AP African American Studies - Unit 1: Origins of the African Diaspora
African American Studies: Origins of the African Diaspora
What is African American Studies?
African American studies is an interdisciplinary field that analyzes the history, culture, and contributions of people of African descent in the U.S. and throughout the African Diaspora.
It emerged from Black artistic, intellectual, and political movements, growing into a formalized field of study.
The course aims to aid in understanding contemporary Black freedom struggles within and beyond academic contexts.
It examines the development of ideas about Africa’s history and its ongoing relationship to communities of the African diaspora.
Perceptions of Africa have shifted over time, from misleading notions of a primitive continent to recognition of Africa as the homeland of powerful societies and leaders.
Incorporation of African American Studies in U.S. Colleges and Universities (1960s and 1970s)
During the Civil Rights movement and the Black Power movement, Black college students entered predominantly white institutions in large numbers.
The Black Campus movement (1965–1972) involved protests at over 1,000 colleges, demanding greater opportunities to study Black history and experiences, and support for Black students, faculty, and administrators.
Reframing Misconceptions About Early Africa
Africa is the birthplace of humanity and the ancestral home of African Americans.
Early African societies made developments in the arts, architecture, technology, politics, religion, and music, which are central to African American experiences and identities.
Interdisciplinary analysis dispels notions of Africa as a place with an undocumented history, affirming it as a diverse continent with complex societies globally connected before the Atlantic slave trade.
The African Continent: A Varied Landscape
Africa is the second-largest continent and is geographically diverse with five primary climate zones: desert (e.g., the Sahara), semiarid (e.g., the Sahel), savanna grasslands, tropical rainforests, and the Mediterranean zone.
It is bordered by seas and oceans (Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean) and has five major rivers (Niger River, Congo River, Zambezi River, Orange River, and Nile River) connecting regions.
The proximity of the Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean supported the emergence of early societies and fostered early global connections.
Impact of Africa’s Varied Landscapes on Settlement and Trade
Population centers emerged in the Sahel and savanna grasslands due to major water routes facilitating trade, fertile land supporting agriculture and domestication of animals, and connections between communities in the Sahara and tropical regions.
Variations in climate facilitated diverse trade opportunities:
In desert and semiarid areas, herders were often nomadic and traded salt.
In the Sahel, people traded livestock.
In the savannas, people cultivated grain crops.
In the tropical rainforests, people grew kola trees and yams and traded gold.
Population Growth and Ethnolinguistic Diversity
Bantu Expansion
Technological innovations (e.g., tools and weapons) and agricultural innovations (e.g., cultivating bananas, yams, and cereals) contributed to the population growth of West and Central African peoples.
This population growth triggered a series of migrations throughout the continent, from 1500 BCE to 500 CE, called the Bantu Expansion.
Linguistic Diversity
Bantu-speaking peoples’ linguistic influences spread throughout the continent.
Today, the Bantu linguistic family contains hundreds of languages (e.g., Xhosa, Swahili, Kikongo, Zulu).
Genetic Heritage
Africa is the ancestral home of thousands of ethnic groups and languages.
A large portion of the genetic ancestry of African Americans derives from Western and Central African Bantu speakers.
Africa’s Ancient Societies
Key Features and Goods
Several of the world’s earliest complex, large-scale societies arose in Africa during the ancient era, including Egypt, Nubia (Kush/Cush), and Aksum in East Africa, and the Nok society in West Africa.
Egypt and Nubia emerged along the Nile River around 3000 BCE. Nubia was the source of Egypt’s gold and luxury trade items, which created conflict. Around 750 BCE, Nubia defeated Egypt, establishing the 25th dynasty of the Black Pharaohs, who ruled for a century.
The Aksumite Empire (present-day Eritrea and Ethiopia) emerged around 100 BCE. Connected to major maritime trade networks via the Red Sea, it developed its own currency and script (Ge’ez).
The Nok society (present-day Nigeria) emerged around 500 BCE and was one of the earliest iron-working societies. They are known for terracotta sculptures, pottery, and stone instruments, representing the most ancient evidence of a complex, settled society in sub-Saharan Africa.
Aksum became the first African society to adopt Christianity under King Ezana. Ge’ez is still the liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The Aksumite Empire adopted Christianity on its own terms, beyond colonial influence.
Cultural and Historical Significance
Despite the richness of early African civilizations, European and American historians spread racist misconceptions to justify the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and colonization.
Example racist quotes:
Georg Hegel: “Africa is no historical part of the world; it has no movement or development to exhibit.”
Hugh Trevor-Roper: “Perhaps in the future there will be some African history to teach. But at present, there is none; only the history of Europeans in Africa. The rest is darkness.”
African American writers emphasized the significance of ancient African societies in sacred and secular texts, countering racist stereotypes.
Mid-20th century scholarship demonstrated the complexity and contributions of Africa’s ancient societies, underpinning Africans’ political claims for self-rule and independence.
The Sudanic Empires: Ghana, Mali, Songhai
Influence of Gold and Trade
The Sudanic empires (Ghana, Mali, and Songhai) flourished from the 7th to the 16th century. Each reached their height at different times: Ghana (7th–13th century), Mali (13th–17th century), and Songhai (15th–16th century).
Ancient Ghana, Mali, and Songhai were renowned for their gold mines and strategic location at the nexus of multiple trade routes, connecting trade from the Sahara to sub-Saharan Africa.
Trans-Saharan commerce introduced Islam to the region.
Songhai was the last and largest of the Sudanic empires. Following Portuguese exploration, trade routes shifted to the Atlantic, diminishing Songhai’s wealth.
Mali’s Wealth and Power
In the 14th century, the Mali Empire was ruled by Mansa Musa, who established the empire as a center for trade, learning, and cultural exchange.
Mali’s wealth enabled its leaders to crossbreed powerful North African horses and purchase steel weapons, contributing to the empire’s ability to extend power.
Mansa Musa’s hajj in 1324 attracted the interest of merchants and cartographers, prompting plans to trade manufactured goods for gold.
The Catalan Atlas (1375) details the wealth and influence of Mansa Musa and the Mali Empire, conveying the influence of Islam and Mali’s role as a center for trade and cultural exchange.
Connection to Early African Americans
The Sudanic empires stretched from Senegambia to the Ivory Coast and included regions of Nigeria.
The majority of enslaved Africans transported directly to North America descended from societies in West Africa and West Central Africa.
West African Learning Traditions
Institutional and Community-Based Education
West African empires housed centers of learning in their trading cities. Timbuktu in Mali was a center for book trade, a university, and a learning community for astronomers, mathematicians, architects, and jurists.
Knowledge from Islamic civilization was shared through Arabic, the written language of the Qu’ran.
Griots were historians, storytellers, and musicians who maintained and shared a community's history, traditions, and cultural practices. Gender played an important role in the griot tradition.
Indigenous Cosmologies and Religious Syncretism
Syncretic Practices
The adoption of Islam (e.g., in Mali and Songhai) or Christianity (e.g., in Kongo) often resulted in blending aspects of these faiths with indigenous spiritual beliefs and cosmologies.
The oshe Shango, a ceremonial wand among the Yoruba in Nigeria, is a core element of dances honoring the orisha Shango.
The painting Oya’s Betrayal depicts African spiritual practices through a visual syncretism that combines Yoruba oral traditions with the European Renaissance style of painting Christian Saints.
Practices in African-Descended Communities in the Americas
Africans who blended indigenous spiritual practices with Christianity and Islam brought their syncretic religious and cultural practices to the Americas.
About one-quarter of African Americans descends from Christian societies in Africa and one-quarter descends from Muslim societies in Africa.
West African Spiritual Practices
Spiritual practices traced to West Africa include:
veneration of ancestors
divination
healing practices
collective singing and dancing
These practices have survived in African diasporic religions and were blended with Islam and Christianity in Africa and then blended again with Christianity in the Americas.
Examples of West African spiritual practices in African diasporic religions: Voodoo; Vodun, in Haiti; Regla de Ocha-Ifa (once known as santería), in Cuba; and Candomblé, in Brazil.
Africans and their descendants performed spiritual ceremonies to strengthen themselves before leading revolts.
Culture and Trade in Southern and Eastern Africa
Great Zimbabwe’s Stone Architecture
The Kingdom of Zimbabwe and its capital city, Great Zimbabwe, flourished in Southern Africa from the 12th to the 15th century. The kingdom was linked to trade on the Swahili Coast, and its inhabitants, the Shona people, became wealthy from gold, ivory, and cattle resources.
Great Zimbabwe is known for its large stone architecture, which offered military defense and served as a hub for long-distance trade. The Great Enclosure was a site for religious and administrative activities, and the conical tower likely served as a granary.
The stone ruins remain an important symbol of the prominence and autonomy of the Shona kings.
Factors Contributing to the Rise and Fall of Swahili Coast City-States
The Swahili Coast stretches from Somalia to Mozambique. The coastal location of its city-states linked Africa’s interior to Arab, Persian, Indian, and Chinese trading communities.
Between the 11th and 15th centuries, the Swahili Coast city-states were united by their shared language (Swahili) and shared religion (Islam).
The Portuguese invaded major city-states in the 16th century to control Indian Ocean trade.
Portuguese Arrival on West African Coasts
Portugal's Focus on West Africa
Europeans had been hearing stories of West African riches following Mansa Musa’s hajj in 1324. The Portuguese, using Arab and Chinese technology, emerged as the first great sea voyagers from Western Europe.
The Portuguese assumed sub-Saharan African people lived in primitive unorganized societies, which was false. Their early attempts at invasion failed.
The Portuguese realized they needed diplomacy and trading partners. African kingdoms sought to bypass trade with Arabs and get better deals from the Portuguese.
The Wolof Empire in modern Senegal was the first kingdom to sustain a complex relationship with Portugal. Formal trade relations started by 1455. By 1480, the Wolof shifted their capital to the Atlantic coast, showing a major economic and political shift.
The Wolof started to trade enemies captured in battle, leading to the first auctions of enslaved people in Lisbon in 1444.
Importance of Elmina
Portugal met the Akan people of modern Ghana, calling the place El Mina. It was Portugal's first major entrance into the African gold trade.
The Portuguese traded humans from Benin to the Akan people at Elmina, unlocking access to Elmina’s gold for Portugal.
The Portuguese built a fort there in 1482, trading European textiles and brass for gold.
In little over a decade, Portugal was taking 25,000 ounces of gold from Elmina every year.
In 1514, Benin decided to shut down Portuguese access to the slave trade.
Portuguese Colony of São Tomé
In 1485, Portugal made the uninhabited African island of São Tomé an official colony and developed a new system for sugar production.
Portugal developed a system of sugar production on a massive scale based solely on the human-trafficking of West Africans.
In São Tomé, there existed violent labor camps based on “racialized” slavery for producing agricultural cash crops for export.
Within a decade, this model spread to the New World.
West Central Africa: The Kingdom of Kongo
Adoption of Christianity
Kongo had no contact with the Sudanic Empires and was shocked by the arrival of the Portuguese.
The Portuguese met leaders of the Kongo empire in 1482 and negotiated treaties to gain access to goods and human captives. The Kingdom of the Kongo became their most significant trading partner.
In 1491, King Nzinga a Nkuwu (João I) and his son Nzinga Mbemba (Afonso I) voluntarily converted the Kingdom of Kongo to Roman Catholicism.
Conversion to Christianity strengthened trade relationship with Portugal, leading to Kongo’s increased wealth.
Political Relations with Portugal and the Slave Trade
The trade of human captives was common. The Portuguese purchased a few human captives.
As a result of conversion and political ties, the king of Portugal demanded access to the trade of enslaved people in exchange for military assistance.
Portuguese traders prioritized trading for humans to send to the labor camps on São Tomé and the sugar plantations in Brazil, growing the volume of human trafficking.
Kongo’s nobles participated in the slave trade but were unable to limit the number of captives, and Kongo became the largest source of enslaved people in the history of the Atlantic slave trade to the Americas.
Christian Culture and Early African Americans
About a quarter of enslaved Africans transported to the United States hailed from West Central Africa and were Christians before arriving.
In Kongo, it was common to name children after saints or according to the day of the week.
Kinship and Political Leadership
Function of Kinship and Roles of Women
Many early West and Central African societies comprised family groups held together by extended kinship ties, which formed the basis for political alliances.
Women played many roles, including spiritual leaders, political advisors, market traders, educators, and agriculturalists.
Political and Military Leadership of Queen Idia and Queen Njinga
In the late 15th century, Queen Mother Idia became the first iyoba in the Kingdom of Benin, serving as a political advisor to her son, the king.
In the early 17th century, Queen Njinga became queen of Ndongo-Matamba.
Queen Idia relied on spiritual power and medicinal knowledge to bring victories to Benin.
Queen Njinga engaged in 30 years of guerilla warfare against the Portuguese and participated in the slave trade to amass wealth, also expanding Matamba’s military by offering sanctuary.
Legacy of Queen Idia and Queen Njinga
Queen Idia became an iconic symbol of Black women’s leadership throughout the diaspora.
Queen Njinga’s reign solidified her legacy as a skilled political and military leader, leading to nearly 100 more years of women rulers in Matamba.
Global Africans
Interactions Before the Transatlantic Slave Trade
In the late 15th century, trade between West African kingdoms and Portugal for gold, goods, and enslaved people grew steadily, bypassing the trans-Saharan trade routes.
African kingdoms increased their wealth and power through slave trading.
Portuguese and West African trade increased the presence of Europeans in West Africa and the population of sub-Saharan Africans in Iberian port cities.
African elites traveled to Mediterranean port cities for diplomatic, educational, and religious reasons.
Portuguese Enslaved Labor and Slave-Based Economies
The Portuguese colonized the Atlantic islands of Cabo Verde and São Tomé, establishing plantations using the labor of enslaved Africans.
By 1500, about 50,000 enslaved Africans had been removed to the Atlantic islands and Europe. These plantations became a model for slave-based economies in the Americas.