History Term 2

• West African countries


  • Benin
  • Burkina Fasco
  • Ivory Coast
  • Cape Verde
  • Gambia
  • Ghana
  • Guinea
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Liberia
  • Mali
  • Mauritania
  • Niger
  • Nigeria
  • Senegal
  • Sierra Leone
  • Togo
• Kinship


  Family relationship
• Skilled


  Good at doing something
• The people of the Songhai Empire were skilled in medicine, mathematics and astronomy
• Craftsmen and artisans produced beautiful artwork throughout West Africa
• The region was famous for its bronze, ivory and gold works of art
• The region had three distinct empires, Mali, Ghana and Songhai
• The first Europeans to trade with the West Africans were Portuguese who arrived in the 1400s
• Slave


  Someone who is owned by another person or other people, they belong to their owner in much the same way as an animal
• Slaves are not paid for their work although a slave-owner needs to provide enough food, drink, clothing and shelter so that the slaves can do their work
• The Africans who employed slaves generally treated them well and followed strict rules about looking after them
• Reasons why people became slaves in West Africa

  • Captured in battle
  • Criminals
  • Chased away by other local societies
  • Bought to perform unskilled work or domestic labour
  • Might later become soldiers
• Raid

  To attack or invade
• West African slavery changed at the beginning of the 7th century. Arab Muslims raided and traded for black African slaves in West Africa
• Thousands of slaves were sent to North Africa, parts of the Middle East and southern Europe