Kingdoms and Trading States of Africa

1. KingdomsandTrading Statesof Africa By Ben Skiles Period 5 Honors World History (Part III Section 5)

2. Vocabulary • Nuclear Family—family unit consisting of parents and children • Griots—professional storyteller in early West Africa

3. Bantu Migrations • A migration of people that was a major cause of the diversity of African cultures • Probably occurred because of changes in the environment • Bantu peoples moved from West and North Africa to different regions of southern Africa • Today one third of Africans speak a language similar to the original Bantu dialect

4. The Kingdom of Nubia • Also known as Kush • Was ruled by powerful kings and queens for 4,000 years • Began developing south of ancient Egypt, who often conquered Nubia’s land • Nubia always regained what was lost • Around 500 B.C. Nubia’s capital was moved to Meroë • About A.D. 350 the African kingdom Axum conquered Nubia

5. North Africa • North Africa and Egypt were once ruled by Greeks and then Romans • While under Roman rule, Christianity spread throughout • Islam later replaced Christianity and became the main religion • North Africa traded grain, wine, ivory, and gold through the global trading associated with the Muslim civilization

6. Kingdoms of West Africa • Settled farming villages began expanding in A.D. 100 • Camels revolutionized trade across the Sahara • Gold and saltwere major products • Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal had large amounts of gold • Salt was equally valuable • Salt is needed in people’s diet • West Africans traded gold to North Africans in exchange for salt

7. Mali • Took over Ghana sometime after the 1100s • By 1250 it controlled gold-mining and salt supplies of the Sahara • Mansa Musa (MAHN sah MOO sah) • Greatest emperor • Expanded Mali’s borders • Journeyed to Mecca to fulfill the hajj, forming ties to other Muslim states

8. Trade Routes of East Africa • Axum • An important trading center • Linked trade routes between Africa, India, and the Mediterranean civilizations • Christianity was a main link to the Mediterranean world in the 300s • By 600s Islam overtook Christianity in most of North Africa • Axum became an isolated Christian civilization • Axum’s power and influence declined • Arab and Persian merchants created Muslim communities when Axum declined

9. Many Peoples, Many Traditions • Religion • Religious beliefs were different and complex • African villages were commonly polytheistic • Christianity and Islam communities were spread in some parts of Africa • Family • Family life varied • Nuclear families—family unit with parents and children • Joint families—family unit with several generations in same house or houses

10. Explaining Their History • Preserved by oral and written literature • Griots, or professional poets, told ancient stories in West Africa • Stories often praised heroic deeds of famous ancestors • Moral lessons were taught by folk tales

11. Extra Facts • Songhai (around 1400s through 1586) created the largest state that had ever existed in West Africa. • In 1586 civil war and foreign invasion weakened and separated the powerful kingdom • Scientists believe that the first human race first came from East Africa