social studies 3 test
Terms
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- Queen Makeda
- rose to the throne of Sheba (modern day Ethiopia in East Africa) in 1005 BC; according to legend, she met with King Solomon and introduced Judaism to her empire
- Ibn Battuta
- a young Arab lawyer from Morocco, who, in 1325 began his travles through the muslim world for 30 years, covering a distance of more than 73,000 miles
- Mogadishu, Kilwa, Mombasa and Zanzibar
- a string of trading ports extending down the east african coast which, in the 1300's, became major links in an Indian Ocean trading network
- Extended Families
- families made up of several generations, including anywhere from ten to hundreds of members; families formed the basis of African society
- King Ewuare
- founded the emipre of Benin around 1440
- Niger River
- located in West Africa, its rich soil gave rise to several civilizations; it also helped unite the region by enabling merchants and travelers to spread goods and ideas up and down the river
- Plantation
- harvested by slaves when the Portuguese settled the Atlantic ideas of Madeira, Azores, and Cape Verde
- Portuguese
- began the slave trade in the 1440s
- Sunni Ali
- the leader of the Songhai, who in 1468, stormed into Timbuktu and drove out the Berbers beginning a campaign of conquest of the Sahara; by the time of his death in 1492 he had built the largest empire in west Africa
- African Art
- earliest form is cave paintings; art and religion developed hand in hand; works of art also told stories and served practical purposes as well such as cloth used in clothing
- Sundiata and Sunni Ali
- western Africa's two great empire builders who were criticized for spending more time on stopping rebellions than spreading religion
- Queen Dahia al-Kahina
- led the fight against the Muslim invasion of her kingdom in AD 600
- Swahili
- a language that comes from an Arabic word meaning "people of the coast"; by 1331 it represented the unique culture of East Africa's coast as well as the language spoken there
- Matrilineal
- villages, especially Bantu, who traced their descent through mothers, rather than fathers
- Great Rift Valley
- a valley in East Africa where some of the earliest human fossils have been found
- Trade Winds
- trade winds are a pattern of wind that are found in bands around the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds are the prevailing winds in the tropics,
- Timbuktu
- trading city captured by Sundiata
- Dhows
- sail boats powered by a wind-catching, triangular sail that let Arab traders sail to Africa
- Aski Muhammad
- while ruler of Songahi, he built the largest empire in medieval west africa, keeping local courts in place while also honoring muslim laws; he also made Timbuktu an important center of Islamic culture and learning, and set up schools to teach Quran
- Axum
- city state in Ethiopia (Abyssinia) that was the power center of the empire, owing its strength to its location on the Red sea
- Savannas
- tropical, sweeping grasslands that make up much of Africa; they have high temperatures and uneven rains, and are perfect for raising herds of animals
- Plateau
- an area of high flat land, on which rests most of Africa
- Songhai
- the people who drove out the Berbers in 1468; their empire lasted almost 130 years
- Mutota and Matope
- kings in 1400s who turned Zimbabwe into a large empire stretching from south of the Zambezi River to the Indian Ocean; Matope was Mutota's son
- Congo River
- a waterway twisting 2,700 miles through the rain forests of Central Africa
- Kush
- neigboring city-state to Axum that was defeated by Axum around 300 AD
- Plantation crops
- cotton, grapes, sugarcane, tobacco, rice and cotton
- Benin
- a kingdom in the Niger delta rain forest located near the Equator
- Berbers
- North Africans who figured out how to cross the Sahara to West Africa, which opened up trade routes around 400 BC using horses and donkeys
- Morocco
- the Arab kingdom that defeated the Songhai in 1591using cannons and guns
- Ghana
- the first empire to develop in Africa; which rose to power in 400 AD. It was located where several trade routes came together
- Africa's Geography
- a vast and varied landscape made up of shifting sand dunes, rain forests, sweeping savannas, large deserts, and coastal plains
- Mali
- this kingdom conquered Ghana in the 1200s
- Red Sea
- body of water between northeast Africa and the Arabian Peninsula that was a key source of trade between Africa and East Asia
- Shona
- people who founded Zimbabwe in AD 700
- Quran
- Islamic holy book that forbade enslavement of Muslims; however muslims could enslave non-muslims
- Power of Kings
- the central authority in the most successful states such as Ghana
- Salt
- located in North Africa, was traded for gold and ivory from West Africa; this trade led to the growth of cities in western Africa
- King Azana
- the king of Axum who defeated Kush, who later helped bring a new religion to Africa when he converted to Christianity, which he made the official religion of Axum in AD 334
- Griots
- story tellers
- Bantu
- wandering fishing groups along the Benue River who packed their belongings in their canoes; they then left their homeland and settled in other parts of Africa, spreading their culture with them including pottery making, mining, and iron-working; many of the ideas and traditions in modern day Africa are attributable to the Bantu migrations of 1,500 years ago.
- Role of Women
- acted mostly as wives and mothers in Africa; had less rights than men; there were exceptions however as in some cases women were soldiers and became rulers
- Nanti
- Monotheist people in East Africa who thought people could talk directly with God
- Camels
- were introduced to North Africa when the Romans conquered it, bringing in camels from Central Asia; camels revolutionized trade because their broad feet did not sink in the sand and their humps stored fat for food; they could also travel many days without water; camels were grouped together to form caravans
- Iron Weapons
- Ghana knew how to make these weapons, which were used to conquer its neighbors; people were willing to pay fees to Ghana to gain access to its iron weapons
- Music and Dance
- played a part in almost all aspect of African life; people used it to express their religious feelings or through an every day task, like planting a field; Africans believed dance allowed the spirits to express themselves
- Queen Nzinga
- ruled lands in modern day Angola and Congo, who spent almost 40 years battling Portuguese slave traders in an effort to stop them from enslaving her people
- Kongo
- a kingdom in the Congo river basin rain forest along the Equator
- Igbo
- an African people who believed in one supreme god who could only be talked to by less powerful gods and goddesses
- African Diaspora
- the spreading of African people and culture around the world
- Mansa Musa
- the last strong king of Mali, whose death began the decline of the Mali empire
- Sundiata Keita
- the "lion prince" warrior-king of Mali who is credited with conquering the capital of Ghana in 1240
- Fee
- a tax paid to Ghana's rulers by traders passing through; the taxes (fees) made Ghana rich
- Guns for slaves
- European guns in West Africa opened a new market for slaves
- Benue River
- A river in Western Africa where fishing groups packed belongings in their canoes around 3,000 BC, and began wandering around Africa. The Bantu originated here
- Education
- was the responsibility of the family and other villagers in Africa's villages
- Clan
- a group of people descended from the same ancestor
- Ways slaves can get free
- when a fee is paid for them; or if they work hard or marry a free person
- African slavery
- read page 233
- Nomads
- people who wandered in the deserts of Africa
- Council of Ministers
- close advisers to the Kings of Ghana