glossary Flashcards
Abbasids (750–1258)
one of two great caliphates during
Islam’s Golden Age; named after one of Muhammad’s
uncles; overthrew the Umayyads, the first great
caliphate
Abolitionists
African, European, and U.S. activists
who opposed slavery in all forms and since at least the
1500s worked to end it
Abolition
movement to end slavery and the transatlantic
slave trade
Abu Talib (?–619)
the uncle who raised Muhammad,
the Prophet of Islam
Abyssinia
– the ancient name for Ethiopia
Acropolis
in southern Africa, part of Great Zimbabwe
Adinkra
symbols created by the Asante to represent
concepts; Gye Nyame is the most famous
African slavery
bondage within African societies in
which slaves had rights to marry and raise families;
their children were often born free; they provided
functions of servitude and reproduction; see chattel
slavery
Leo (al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Wazzan al-Fasi)
1485–1554
a Moor who in 1518 was captured
by pirates and given to Pope Leo X as a present; he
was freed by the pope and took his name at baptism;
later published Description of Africa, which described
Songhay; family name was al-Hasan ibn Muhammad
al-Wazzan al-Fasi
Aristotle (384–322 bce)
a Greek philosopher who
thought highly of Egypt and Abyssinia (Ethiopia)
Ardrah
the center of the slave trade of the Aja ethnic
group in southwestern Nigeria
Anokye
the priest who with Osei Tutu created the
legend of the Golden Stool and unified the Asante
ethnic group under Osei Tutu in c. 1695
Anglo-Asante Wars (1824–1900)
the series of five
wars between Great Britain and the Asante
Almoravids
northern Muslim Berbers who in 1042
invaded and conquered ancient Ghana
Allah
Arabic word for the one god
Ali (601–661)
Muhammad’s cousin, son-in-law, and
fourth caliph; revered by both Sunni and Shia Muslims
Al-Azhar University
a university founded in 970 in
Cairo; Al-Azhar is Sunni Islam’s most important
university in Africa and arguably the Muslim world
Akosombo Dam
the Ghanaian hydroelectric dam on
the Volta River that opened in 1966
Akan
one of three West African gold fields located in
the forest and savanna of present-day Ghana; the other
two are Bambuk and Bure; also a language group
Agades
city in Niger some 720 due east of Timbuktu;
also Agadez
Afro-Pessimists
those who believe Africa has so many
problems that the foreseeable future is grim
Afrocentrism
the perception of life through African
eyes inside African culture and environments
Afro-Asiatic
one of five major language groups of
Africa
Ark of the Covenant
the Old Testament belief of a
sacred Jewish wooden chest carried by poles in which
two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments are
stored
Bamba, Amadou (1850–1927)
– the founder of the
Murids, a Sufi order in Senegal
Bambuk
one of three West African gold fields; located
between the Senegal and Faleme Rivers; the other
two are Bure and Akan
Bantu
refers to about 535 languages in the Niger-
Congo language family that spread across Africa
eastward and southward beginning around 1000 bce;
today about 180 million Africans are Bantu speakers
at some level
Baobab
African trees from the genus Adansonia; major
symbol of the West African Sahel
Bedouins
the nomadic Arab ethnic group of the desert
Berbers
North African ethnic group from the Sanhaja
region that conquered ancient Ghana
Berlin Conference (1884–85)
the meeting of fourteen
Western powers who agreed on thirty-eight articles
to settle their trade and colonial disputes in Africa; no
Africans were present
Bernal, Martin Gardiner (1937–2013)
argued in Black
Athena that ancient Greek civilization was partly based
on Pharaonic Egyptian and Phoenician civilizations;
stated that Eurocentric scholars had severed that link
because of nineteenth-century notions of European
imperial supremacy and pseudoscientific racism
Arquebus
a forerunner of the rifle used against the
defenders of Songhay in 1590
Asante
a major West African ethnic group in the
southern half of present-day Ghana who participated
in the slave trade; capital is Kumasi; engaged in five
wars against the British
Asantehene
the title of a ruling Asante leader
Asiento
the asiento or transferable contract originated
in the fifteenth-century whereby the papacy awarded
Portugal the monopoly of European trade with
Africa; by 1518 the Spanish began issuing asientos to
entrepreneurs, companies, or other governments to
supply African slaves to Spanish colonies in America
Askia, Mohammed (?–1537)
the West African leader
of Songhay who expanded its territory, improved the
structure of government, and reformed Islam
Asma’u, Nana (1793–1864)
the important West
African Muslim woman, teacher, and Sufi who
provided female leadership for theSokoto Caliphate
in present-day northwest Nigeria
Assimilation
in French Africa the process by which
Africans adopted French culture; was a component of
direct rule
Biafra
the southeastern Igbo region of Nigeria that
seceded in 1967; it was forced to rejoin Nigeria in
1970 after losing the Nigerian Civil War; at least one
million Igbos lost their lives, many to starvation
Bilma
the famous salt source for Tuareg caravans headed
south to trade with the Hausa in northern Nigeria
blue nile
one of two major tributaries of the Nile
River; originates in Lake Tana, Ethiopia, and joins
the White Nile at Khartoum, Sudan
Bonsu, Osei (1779–1824)
– the Asantehene who in 1820
voiced his opposition to the 1807 British ban on the
Atlantic slave trade
Book of the Dead
Egyptian sacred literature dating from
c. 1500 bce that laid out the path to eternal afterlife
after death
Bori
traditional African religion led by Hausa women
during the Sokoto Caliphate
Brookes
the notorious slave ship whose illustrations
of decks and shackled prone slaves were used by abolitionists to generate awareness of the cruelty of
the transatlantic slave trade and slavery in general
Bahia, Brazil
an important region for Portuguese
plantation slavery for sugar production
Ayatollah
a Muslim Shia leader who rules in the place
of the “hidden” Imam until his return; means “sign of
Allah”
Axum
– the ancient capital of Abyssinia (Ethiopia)
Awdughast
a transshipment center in the Sahel on the
northern border of ancient Ghana
Austronesian
one of five major language groups of
Africa
Atlantic slave trade
the maritime trade in Africans as a
commodity to the Americas or Europe
Augustine of Hippo (354–430)
born in what is now
Algeria, he was the Christian church father who
advocated for the concept of predestination and
provided many of the basic ideas of modern Roman
Catholicism
Bure
– one of three West African gold fields located near
the upper Niger River; the other two are Bambuk and
Akan
Zimbabwe
the southern African country in which
Great Zimbabwe is located; means “house of stone”
Yoruba
the major Nigerian ethnic group that
participated in the transatlantic slave trade; created
the Oyo kingdom in southwestern Nigeria
Yellow fever
a viral infection transmitted by mosquito;
impeded the European conquest of tropical Africa
Yathrib
the city some 270 miles north of Mecca where
Muhammad and his followers migrated in 622; soon
after their arrival Yathrib was renamed Medina
Y chromosomal DNA
the part of DNA that showed
African men to have the oldest genetic markers; only
fathers pass this genetic code to their offspring
Xhosa
– the major ethnic group and language of Bantu-
speakers in South Africa
Wolseley, Garnet (1833–1913)
the British officer whose
forces defeated the Asante in the Anglo-Asante War
of 1874
Wilson, Allan (1934–91)
with Rebecca Cann and
Mark Stoneking carried out the mtDNA study in
1987 that placed human origins in Africa
Wilberforce, William (1759–1833)
the member of
Parliament who led the political campaign to abolish
the transatlantic slave trade; resulted in the Slave
Trade Act of 1807
Whydah
the major slave trading center conquered by
Dahomey in 1727
White Nile
one of two major tributaries of the Nile;
originates in Lake Victoria-Nyanza on the western
border of Kenya and joins the Blue Nile at Khartoum,
Sudan
Wangara
Bambuk sellers of gold to Ghanaian merchants
who transported it to Sijilmasa
Ummah
the Arabic word for the entire worldwide
Muslim community; first established at Medina
Timbuktu
a major embarkation port for caravans
traveling north across the Sahara Desert to Taghaza
and Sijilmasa and the site of an important school of
Islamic scholarship
Tools
– in the context of human origins in Africa, stones
and bones honed to achieve a sharp edge to function
in ways that extended natural human abilities;
prehistoric tools provide valuable evidence about the
lives of the humans who used them
Touba
the center of Murid Islam in Senegal; home of
Murid’s Great Mosque and annual pilgrimage
Toynbee, Arnold (1889–1975)
the British historian
who believed in the cyclic interpretation of history
Traditional African religion
– spiritual practices whose
rituals promote bonds with ancestors, help from
nature and spirits, and seek knowledge of the near
future; there is no sacred literature, no afterlife, no
apocalypse, and no separation between the spiritual
and secular world
Transatlantic slave trade
often called the Middle
Passage in which about 12.5 million enslaved Africans
were brought to the New World by Europeans as
chattel slaves for labor between the sixteenth and
nineteenth centuries
Transatlantic slave trade –
often called the Middle
Passage in which about 12.5 million enslaved Africans
were brought to the New World by Europeans as
chattel slaves for labor between the sixteenth and
nineteenth centuries
Triangular trade pattern
the transatlantic slave trade
pattern of traffic of humans and goods between
Africa, the Americas, and Europe
Tripoli
the northern destination of the eastern part of
the West African trans-Saharan trade from Kanem-
Bornu
Tuareg
the nomadic pastoralists of the Sahara; also
called Berbers
Umayyads (661–750)
the descendants of Muhammad’s
powerful Meccan enemies who took control of Islam
about a generation after the death of Muhammad; the
first of the two caliphates of the Golden Age of Islam;
the second was the Abbasid Caliphate
Tawhid
oneness of God in Islam; Islamic dogma
Tangier
a major port city of Morocco and the home to
Ibn Battuta
Tamahaq
the language of the Tuareg who often
transported goods across the Sahara between ancient
Ghana and Sijilmasa
Taghaza
a location of great quantities of salt deposited
during the evaporation of an ancient Saharan sea;
approximate midway point on the Timbuktu-Sijilmasa
caravan trade route
Swahili
an East African maritime language and culture
made up predominantly of Muslims and Bantu-
speakers; extends from southern Somalia to northern
Mozambique; means “coast” and is influenced by
Arabic; some Swahili claim an ancestral connection
to Shirazi, a city in southwestern Iran
Sorghum
an edible grain plant from which molasses is
derived
Sonni Ali (? –1492)
the founder of the Songhay empire
Soninke
the major ethnic group and rulers of ancient
Ghana
Songhay (1450–1591)
the third of three great West
African Sahelian empires; sometimes spelled Songhai
Sokoto Caliphate
the Muslim empire founded in the
early nineteenth century in present-day northeastern
Nigeria; created by Usman dan Fodiyo to imitate
Muhammad’s early community at Medina
Socrates (469–399 bce)
the Athenian teacher of Plato;
promoted ethics by engaging in dialogues described
by Plato; executed for believing in false gods and
corrupting the youth of Athens
Social Darwinists
those who attempted to apply
Charles Darwin’s biological ideas about the evolution
of species based on natural selection to imperial and
colonial expansion on a global scale
Slave Trade Act of 1807
the Parliamentary act in Great
Britain that abolished the Atlantic slave trade
Sunni
the largest Muslim sect containing about 85
percent of Muslims; “people of the tradition;” in
contrast to the Shi’a, who insisted that Muslim leaders
had to descend from Muhammad, Sunnis argued that
any rightly guided Muslim could be a caliph
Sunna
Muhammad’s actions whose guidance forms
part of Muslim law
Sundiata Keïta
established the West African Malinke
empire of Mali that succeeded ancient Ghana; ruled
from 1235–55; the most famous West African epic is
about Sundiata’s life and is still told today
Sufi
a part of the Sunni tradition that developed as a
mystical alternative to more worldly Muslim practices;
also a mystical Muslim who helps other Muslims
attain spiritual understanding
Sudan
the region where the Blue and White Nile
Rivers meet at Khartoum; region of northern
Nubia; contested region between French and British
imperialists; shared a border with French Equatorial
Africa
Stoneking, Mark (b.1956)
with Rebecca Cann and
Alan Wilson carried out the mtDNA study in 1987
that placed human origins in Africa
St. Domingue
a Caribbean French colony and the site
of a slave revolt in 1791
Sosso
the empire that brought an end to the great West
African empire of Ghana in 1203; ancient Ghana had
been in decline after its losses to the Almoravids in
1042
Shirazi
– the ethnic group from Persia that contributed to
the formation of the Swahili maritime network
Shona
the ethnic group that built Great Zimbabwe
Sierra Leone
the modern country which served as a
haven for slaves taken from seized slave ships and
Africans who fought for the British against the
Americans in the Revolutionary War
Sijilmasa
the ancient city located in southeastern
Morocco one thousand miles north of Timbuktu in
the Sahara Desert; destination via Taghaza for West
African camel caravans laden with gold, salt, and
other items
Slav
the word from which the word “slavery” originated;
referred to an Eastern European ethnic group
Slavery
the social or legal system in which people are
involuntarily held as property with no rights (Western
chattel slavery) or in which they have the somewhat
flexible status of extended family members (African
slavery); the word originated from the Muslim
enslavement of ethnic Slavs of the Black Sea region
in the 800s
Shia
– a minority sect in Islam followed by about 13
percent of Muslims worldwide; called followers of Ali,
who was the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad;
the Shia claim that one has to descend directly from
Ali and Muhammad’s daughter Fatimah to lead Muslims; their defunct leaders were called Imams;
those who lead them today are called Ayatollahs
Reparations Movement
efforts to get Western
countries to pay African countries to account to some
extent for slavery and colonialism; also the effort to
have the U.S. pay reparations to the descendants of
African slaves in the U.S. for chattel slavery and Jim
Crow
Shehu
the Hausa word for “sheik” meaning ruler;
Usman dan Fodiyo was a shehu
queen o f sheba
the queen associated with Solomon in
the Old Testament
Ra (also spelled Re)
the sun god of ancient Egyptians;
sometimes identified with the Pharaoh
Quraysh
Muhammad’s tribe, which controlled Mecca
Qur’an
the sacred literature of Islam; contains God’s
revelations to Muhammad via the Archangel Gabriel
in both Mecca and Medina; divided into 114 chapters
called surahs
Senghor, Léopold (1906–2001)
the French-educated
Senegalese political leader and intellectual who led
Senegal to independence; advocate of négritude,
which was a Pan-Africanist anti-colonial philosophy;
opposed assimilation because of its advocacy of the
inferiority of African civilizations
Senegal
a former French colony in West Africa; home
of Amadou Bamba, the Murids, Cheikh Anta Diop,
and Touba
São Tomé and Príncipe
the equatorial islands off the
coast of Gabon where the Portuguese created an early
example of plantation slavery
Sáo Joáo Bautista
the Portuguese ship thought to have
transported the first African slaves to North America,
taken to Virginia’s Port Comfort colony in August
1619
Sanhaja Berbers
the Muslim ethnic group called the
Almoravids from the Sanhaja region of Morocco who
conquered ancient Ghana
San
hunter-gatherers who preceded Bantu-speakers;
absorbed or conquered by the Bantu-speakers as
they migrated southward; sometimes paired with the
Khoi-Khoi into the Khoisan grouping; mitochondrial
DNA and Y chromosomes of the San are some of the
oldest on earth; also one of five major language groups
of Africa
Sahel
the semi-arid transitional zone that stretches
from west to east and connects West Africa to the
Sahara Desert
Sahara Desert
the largest hot desert in the world,
it covers most of North Africa and measures about
3,000 miles from east to west and about 800 to 1,200
miles from north to south
Robinson, Ronald (1920–99)
the historian who
with Jack Gallagher argued that collaboration with
indigenous populations was the key to understanding
the success of colonialism in Africa
Pan-Africanism
the political and economic movement
to unite African countries to give them a voice in
world affairs; promoted in different ways since the
nineteenth century by W.E.B. Du Bois, George
Padmore, C.L.R. James, and Kwame Nkrumah,
among others
Pharaoh
the god-king of ancient Egypt’s dynasties;
protector of Ma’at, which symbolized truth, justice,
order, and harmony; translates as “great house” or
“palace”
Plato
the Athenian philosopher and
student of Socrates who used Egyptian knowledge to
create his program for education and teaching
Polo, Marco (1254–1324)
the Venetian traveler and
merchant who spent about twenty-four years traveling
in Asia a generation before Ibn Battuta
Predestination
the belief that God has chosen a few
to share heaven; those not chosen can do nothing to
enter heaven
Prejudice
a strong belief not based on reason
Ptolemaic Egypt (332–30) –
the dynasty established by
Ptolemy, which lasted for three centuries
Ptolemy (367–283)
Alexander the Great’s general who
took over Egypt and Palestine after Alexander’s death
Qadiriyya
the Sufi order of Usman dan Fodiyo and
Nana Asma’u
Quakers
the Protestant Christian religious group that
began the abolitionist movement in Great Britain in
the 1600s; founded the first abolitionist society in
England in 1783
Oyo
the powerful slave trading empire of the Yoruba ethnic group in west and north central Nigeria
Osiris
in Pharaonic Egypt the God-Ruler of the
underworld
Osei Tutu
the leader who in c. 1695 created the legend
of the Golden Stool with the priest Anokye that
united the Asante ethnic group
Orthodox Christians
includes Catholics, Protestants,
and Greek and Russian Orthodox who adhere to the
creed created at the Council of Nicaea in 325 that
explains the nature of Jesus and the Trinity
Organization of African Unity (1963–2002)
the
Africanist organization, somewhat like the UN,
created to oppose colonialism, promote human rights,
and defend sovereignty; replaced by the African Union
Old Kingdom (c.2686–2160 bce)
the first of three
kingdoms of Pharaonic Egypt
Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Chukwuemeka (1933–2011)
the military officer who led the Igbo secession of
southeastern Nigeria; leader of the Republic of Biafra
until it lost the Nigerian Civil War and reunited with
Nigeria
Nubia
the African civilization that shared its northern
border with southern Egypt and was influenced by
Egypt
Nkrumah, Kwame (1909–72)
U.S.-educated Ghanaian
and Pan-Africanist leader; organized the construction
of the Akosombo Dam; overthrown via coup in 1966
Nilo-Saharan
one of five major language groups of
Africa
Nile River
about 4,200 miles in length, the Nile is the
world’s longest river; tributaries begin in Ethiopia
and the Great Lakes region and join at Khartoum,
Sudan; flows through Egypt before emptying into the
Mediterranean Sea
Niger River
the major river of West Africa, which is
about 2,600 miles long
Niger-Congo
one of five major language groups of
Africa; includes Bantu-speakers
Nicene Creed
the orthodox view of the relationship
between Jesus the human and Jesus the God approved
by Christian leaders at the Council of Nicaea in 325
Newton, John (1725–1807)
the slave ship captain of the Greyhound in 1748; published a tract in 1788
renouncing slavery; wrote the lyrics to the hymn
“Amazing Grace”
New Kingdom (1550–1069 bce)
the third of three
kingdoms of Pharaonic Egypt
New Imperialism (1870–1914)
the European material
and religious expansion in Africa that coincided with
advances in hygiene, weapons, and medicine
Neo-colonialism
despite the formal end of colonial
empires, the continued sovereignty of the former
imperial rulers by other means, usually through
economic loans and policies that keep newly
independent African countries dependent on
European banks and global capitalism
Negus
the ancient title of kings of Abyssinia (Ethiopia)
Muslim
a follower of Islam; means “one who submits to
the will of God”
Musa (1280–1337) –
a Muslim ruler (Mansa) of Mali
noted for his hajj, piety, and generosity; financed
the construction of the Great Mosques of Gao and
Timbuktu and transcription of Qur’ans
murids
the followers of Amadou Bamba
Muqaddimah
the cyclic interpretation of world history
from a Muslim perspective written by Ibn Khaldun
Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative
an effort to reduce
the debt of Africa’s and the world’s poorest countries
muezzin
one who gives the call to prayer five times a
day in traditional Muslim societies
mosuqe
house of prayer for muslims
moor
muslim born in spain
Monsoons
seasonal winds and currents in the Indian
Ocean that propel dhows toward Arabia and India
from November and March then reverse to the south
and west from April to September to return dhows to
the Swahili coast
Monophysites
same as Coptic Christians
Muhammad ibn Abdallah (c.570–632)
the prophet of
Islam to whom the Qur’an was revealed
Muhammad al-Mahdi (c.868–c.941)
the Twelfth
and “hidden” Imam of the Shia; a descendant of
Muhammad
Mogadishu
an ancient seaport important to Swahili
mercantile trade; located in coastal Somalia
Mitochondria DNA (mtDNA)
the cellular structures
whose content proved that Khoisan women contained
the oldest genetic mutations of women on Earth; only
mothers pass this genetic code to their offspring
Millet
a grain plant from which cereal is made
Middle Passage
a portion of the journey from Africa to
the Americas that took place on transatlantic voyages
Middle Kingdom (c. 2055–1650 bce)
the second of
three kingdoms of Pharaonic Egypt
Mercantilism
the economic system during the
sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries that sought a
positive balance of trade and the accumulation of gold
and silver as a means to strengthen a kingdom against
its opponents
Menelik
the Abyssinian leader who allegedly brought
the Ark of the Covenant to Axum; the ark now
supposedly resides in the Chapel of the Tablet at the
Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion
Memphis
the capital of the Egyptian Old Kingdom on
the Nile River
Medina
formerly Yathrib, the city where Muhammad
and his followers sought sanctuary in 622
Mecca
the Arabian trading town, birthplace of
Muhammad, home to the Ka’bah, and holiest city in
Islam; pilgrimage destination
McCarthy, Sir Charles (1764–1824)
the British
military commander and Governor of Gold Coast
whom the Asante defeated and beheaded in 1824
Mbiti, John (b.1931)
the Kenyan-born Anglican
minister and writer of traditional African religion
Maxim Gun
an early example of a fully automatic
machine gun; invented by American-born British
engineer Sir Hiram Maxim around 1884; enabled
small colonial armies to overcome more numerous
African armies
masai
a language and ethnic group in southern Kenya
and northern Tanzania of East africa
mansa
the title for king or emperor of the medieval
West African empire of Mali
Lenin, Vladimir (1870–1924)
the Russian communist
revolutionary who wrote Imperialism, the Highest Stage
of Capitalism to explain how imperialism was a stage
in the development of global capitalism
Leo X (1475–1521)
the pope who baptized Leo
Africanus, gave him a pension, and encouraged him
to write his Description of Africa
Levant
the eastern part of the Mediterranean world
Liberia
the modern country on the western coast of
Africa that in 1822 became a haven for slaves seized
from slave ships and U.S. freed slaves; a resettlement
project was first promoted by the American
Colonization Society
Liberalism
Enlightenment belief that promoted
progress, liberty, and equality; contributed to the
abolitionist movement
Lincoln University
founded in 1854, it was the first
degree-granting historically black university in the
U.S.
linguistics
the study of languages; in Africa, used to
determine the origins of Bantu, the largest indigenous
language sub-group in Africa
Lugard, Frederick (1858–1945)
the colonial
administrator in Nigeria who articulated the idea
of the “Dual Mandate” which justified British
imperialism in terms of an exchange of African labor
and resources for British technology and civilization,
to the benefit of both sides
Ma’at
a concept representing truth, justice, order, and
harmony personified by the Pharaoh
Madeira
Portuguese islands in the Atlantic that were
early locations for the plantation slavery model
Malaria
a disease caused by single-celled parasites
transmitted to humans by mosquitoes; causes flu-like
symptoms that can recur; endemic in tropical Africa
Mali
the second great West African empire during the
thirteenth through the sixteenth centuries
mande
the language group of about 30 million people
spread across thirteen West African countries
Mandela, Nelson (1918–2013)
a Xhosa leader of
the anti-apartheid African National Congress in
South Africa; spent twenty-seven years in prison for opposing apartheid; first president of post-apartheid
South Africa; received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993
Lat Joor Joop (1842–86)
the anti-colonial Wolof
king (Dammel) who was killed by the French;
a contemporary of Bamba and an inspiration to Senegalese nationalists during their struggle for
independence
Lake Tana
the source of the Blue Nile River
Lake Victoria-Nyanza
the source of the White Nile
River
Kumasi
the capital of the Asante people; regional
capital in modern Ghana
Krina, Battle of (1235)
the battle in which Sundiata
defeated the conquerors of the Ghanaians, the Sosso,
and established Mali
kongo
the ethnic group in the vicinity of Luanda,
Angola, who provided slaves to the Portuguese to
work on sugar plantations on São Tomé and in Brazil
Kilwa
an ancient seaport and sultanate important to
Swahili mercantile trade; located in coastal Tanzania
Khoisan
the term used to describe the San and Khoi
Khoi peoples who preceded Bantu-speakers in
southern Africa; the mitochondria of the San is the
oldest on earth; also one of five major language groups
of Africa
Kente
Akan cloth made by Asante men; originally for
royalty
keitas
the clan name for the rulers of Mali
Kebra Nagast
sacred literature of the Coptics; also called
The Book of Kings
Kaw (1300)
the Mansa of Mali who may have sent a
fleet of 2,000 ships west; Mansa Musa’s predecessor
Katsina
a major city in the far central north of Nigeria
Kassonke
a language group of West Africans;
participants in the trans-Saharan gold trade during
the ancient empire of Mali
Kanem-Bornu
a trans-Saharan embarkation point
Ka’bah
a shrine of traditional religion in Mecca that
was incorporated into the Great Mosque of Mecca
jim crow
the name given to U.S. laws designed to deny
African Americans their civil rights
jihad
the struggle experienced by individual Muslims
to obey God; sometimes “holy war” against enemies
of Islam
Ibn al-Asi, Amr (585–664)
an early opponent of
Muhammad; later converted and conquered Egypt in
640; created Fustat, which is now part of Cairo
Ibn Battuta (1304–69)
the Moroccan world traveler
who visited Mali and the Swahili coast; wrote a major
travelogue called the Rihla
Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406)
famous Muslim historian;
teacher at Al-Azhar University; wrote the first world
history from a Muslim perspective called Muqaddimah
Ibn Rabah, Bilal (580–640)
former African slave
in Mecca; one of Muhammad’s first converts and
as the initial muezzin gave first call to prayer in
Medina; Bilal’s descendants allegedly established the
Mandinka clan of Keïta, from which Sundiata derives
Idowu, Bolaji (1913–93)
Nigerian Methodist minister
and writer on traditional African religion
Igbo
majority ethnic group in the region that declared
independence from Nigeria as the country Biafra
Imam
a descendent of Muhammad who led the Shia
until about 941 ce; also the prayer leader of a mosque
Imperialism
the comprehensive word associated with
empire and politics to describe the dominance or
sovereignty of one group over another
Imperialism: Cultural
the imposition of values,
language, and beliefs by rulers in an imperial setting
Indirect Rule
the British system described by Frederick
Lugard as the Dual Mandate; carried out with the
collaboration of local chiefs
Industrial Revolution (1760–1840)
the time period
when the West gained worldwide communications
and weapons advantages and used them to create
empires across much of the world; contributed to the
obsolescence of chattel slavery
islam
the world monotheistic Abrahamic religion
followed by about 40 percent of all Africans; the word
means act of submission to the will of God; about half
of West Africa’s population is Muslim
jajjs
itinerant female students and teachers of Nana
Asma’u
Hyksos
the chariot-riding warriors who conquered Lower Egypt in 1650 bce and who likely assimilated
into the Egyptian population; they brought musical
instruments, olive trees, and new breeds of cattle
Hulks
old ships in the Nigerian delta where Europeans
lived and carried out trade in slaves and goods
horus
in Egyptian religion, god of the sky, way,
and hunting; pharaohs of the Old Kingdom were
incarnations of Horus
Homo sapiens (200,000 bce–present)
our human genus
and species; abbreviated as h. sapiens
Homo erectus (1.9 million–143,000 bce)
the earliest
human genus and species; abbreviated as h. erectus
hominid
originally meant all human ancestors; now
sometimes also includes all great apes
hieorglyphs
the picture writing technique of the
Pharaonic Egyptians
Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich (1770–1831)
wrote
in his Philosophy of History that Africa was not a
historical continent and showed neither change nor
development, and that its peoples were not capable of
progress or education
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative
an
international effort to relieve the debt of Africa’s
poorest countries
hausa
the largest West African Muslim ethnic group;
live across the Sahel from Ghana to Sudan
hashim
Muhammad’s clan within the Quraysh in
Mecca
hajj
the annual pilgrimage all able Muslims must make
to Mecca once in one’s lifetime
haiti
a Caribbean French colony and the site of slave
revolt from 1791–1804
hadith
Muhammad’s words whose guidance forms
part of Muslim law
gye nyame
the Adinkra symbol that means God’s
omnipotence or literally “except for God”; also
associated with Asante hegemony
guinea
a former French colony north of Sierra Leone
that achieved independence in 1958 under the
leadership of Sékou Touré, who later gave sanctuary
to Kwame Nkrumah after the Ghanaian coup of 1966
griots
West African oral historians who inherit their
vocations and give performances often accompanied
by drums and koras
great zimbabwe
literally “house of stone”; a southern
African empire contemporaneous with the West
African empire of Mali whose economy was also based on gold
Gowon, Yakubu (b.1934)
the general who seized
control of Nigeria and fought the Nigerian Civil War
to force Biafra back into the country
golden stool
the legendary symbol of the spirit of the
Asante; created by Osei Tutu and the priest Anokye
in c. 1695
gold coast
the European name given to pre-
independence Ghana due to the proximate Akan gold
fields
giza
the location of Egypt’s great pyramids built in
2600–2500 bce during the Old Kingdom’s period of
monument building
biggons, ann
an author who argued
in 1987 that genetic traits of Y chromosomal DNA
supported the African origins of men
ghana
the first of three great West African empires
(400–1100); was centered in the upper Niger River
valley between the Sahara to the north and tropical
forests on the coast; present-day Ghana took its name
from ancient Ghana
Garvey, Marcus (1887–1940)
an advocate for emigration
of freedmen to Liberia; promoted an “Africa for the
Africans” anti-colonial project under the auspices of
the Universal Negro Improvement and Conservation
Association
gao
the location of one of Africa’s Great Mosques;
capital of Songhay about 300 miles east of Timbuktu
on the east bank of the Niger River
gambia river
West African river about 700 miles long
that empties at Banjul, The Gambia
Gallagher, John (1919–80)
the British historian of
imperialism who teamed up with Ronald Robinson to
write the influential Africa and the Victorians and “The
Imperialism of Free Trade”
gabon
a former colony in french equatorial africa
Futanke
a West African language group; participants in the trans-Saharan gold trade during the ancient
empire of Mali
Fustat
an early Muslim city founded in 640 by Amr ibn
al-Asi; now part of Cairo
fula
the major ethnic group and language of West
Africa
French Equatorial Africa
the group of French African
colonies from the Congo River north of Central
Africa to the southern border of present-day Libya; at
its height FEA included the French Congo, Gabon,
Oubangui-Chari, Chad, and French Cameroon
free trade
often associated with capitalism; an economic
policy that does not restrict imports or exports in
global markets; assumes the absence of interference
from anyone not party to the transaction, especially
governments
freedmen
people freed from chattel slavery
fossils
preserved remnants of life, often bones
fon
the major African slave trading ethnic group in
Benin, southwest Nigeria
Fodiyo, Usman dan (1754–1817)
the founder of the
Sokoto Caliphate in northeastern Nigeria
fiqh
the regulation of religious conduct; Islamic
jurisprudence
fertile crescent
land that included the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers, Phoenicia, and Palestine
Fatimids
a Shia group who created the Fatimid
Caliphate (c.909–1171) across North Africa and the
Fertile Crescent, overthrew Sunni rule in Fustat, and
built Al-Azhar and Cairo; named themselves after
Fatimah, daughter of Muhammad
fatimah
a daughter of Muhammad and wife
of Ali
fante
an Akan ethnic group that founded city-states
along the central half of the Gold Coast; one of their
famous towns, Oguaa (Cape Coast), served as the seat
of early British power in the Gold Coast; the Fante in
the vicinity of Cape Coast Castle were sometimes in
partnership with or under the sovereignty of both the
Asante and the British
Falconbridge, Alexander (1760–92)
the slave ship
doctor who lobbied for abolition and wrote of the
horrors of the slave ship; participated in the Sierra
Leone settlement for freedmen
Divination
rituals in Traditional African Religion that
attempt to communicate with the spirit world
dromedaries
single-humped camels used to carry loads
in the Sahara Desert as early as the 100s ce
dual mandate
Frederick Lugard’s application of
indirect rule; African chiefs enforced colonial laws
in return for British protection; the British gained
access to natural resources and African labor while
the Africans acquired British products and Western
knowledge
ebola virus
a viral infection with more than an 80
percent mortality rate that travels through body fluids;
ravaged Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone from
2014–16
ebony
a hard black wood traded in Saharan caravan
commerce
elmina castle
the slave fortress in what is now the
coastal central region of Ghana built by the Portuguese
and later occupied by the Dutch and English; now a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
enlightenment
the advancement of rational thought
and human dignity in Europe during the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries; accelerated the cause of
abolitionism
Equiano, Olaudah
the Igbo slave and
freedman who wrote an autobiography that described
capture, African slavery, Middle Passage, chattel
slavery, life as a freedman, and the abolition movement
Ethnicity
the category with which people may be
identified that is based on similarities of culture,
language, and ancestry
eurocentricism
the perception of life through Western
eyes inside Western cultures and environments
Evolues
Africans who assimilated into French
civilization both in French colonies and in France
caliph
a spiritual successor to Muhammad, the Prophet
of Islam
caliphates
the Umayyid and Abbasid empires of the
Muslims
calvinism
the Protestant sect named for John Calvin
(1509–64); it holds that God has selected a few people
to share heaven and damned all others; this concept,
often called predestination, was first put forward by
the African Augustine of Hippo (354–430); some
European racism toward Africans has its origins in
the idea of predestination
canary islands
an early location for Portuguese and
Spanish plantation slavery
rebecca cann
with Mark Stoneking and
Alan Wilson, she carried out the mtDNA study in
1987 that placed human origins in Africa
cape coast castle
a major slave trading fort in the
Central Region of modern Ghana just east of Elmina;
it has the infamous “door of no return,” through
which thousands of Africans were shipped to the New
World; it is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
capitalism
an economic system emphasizing private
ownership of the means of production and the selling
of goods for a profit
cataract
obstructions to navigation; on the Nile River
the first cataract is at Aswan
centering
the adjustment of physical, intellectual, and
spiritual characteristics to one’s environment
cercles
the administrative districts of a colony under
French rule
chad
the modern name for the former colony of French
Equatorial Africa
Chapel of the Tablet at the Church of Our Lady Mary
of Zion
the church in Axum, Ethiopia where the
Ark of the Covenant is allegedly stored
Chattel slavery
European form of economic bondage in
which humans are considered property with no rights;
see African slavery
thomas clarkson
the student abolitionist who in 1785 wrote an influential essay at Cambridge
University condemning slavery and later helped lead
the abolitionist movement in England and the U.S.
colonialism
describes subservient relationships
between imperial powers and societies in which the
dominant group remains alien
Convention People’s Party
the anti-colonial political
party established by Kwame Nkrumah in 1949
coptic christians
also called Monophysites; the
largest populations are in Egypt and Ethiopia; differ
from orthodox Christians in that they believe Jesus
had a single fully united divine and human nature, not
mixed or blended; declared heretics at the Council of
Chalcedon in 451; Coptic is also an Egyptian language
Council of Chalcedon
the Christian council in 451
which determined the relationship between the
human and divine natures of Jesus
Council of Nicaea
in 325 it determined the nature
of the Trinity and the Nicaean Creed important to
Orthodox Christians
cowries
shells from Persia used in West Africa for
small amounts of money and jewelry
Cugoano, Ottobah (1757–91)
the former slave and
abolitionist friend of Olaudah Equiano
Dahomey
a major center of the slave trade and a
kingdom of the Fon ethnic group
Davidson, Basil (1914–2010)
the first European writer
who asserted Africans had histories and civilizations
Denkyira
a Gold Coast ethnic group whose slave trade
contract at Elmina with the Dutch preceded that of
the Asante
Description of Africa
the book by Leo Africanus that
describes Songhay in the early 1500s
Dhow
a Swahili boat designed with a triangular sail
to transport goods along the East African coast by
taking advantage of the Indian Ocean’s currents and
seasonal winds called monsoons
Diop, Cheikh Anta (1923–86)
the Senegalese
Afrocentric scholar who argued that West Africans
significantly contributed to Pharaonic Egyptian
civilization
