Ge
graphy of Africa
• Tropical rainforests cover
less than 5% of the land.
The rainforests have thick
vegetation and a heavy
amount of rain which
makes it very moist.
• Africa’s largest and most
populated climate zone is
the savanna, or grassy
plains. The savanna
generally has good soil
and enough rainfall to
support farming.
•
Another climate zone in Africa is
the desert. The Sahara, in
northern Africa, is the biggest
desert in the world. The desert is
very dry therefore, farming is
almost impossible.
•
Along the Mediterranean coast of
Africa, and at the tip of southern
Africa, there is fertile farmland
called the Mediterranean
Climate. Unlike the desert, the
Mediterranean Climate is ideal
for farming.
Over thousands of years,
migrations contributed to
diversity of African people
and their cultures. West
African farmers and
herders moved to the
south and east between
500 and 1500 AD. They
spoke a variety of
languages that all came
from the African root
language, Bantu.
The ancient kingdom
Nubia was formed on a
wide band of fertile land
along the Nile. Nubian
rulers adopted many
Egyptian traditions. They
built palaces and
pyramids modeled on
Egyptian styles.

The Romans built roads,
dams, aqueducts, and cities
across North Africa. From
North Africa, they
imported lions and other
fierce animals to do battle
with the gladiators. By 200
A.D., camels had been
brought to North Africa
from Asia. The camels
revolutionized trade across
the Sahara because they
can carry heavy loads for a
long time with little or no
water.
GOLD
SALT
 Two products, gold and salt, dominated
the Sahara trade. Gold was plentiful in
present day Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal
which is in West Africa. They would
trade their gold for salt with South
Africa. South Africa was in need of gold
and West Africa was in need of salt. Salt
was very important. People needed salt
in their diet to prevent dehydration,
especially in hot, tropical areas.
 The most common
religion in Africa
was Islam. Islam
spread slowly at first
but in 1050, the
Almoravids, who
were Muslims of
North Africa,
launched a
campaign to spread
Islam.
 One of the greatest
emperors , Mansa
Musa, fulfilled one
of the five pillars of
Islam and made his
pilgrimage to Mecca.
Wherever he
stopped on his way,
he spread his
generosity and gave
the people there
goods and gold.
The 5 pillars of Islam are what hold the
Islamic religion together.
1 - Declaration of faith.
2 - Daily prayer.
3 - Giving charity to the poor.
4 - Fasting during Ramadan.
5 - Pilgrimage to Mecca.
By 1000 A.D., port cities in
Africa were thriving from trade
across the Indian ocean. Some of
the things that were produced in
Africa that they traded were
ivory, rhinoceros horn, hides,
and gold. Some immediate
affects from the trading were
that there was thriving
commerce in Mogadishu, Kilwa,
and Sofala. There was also a rise
of strong East African city-states
and a rise of slave trade. There
was also the introduction of
crops and animals from the
Middle East and Asia.

To the south and inland
from the coastal citystates, massive stone
ruins sprawl across rocky
hilltops near the great
bend in the Limpopo
River. These ruins are
known as “Great
Zimbabwe.” The builders
of Great Zimbabwe were
a group of Bantuspeaking people who
settled in the region
between 900 and 1500.

The newcomers brought
improved farming
methods. They produced
enough food to support
a growing population.

Zimbabwe reached its
height in about 1300. By
then, it tapped nearby
gold resources and
created profitable
commercial links with
coastal cities like Sofala.
Scholars have
suggested that the
ruler of Great
Zimbabwe was a
god-king who
presided over a
large court. A
central
bureaucracy ruled
an inner ring of
province, while
appointed
governors had
authority in more
distant villages.
 Bantu people migrated across Africa. Whenever
they settled, they adapted to local
environments. They had different groups
serving different purposes in their villages.
One of the groups included hunter and food
gatherers. They would hunt animals and gather
wild plants and roots. Another group was the
herders and fishers. Their jobs were to trap
fish in the rivers and to herd animals such as
cattle. The last group is the farming
societies. They farmed a variety of crops from
grains to bananas. Most farmers used a method
called slash-and-burn agriculture. They
cleared forest and brush land with iron axes
and then burned the remains, using the ash for
fertilizer.
African art was
usually created in
ivory, bronze, and
wood. Jewelry and
dyed cloth was used
in African art often.
Much art, though,
served as social and
religious purposes.
Chapter 12
Kingdoms and Trading
States of Africa
Erika Demkowicz
Christina Kabbadias