AP African American Studies Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes covering the origins of the African diaspora.

Interdisciplinary Approach

Combines multiple academic disciplines to analyze the history, culture, and contributions of people of African descent.

Misleading Notions (of Africa)

False perceptions of Africa as a primitive continent without history, later countered by recognition of powerful societies and leaders.

Black Campus Movement (1965-1972)

Student-led protests demanding Black studies programs and support for Black students, faculty, and administrators.

Birthplace of Humanity

Africa, the ancestral home of African Americans and the origin of early human societies.

Geographically Diverse

Refers to the variety of climates and landscapes found on the African continent.

Climate Zones

The five primary climate zones in Africa: desert, semiarid, savanna grasslands, tropical rainforests, and Mediterranean zone.

Sahara

The desert climate zone in Africa.

Sahel

The semiarid climate zone in Africa.

Savanna Grasslands

A climate zone in Africa, known for fertile land and facilitating trade.

Niger River

A major river in Africa.

Congo River

A major river in Africa.

Nile River

A major river in Africa, along which Egypt and Nubia emerged.

Domestication

The taming of animals for agricultural purposes.

Nomadic

Moving in search of food and water, often practiced by herders in desert and semiarid areas.

Kola Trees and Yams

Crops grown and traded in the tropical rainforests of Africa.

Population Growth

Increase in the number of people, contributed to by technological and agricultural innovations.

West and Central Africans

Peoples whose population growth triggered the Bantu Expansion.

Bantu Expansion

Series of migrations from 1500 BCE to 500 CE, triggered by population growth and technological innovations.

Bantu Linguistic Family

A group of hundreds of languages spoken throughout West, Central, and Southern Africa.

African Ethnolinguistic Diversity

The vast number of ethnic groups and languages found in Africa.

Complex Societies

Large-scale societies that arose in ancient Africa, such as Egypt, Nubia, Aksum, and the Nok society.

Nubia

An ancient society along the Nile River, also known as Kush/Cush, and was a source of gold for Egypt.

25th Dynasty of Black Pharaohs

Established by Nubia after defeating Egypt around 750 BCE and ruled for a century.

Aksumite Empire

An empire in eastern Africa (present-day Eritrea and Ethiopia) that emerged around 100 BCE.

Maritime Trade

Trade networks connecting the Aksumite Empire to the Mediterranean, Roman Empire, and India.

Ge'ez

The script developed by Aksum, still used as the liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

Nok

An early iron-working society of West Africa (present-day Nigeria) that emerged around 500 BCE.

Terracotta Sculptures

Figures produced by the Nok society, providing evidence of a complex, settled society in sub-Saharan Africa.

First Christian African Society

Aksum, which adopted Christianity under King Ezana.

Ethiopian Orthodox Church

Uses Ge'ez as its main liturgical language, showcasing African societies adopting Christianity on their own terms.

Countered Racist Stereotypes

African American writers emphasized the significance of ancient African societies to combat racist stereotypes.

Sudanic Empires

Also known as the Sahelian empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai, flourished from the 7th to the 16th century.

Ghana Empire

An ancient West African empire renowned for its gold mines and strategic location, fl. 7th–13th century.

Mali Empire

An ancient West African empire renowned for its gold mines and strategic location, fl. 13th–17th century.

Songhai Empire

An ancient West African empire renowned for its gold mines and strategic location, fl. 15th–16th century.

Gold Mines

A resource that made ancient Ghana, Mali, and Songhai famous.

Nexus of Trade Routes

Strategic location connecting trade from the Sahara to sub-Saharan Africa, contributing to the wealth of ancient empires.

Trans-Saharan Commerce

Trade across the Sahara Desert, which introduced Islam to West Africa.

Islam

A religion introduced to West Africa through trans-Saharan commerce.

Trade Route Shift

The shift from trans-Saharan to Atlantic trade, diminishing Songhai’s wealth after Portuguese exploration.

Trade, Learning, Cultural Exchange

Activities that flourished in Mali under Mansa Musa's rule.

North African Horses

Crossbred by Mali's leaders to enhance military power.

Purchased Steel Weapons

Acquired by Mali to extend power over neighboring groups.

Hajj in 1324

Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca, attracting interest and prompting trade plans.

Mali’s Book Trade and Universities

Flourished in Timbuktu, drawing scholars in various fields.

Timbuktu

A center of learning in Mali with a book trade, university, and learning community.

Griots

Prestigious historians, storytellers, and musicians who maintained and shared a community's history and traditions.

Syncretic Religious Practice

The blending of introduced faiths with indigenous spiritual beliefs and cosmologies.

Indigenous Spiritual Beliefs

Traditional beliefs about the origin of the universe that were blended with introduced faiths.

Cosmologies

Science, philosophy, and beliefs about the origin of the universe.

Veneration of the Ancestors

The practice of honoring past ancestors and seeking their guidance.

Divination

Predicting the future through supernatural means, often practiced by priests or spiritual leaders.

Kingdom of Zimbabwe

Flourished in Southern Africa from the 12th to the 15th century, known for its stone architecture.

Great Zimbabwe

Capital city of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe.

Swahili Coast Trade

Coastal trade network linking Africa's interior to Arab, Persian, Indian, and Chinese trading communities.

Shona People

Inhabitants of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe, who became wealthy from gold, ivory, and cattle resources.

Large Stone Architecture

A key feature of Great Zimbabwe, providing military defense and serving as a hub for trade.

G.Z.’s Great Enclosure

A site for religious and administrative activities in Great Zimbabwe.

G.Z.’s Conical Tower

Likely served as a granary in Great Zimbabwe.

Portuguese Sea Voyageurs

First great sea voyagers from Western Europe, found immense sources of wealth in Africa.

Trading Partners

African kingdoms who partnered with the Portuguese which increased their wealth.

Wolof Empire

First Kingdom to sustain a complex relationship with Portugal

Knighted

Wolof sent ambassadors to Portugal, who were well received and sometimes knighted

Akan People

The Portuguese met the Akan people in modern Ghana.

Elmina Gold Trade

Portugal's first major entrance into the African gold trade.

Kingdom of Benin

Willing to trade captives from their wars

São Tomé sugar production

For the first time, there existed violent labor camps based on “racialized” slavery for the purpose of producing agricultural cash crops for export to foreign markets.

“Racialized” slavery

Violent labor camps based on slavery for the purpose of producing agricultural cash crops for export to foreign markets.

Kingdom of the Kongo

The Portuguese first met leaders of the vast Kongo empire in 1482 and negotiated treaties to gain access to ivory, salt, copper, textiles, and human captives.

Roman Catholicism

In 1491, King Nzinga a Nkuwu (João I) and his son Nzinga Mbemba (Afonso I) voluntarily converted the powerful West Central African Kingdom of Kongo to Roman Catholicism.

Kongo’s increased wealth

Christian conversion strengthened its trade relationship.

African Catholicism

A distinct form of African Catholicism emerged that incorporated elements of Christianity and local aesthetic and cultural traditions.

Portugal demands enslaved

As a result of the Kingdom of Kongo’s conversion to Christianity and subsequent political ties with Portugal, the king of Portugal demanded access to the trade of enslaved people in exchange for military assistance.

Kongo unable to limit slave trade

Kongo’s nobles participated in the slave trade, but they were unable to limit the number of captives sold to European powers when the volume of human trade quickly grew out of control.

Kongo/Cent. W. Afr: largest source of enslaved people

Kongo, along with the greater region of West Central Africa, became the largest source of enslaved people in the history of the Atlantic slave trade to the Americas.

extended kinship ties

Social norms relating to relatives.

Ndongo-Matamba

In the early 17th century, when people from Ndongo became the first large group of enslaved Africans to arrive in the American colonies, Queen Njinga became queen of Ndongo-Matamba (present-day Angola).

ivory mask of Queen Idia

Queen Idia became an iconic symbol of Black women’s leadership throughout the diaspora in 1977 when an ivory mask of her face was adopted as the symbol for FESTAC