AP AFAM Unit 1: Origins of the African Diaspora

Black Campus Movement (1965–1972)

Protests led at over 1,000 colleges nationwide → demanded more opportunities to study the history + experiences of Black people / more support for Black students + faculty + administrators

Africa’s Primary Climate Zones

desert + semiarid + savannah grasslands + tropical rainforests + the Mediterranean

Africa’s 5 Major Rivers

Niger River + Congo River + Zambezi River + Orange River + Nile River

What were the causes of Bantu Expansion?

Technological + agricultural innovations → population growth of W. + C. African people → series of migrations of people who speak Bantu languages

What time period was the Bantu Expansion?

1500 BCE - 500 CE

When and where was the emergence of Egypt and Nubia?

3000 BCE along the Nile River

Nubia was the source of Egypt’s what?

Gold + luxury trade items

When and where did the Aksumite Empire emerge?

E. Africa in 100 BCE

The Aksum Empire developed its own what?

Currency + script (Ge’ez)

The Nok Society

One of the earliest iron-working societies in W. Africa / emerged in 500 BCE

The Nok Society is best known for?

Pottery + terracotta sculptures of animals that represent the most ancient evidence of a complex + settled society in sub-Saharan Africa

What’s the significance of the Aksum Empire being the first African society to adopt Christianity?

Shows an African society adopting Christianity on their own terms / beyond influence of colonialism + slave trade

The 3 Sudanic Empires

Ghana + Mali + Songhai

What centuries did Ghana flourish?

7th → 13th

What centuries did Mali flourish?

13th → 17th

What centuries did Songhai flourish?

15th → 16th

What facilitated the spread of Islam throughout West Africa?

Trans-Saharan commerce → brought North African traders + scholars + administrators

What led to Songhai’s decline?

Portuguese exploration → less trans-saharan trade + more atlantic trade

What was the significance of Mansa Musa?

Mali’s ruler → established empire as a center of trade + learning + cultural exchange

How did Mali extend power over neighboring groups?

Cross-breeding of N.African horses + purchasing steel weapons

Significance of Timbuktu

Learning center that attracted astronomers + mathematicians + architects to the city

Who were griots and how do they influence society today?

prestigious historians, storytellers, and musicians → maintained the history + traditions of communities that would’ve otherwise been forgotten

What is the significance of Louisiana Voodoo?

Represented spiritual practices that survived from W. + W.C. Africa to the Americas in African diasporic religions

What were the main purposes of Great Zimbabwe’s stone architecture?

It offered military defense + served as a hub for long-distance trade + site for religious activities

What was the shared religion of the Swahili city-states?

Islam

Why did the Swahili city-states fall in the 16th century?

Portuguese invasion → established settlements to control Indian Ocean trade

What W.C. African Kingdom voluntarily converted to Roman Catholicism?

The Kingdom of Kongo

What were the benefits of Kongo’s conversion to Christianity?

Strengthened trade relationship with Portugal → increase in Kongo’s wealth

What African Kingdom did the image of a triple crucifix originate from?

The Kingdom of Kongo

What was a negative effect of Kongo’s Conversion to Christianity?

Portugal demanded enslaved people in exchange for military assistance

Where did most enslaved people come from in Africa?

The Kingdom of Kongo

What influence did Kongo’s Christian culture have on African Americans?

Most A.A. had Christian names that had African origins / exemplified how ideas and practices around kinship and lineage persisted even across the Atlantic

What roles did women play in West + Central African societies?

Spiritual leaders, political advisors, market traders, educators, agriculturalists, etc.

Who was Queen Idia?

The first iyoba / queen mother in the Kingdom of Benin / present-day Nigeria

Who was Queen Njinga/Nzinga?

Queen of the kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba

How did Queen Idia bring victories to Benin?

She relied on spiritual power and medicinal knowledge

Queen Njinga engaged in 30 years of what against what country?

Guerilla warfare against the Portuguese

Why did Queen Njinga participate in the slave trade?

To bring wealth to her kingdoms + increase her political influence

How did Queen Njinga expand her military?

Offered sanctuary to those who escaped Portuguese enslavement and joined her military

What did Queen Njinga’s leadership lead to for future generations?

Nearly 100 more years of women rulers in Matamba

Why did Africans go to Europe before the transatlantic slave trade?

African elites went to Mediterranean port cities for political, educational, and religious reasons

What early form of enslaved labor on colonized islands by the Portuguese shaped slave-based economies in the Americas?

The Portuguese colonies the Atlantic Islands of Cabo Verde and Sao Tome + made cotton, indigo, and sugar plantations using African enslaved labor