These topics cover the history of the kingdoms of Zimbabwe, Kongo, Benin, and Ndongo, along with the migration of Africans to Europe and vice versa before the transatlantic slave trade.
Image: The conical tower in Great Zimbabwe, 7 meters shorter than when originally built, destroyed by treasure hunters. (Photograph taken on July 13, 2016, by Amanderson2 / Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Topics 1.8–1.11
LO 1.8.A
Describe the function and importance of Great Zimbabwe’s stone architecture.
LO 1.8.B
Explain how geographic, cultural, and political factors contributed to the rise and fall of the city-states on the Swahili Coast.
You will need to understand and be able to use these materials for the AP exam.
Take a closer look at the kingdom of Zimbabwe and its greatest surviving architectural achievement.
Explore the connection between the Swahili Coast and the Indian Ocean World.
LO 1.9.A
Explain how the adoption of Christianity affected economic and religious aspects of the Kingdom of Kongo.
LO 1.9.B
Explain how the Kingdom of Kongo’s political relations with Portugal affected the kingdom’s participation in the transatlantic slave trade.
LO 1.9.C
Explain how the Kingdom of Kongo’s Christian culture influenced early generations of African Americans.
You will need to understand and be able to use these materials for the AP exam.
View this example of syncretic religious practice in the kingdom of Kongo.
Read a letter from the king of Kongo to the king of Portugal negotiating the slave trade system.
You can further develop your knowledge of this topic with primary and secondary sources.
Explore the origins and evolution of the slave trade in Kongo and Portugal.
Explore the history of Catholic conversion and syncretic practices in the kingdom of Kongo.
Explore the development and evolution of, and forms of resistance against, the Kongolese-Portuguese slave trade.
Take a deep dive into Nzinga a Nkuwu (João), Nzinga Mbemba (Afonso), and the Kingdom of Kongo's move to Catholicism.
Learn more about Kongolese cultural practices merging with Christianity and evolving across the Atlantic.
Learn more about the development of textiles in Kongo.
LO 1.10.A
Describe the function of kinship along with the varied roles women played in early West and Central African societies.
LO 2.10.B
Compare the political and military leadership of Queen Idia of Benin and Queen Njinga of Ndongo-Matamba.
LO 2.10.C
Describe the legacy of Queen Idia of Benin’s and Queen Njinga of Ndongo-Matamba’s leadership.
You will need to understand and be able to use these materials for the AP exam.
View a mask that was a symbol of the wealth of Benin in this period.
View this depiction of Queen Nzinga (also spelled Njinga) from the viewpoint of an Italian missionary in Matamba.
You can further develop your knowledge of this topic with primary and secondary sources.
Take a different look at Njinga in this portrait.
View an example of a staff held by high ranking officials in West Africa.
LO 1.11.A
Explain the reasons why Africans went to Europe and Europeans went to Africa before the onset of the transatlantic slave trade.
LO 1.11.B
Explain how early forms of enslaved labor by the Portuguese shaped slave-based economies in the Americas.
You will need to understand and be able to use these materials for the AP exam.
Explore the role of Africans in Portugal in the sixteenth century through this painting and essay.
You can further develop your knowledge of this topic with primary and secondary sources.
Explore the origins of the transatlantic slave trade and the plantation system.