1. (West, North, East, and Central)
Africa
(West, North, East, and Central)

2. Ghana Mali Songhay Nubia/Kush Ethiopia The Swahili Coast
African Kingdom
Location/Geography
Ghana
1st great African civilization in West; Near coast; Grasslands and access to rainforests
Mali
2nd great African civilization in West; Broke of Ghana in 13th century; Grasslands and access to rainforests
Songhay
3rd great African civilization in West; Broke of Mali in 14th century; Grasslands and access to rainforests; Empire extended by Sunni Ali
Nubia/Kush
Founded along the Nile River south of Egypt; Easily allowed for regular trade with Egypt
The Swahili Coast
East coast of Africa; Location allowed trade by sea to east
Ethiopia
Northeastern part of Africa near the “horn;” High mountain and plateaus

3. Social Class and Gender
Rulers at the top of society
Merchants very important
Ancestors viewed as “first settlers”
Owners of the land
Society organized by family lineage
Specialists needed to fight evil power and eliminate witches
Class of diviners/ priests develop
Men and women actively participated
in market life

4. Political All kingdoms centralized besides Swahili Coast
All were kingdoms/empires besides Swahili Coast
Rulers had most authority
Stateless societies existed
Lacked concentration of political power and were organized around kinship or other obligation forms
Other societies had a hierarchy of officials

5. Interactions Trade- North, East, and West had active trade Wars Aid
Moroccans defeat Songhay with their gunpowder weapons
Berbers overran Ghana
Aid
Portuguese sailors save Ethiopians from defeat
Ancestors ensured fertility of the land, game, people, and herds

6. Interactions- trade

7. Cultural
Society organized by family lineage which helped deal with the gods
Deceased ancestors were a link between the living and spirit world
Bantu speaking peoples provided the base for language
Still differed in vocabulary and structure
Ritual and Worship through dancing, drumming, divination, and sacrifice

8. Economic Much trade in Northern, Eastern, and Western Africa
Mainly in Swahili Coast
Specialization influenced regional trade mainly with Arab traders
Central Africa lacked regional trade, but had local trade
Main traded items were salt and gold
Agriculture and skilled iron work came about
Specialization encouraged lively markets and many large cities

9. Religion
Islam fused to West, North, and East Africa, but not Central Africa
Nubia/Kush and Ethiopia were Christian Kingdoms
Ethiopia was main Christian kingdom
Central Africa was largely animistic
The belief in power of natural forces personified as spirits or gods
Provided a cosmology
Deceased ancestors were a direct link to spirit world
Shows resilience to monotheistic religions of Islam and Christianity

10. Key terms/people to know
Animism- religion that sees gods in many aspects of nature and propitiates them to help them control and explain nature
Sundiata- “Lion Prince”; created a unified state known as the Mali Empire; “divided up the world”
Mansa Musa- most famous successor of Sundiata; pilgrimage to Mecca brought attention of Muslim world to Mali; expanded
Benin- powerful city-state (present day Nigeria) relatively free from European influence; came into contact with Portuguese in 1485; important commercial and political entity
Kongo- kingdom based on agriculture on lower Congo River; ruled by heredity monarchy; capital at Mbanza Kongo
Great Zimbabwe- Bantu confederation of Shona-speaking peoples located between Zambezi and Limpopo rivers; developed after 9th century; stone royal courts; centralized state by 15th century; king’s title = Mwene Mutapa