World History Questions and Notes from Wednesday


World History
Chapter 11 Study Questions

1. What did the early people trade their surplus resources for?
2. What is the second largest continent in the world?
3. Name the five regions of Africa.
4. Describe Africa's physical features.
5. Name and describe the world's longest and deepest valley systems.
6. Name and describe the world's largest desert.
7. Describe the physical features of West Africa.
8. How did the early people survive in the savanna?
9. What event happened in 300 B.C. that would transform the world?
10. Who were the first people to use iron?Where were these people from?
11. How did the iron change the Nok people?
12. How are desert and sea travel alike?
13. Who were the Soninkes?
14. What does it mean to say the Soninkes were resourceful?
15. Describe the Soninkes region where they lived.
16. What was the main trade good?
17. How did the Soninkes get the gold to trade with?
18. What was the result of the Soninkes trade?
19. What were some other goods traded by the Soninkes?
20. What did the wealth of their trade lead to?
21. What did the new West African empire become known as?What did this word mean?
22. Where is Ghana located?
23. What is a tariff? Why was this important to the Ghana?
24. Who was the the master of the gold?
25. Where was most of the gold located?
26. What was the most important trade good?
27. What was the salt used for?
28. What other items did the North Africans trade for?
29. Where were the slaves made to work?
30. Who were the Berber people?
31. How did the Ghana's kings get their wealth?
32. Name three trading centers that formed in West Africa.
33. How did North African traders change life in the West African trading kingdoms?
34. What two things were these great empires based on?
35. Who founded Mali?
36. Where did Mali's riches come from?
37. Who was Mansa Musa?
38. Was Mali's empire larger than the former empire Ghana?
39. What were some other things that Mali was known for?
40. Why was Mali called the center of learning?
41. Where is the Muslim holy city located?
42. Why did people far and wide know about Mansa Musa?
43. Define Griots.
44. What was the name of the next empire to come along in the late 1400's?
45. How did the Songhay empire grow and become powerful?
46. What led to the defeat of the Songhay empire?
47. What led to the end of the West African trade?






Chapter 11 Lesson 1

Africa - the second largest continent in the world

Five regions of Africa

North Africa
West Africa
Central Africa
East Africa
Southern Africa

Great Rift Valley- 3500 miles long
North and south through east Africa
One of the world's longest and deepest valley systems

Deserts cover large parts of Africa
Sahara - world's largest desert
3.5 million square miles of North Africa

West Africa
Most of west Africa is savanna
Tropical rain forest - tropical region on the southern coast and central Africa

Why was survival for early people of he savanna easy?

1) full of wild animals for hunting
2) fertile soil for growing crops

With these, what happened to West Africa?

Population grew quickly

Nok people

1) began to shape iron by heating in 300 B.C.
2) lived 900 B.C. to A.D. 200
3) lived in northern Nigeria

Iron changed the lives of the Nok people by:
1) stronger weapons for hunting and fighting
2) easier to clear land
3) easier to grow crops
4) made the Nok more powerful




Soninkes

1) had taken over much of the West African grassland
2) lived along the Niger River
3) land was very fertile
4) used their location by using water from the Niger River to irrigate their land

Soninkes were good traders

1) location was ideal for a center of trade
2) region lay between the forestlands south of Niger and ghe desert lands of the Sahara in North Africa
3) North African merchants crossed the Sahara to trade with Soninkes
4) Main trade good was gold


Soninke Trade Cycle

Soninkes traded salt to Wangaras for gold
Then Soninkes traded the gold to North African merchants for salt

Soninkes also traded for good such as:

1) paper
2) woven cloth
3) perfume

This wealth led to the development of the first great empire in West Africa

Ghana

1) West African empire
2) Located between Senegal and upper Niger rivers
3) Began its rise to power 700 B.C.
4) Year 1000 B.C. covered 100,000 square miles
5) Ghanaian army kept trade routes open across the savanna
6) Charged tariff's on all goods passing through savanna
7) Tariff money used for government and to feed army
8) Ghana was called "master of the gold"
9) War between Ghana and Berber that led to the end of Ghana empire




How did the contact with Muslim North Africans through trade change the livers of people of West Africa?

1) Muslim traders showed West Africans how to use money
2) Brought the Arabic language
3) West Africans accepted the religion of Islam
4) Kings became Muslims

Mali

1) formed in West Africa
2) people who founded Mali was call Malinkes
3) Mali's riches came from the gold-and-salt trade
4) Mali grew twice as large as Ghana empire
5) Mansa Musa great leader, 1307 to 1332
6) Mansa Musa encouraged knowledge and study
7) Mali became a center of learning
8) Established a university at Timbuktu

Songhay

1) Mali weakened and Songhay rose to power
2) Grew rich from controlling trade routes
3) Songhay overthrown by the ruler of Morocco in 1591