves that some African societies did so without the pressure of colonialism

Who uses Ge’ez today?

Ethiopian Orthodox Church

Where was the Nok society located?

Present-day Nigeria

What helped the Nok prosper?

Iron-smelting technology

What are the Nok known for?

Complex terracotta sculptures and pottery that implemented integrated vent holes that allowed for hollow sculptures to be fired.

Who was Phyllis Wheatley?

The first African American woman to publish a collection of poetry in 1770. She was influenced by African traditions of women’s funeral rituals and Christianity. She advocated for the end of slavery.

Who led to the creation of Black History Month?

Carter G. Woodson, who believed that African Americans should be proud of their history, which was often overlooked.

Where was Mali located?

Present-day Mali-Guinea border

Who was Sundiata Keita?

Known as “the lion prince,” the story of his life was passed down through the oral storytelling tradition of griots, which said that he was the only one of 12 sons of Nare Maghan to survive Soumoro, whom he eventually defeated.

What impact did Sundiata have on the region’s economy?

He founded Mali and helped it grow rich because of strategic city locations and access to salt mines.

What impact did Sundiata have on the region’s religion?

Tied together indigenous and Islamic religious beliefs. His son Mansa Uli converted to Islam and went on a pilgrimage to Mecca; eventually Islam became the ruling class’ religion.

What does Mansa mean?

King in the Mande language

What were Mansa Musa’s accomplishments?

1. Annexed 24 cities

2. Known beyond the continent

3. 1324 pilgrimage to Mecca that showed off his wealth, caused inflation along his path and led to strong ties between Mali and Islamic beliefs

4. Created new libraries and universities w/ help of Muslim migrants.

What was the importance of the Catalan Atlas?

It showed Mansa Musa and his wealth and power, which likely encouraged less resource-rich Europeans to go to Africa in search of gold.

What was the importance of Timbuktu?

It became a center of commerce and education, especially for Muslim scholars.

Where was Songhai located?

Along the Niger river in West Africa

What was the city of Gao in Songhai known for?

Being a huge marketplace where various valuable goods and spices were traded

What did Songhai do in 1468?

Sieze Timbuktu from Mali

Who was Sonni Ali?

The first great Songhai leader

What were Sonni Ali’s accomplishments?

Helped expand Songhai’s empire by taking advantage of the Niger river to transport expansive military forces and participate in Trans-Saharan trade routes.

What was the significance of Askia Muhammad?

He took over power from the Sonni in Songhai and expanded it to become the most powerful state ever in West Africa. He was also the first leader of an African society that was forced to follow Sharia laws, and he expanded Islamic influence by taking a pilgrimage to Mecca and conversing with scholars.

What was the exception to people practicing Islam?

Many people in rural areas continued to practice indigenous religions

Who were the nol and fari?

Chiefs and governors administered by Askia Muhammad to govern portions of Songhai.

What were the main reforms Askia Muhammad implemented?

More organized government and economy, justice system based on the Quran, uniform measurement systems, significantly improved education by encouraging universities and intellectual development

What did slavery look like in Songhai?

Slaves were trusted as soldiers and even given positions in government.

What caused the collapse of Songhai?

Askia’s son dethroning him and civil war

What is a griot/jali?

People responsible for oral storytelling in many West African communities; serve as genealogists, historians and musicians as well.

What is one of the most important stories passed down by griots?

The Epic of Sundiata

What does African cosmology describe?

Various myths of creation that have to do with how humans and our world came to be

What was the role of religion in Ancient Egypt?

Egyptian gods were tied to natural forces.

What were common traits among indigenous African religions?

Worship of specific deities and spirits while also believing in an overarching creator; ancestral worship; use of music and dance in rituals; not based on scripture; not centralized/more independent

What did religious syncretism in African societies look like?

The blending of an elite religion (typically Islam or Christianity) with indigenous beliefs (e.g. crosses being used as charms to ward off evil).

How did African religious syncretism affect religion in the Americas?

Enslaved people bringing their beliefs with them, and the increased efforts of missionaries, resulted in even more syncretic religions (e.g. vodou in Haiti or candomblé in Brazil). Often these religious beliefs were used to form community and resist dehumanization from slavery.

What are orishas?

Deities/spirits that mediate between humans and the overarching God. Found in candomblé belief.

How is the painting Oya’s Betrayal an example of religious syncretism?

It shows the story of a war among orishas that was told through Yoruba oral traditions, but painted in the Renaissance style.

Where was the kingdom of Zimbabwe located?

Southern Africa

What does Zimbabwe mean?

stone house, judicial center or ruler’s court/house in Bantu

How did the kingdom of Zimbabwe grow rich?

Arab merchants traveling south from the Swahili Coast leading to increased trade

What is the city of Great Zimbabwe most known for?

Large stone architecture

What was the Great Enclosure?

Largest stone complex in Africa built before the modern era. It was done entirely out of granite slabs with no binder. Likely built for religious and administrative activities and as a granary (birds were considered lucky/good omens).

What was the effect of historic European bias on perceptions of the Great Enclosure?

They believed that Ancient Phoenicians must’ve built it because of biases about Africans being less capable and intelligent.

What do the stone ruins represent?

The autonomy and advancements of the Shona kings of Zimbabwe

What are the Valley Ruins?

Structures that likely served as hubs for commercial exchange and long distance trade

What is thought to be the cause of Great Zimbabwe’s prosperity?

Gold mines nearby, and Shona people’s advancements in cattle management that allowed them to focus on mining

2/3rds of the world’s gold during this nation’s 300 year reign came from what region?

The kingdom of Zimbabwe

What is proof of Zimbabwe’s wide-ranging trade?

Chinese porcelain and beads from Southeast Asia were found along the Zambezi River.

What may have caused the kingdom of Zimbabwe’s decline?

Drop in mining output, overgrazing from cattle, or depleted resources.

Why was the site of the Great Enclosure not abandoned despite the kingdom’s decline?

Shona groups visited it for spiritual reasons

Where was the Swahili Coast located?

modern-day Somalia to Mozambique, in East Africa

What was the importance of their location?

Access to the Indian Ocean meant trade it facilitated African trade with Arab, Persian, Indian and Chinese populations.

What did city-states on the Swahili Coast have in common?

shared belief in Islam and they all spoke Swahili

What were Mogadishu, Malindi and Kilwa?

Seaside towns in the Swahili Coast that thrived off trade

What was one element that led to the expansion of the slave trade?

Early 18th century contact between the Portuguese and East African societies.

Where was the kingdom of Kongo located?

present-day Angola, DR Congo and Congo, in Central Africa

How did the kingdom of Kongo come to exist?

It was founded through the marriage of Nima a Nzima and Luqueno Luansaze who formed an alliance between two KiKongo speaking peoples.

Who was Lukeni lua Nimi and what did he do?

He was the first king of Kongo and son of Nimi a Nzima. He declared Mbanza Kongo the capital.

When was the first contact between the Portuguese and the kingdom of Kongo?

1483

What were the Portuguese after?

Increased trade opportunities

What characterized religion in the Kongo?

A single, supreme god who was uninvolved in the world and instead more worship of lesser gods and ancestors. More focused on living affairs than the afterlife, unlike Christianity.

What were minkisi?

Carved wooden figures used to channel ancestral spirits

When did the kingdom of Kongo convert to Catholic Christianity?

King Nzinga a Nkuwu (João I) and his son were baptized in 1491

What was the effect of Kongo’s conversion to Catholicism?

Nobles changing their names to Portuguese variations, adoption of European titles, mass acceptance of the faith as it wasn’t a product of colonization, religious syncretism with indigenous beliefs and a resulting unique African Catholicism, as well as strengthened trade relations with Portugal. Eventually Portuguese priests started to suppress traditional practices.

How were crucifixes adopted into African Catholicism in the Kingdom of Kongo?

Communication with deities and ancestors, invoking divine intervention in daily life, legal procedures, and rainmaking rituals.

Why was much of Kongo’s history written down, despite African societies having more oral traditions?

Contact with Europeans led to missionaries and explorers writing down their histories and genealogies, as well as Afonso I’s letters to the king of Portugal.

What did Kongo trade with Portugal?

Ivory, salt, copper, textiles and slaves.

What region was the source of ¼ of enslaved people in the transatlantic slave trade?

The Kingdom of Kongo

What was the impact of Kongo’s conversion to Christianity on the Americas?

It meant that many of the enslaved people brought to the Americas were already Christian before.

What led to the fall of the kingdom of Kongo?

Scheming nobles/feuding royal factions and the transatlantic slave trade.

What kind of societies did ¼ of West Africans live in?

Stateless, self-governing societies

How were stateless societies held together and governed?

Through family ties, and led by chiefs and councils of elders.

What were the Mossi States and how were they governed?

A confederation of five kingdoms around the region of present-day Burkina Faso. Local chiefs that had kinship ties mobilized their independent cavalries in defense of their traditions and beliefs against the Mali and Songhai empires.

How was the Hausa confederation organized?

Seven city states that each specialized in a product or service, with leaders based on ancestry and oral tradition.

Where was the Kingdom of Benin located?

present-day southwestern Nigeria

How did Benin originate?

A group of Edo chiefs asking the prince of Ife-Ife to send them a king, and his son Eweke became the first king of Benin

What was the importance of Queen Idia?

The kingdom of Benin was in a civil war after King Ozoula died and left it to his two sons; Queen Idia helped her son Esigie defeat his brother. She became the first iyoba (queen mother) as a result, and those after her had significant power.

Who were obas?

The kings of Benin