Created by Matt Ronas

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Aim: How would you describe the geography of Africa?

I – African Geography

  1. The birth place of humanity 200,000 year ago – Homo Sapiens
  2. Africa is the second largest (Asia is largest) continent (3 continental Unites States’ could fit in it)
  3. Diverse geography:
  4. North Africa – Coastal area that borders the Mediterranean sea (e.g. Morocco)
  5. Nile river (south to north) cuts through Egypt
  6. Sahara desert – largest desert in the world – Stretches from the Atlantic to the Indian ocean
  7. Congo basin – Jungle – central Africa
  8. Rainforests stretch along the equator
  9. Savannas – Grassland dotted with small trees – Makes up 40% of Africa’s Land (Rain is unpredictable)

Aim: What was the importance of the civilizations of Kush and Axum?

I – Kush

  1. Egypt controlled Kush
  2. The Kush broke away from Egypt and became an independent kingdom
  3. Meroe city became a major trading center
  4. Kush was located near the Nile river. This gave it easy access to water and trading
  5. Major exports were ivory, gold, slaves, ebony, iron-ore (Rare precious medals and gems)

II – Axum

  1. Axum Conquers the Kush
  2. Located between India and the Mediterranean sea (Modern day Ethiopia)
  3. King Enzana – Makes Axum a Christian nation
  4. Axum takes over Kush and uses her trading routes
  5. Ultimately, Muslim tribes conquer the Axum empire

Aim: How did trade contacts with Arab Muslims affect the development of African culture?

I – Kingdom of Ghana – 700 A.D. – 1200 A.D.

  1. Located in western Africa
  2. Led by a powerful king; absolute ruler
  3. Extremely wealthy trading state. Their exports were gold, ivory and iron-ore
  4. Salt for gold trade – Ghana sold their gold to Arab Muslim merchants in north Africa for salt
  1. Salt is valuable because it retains water in your body (prevents dehydration)
  2. Preservers food, makes it taste better
  • Slaves would mine for salt
  • Camels, known as fleets of the desert, were used to transport salt
  • Chinese called salt white gold
  1. The salt for gold trade is an example of cultural diffusion. Islam is spread along with their algebra

II – Kingdom of Mali – 1200 A.D. – 1450 A.D.

  1. Replace kingdom of Ghana
  2. Sundiata Keita – Founded the kingdom
  3. Mansa Musa – The most powerful and famous king of Mali – He was a Muslim and he made the Hajj
  4. On the Hajj, he gave away gold to the people he passed, therefore decreasing the value of it
  5. Timbuktu becomes the center of Islamic learning and Mali builds Masques and libraries
  6. Songhai took over

Aim: What were the roles of family relationships, women, and religion in African society?

I – Family Relationships

  1. Most families lived in small villages
  2. Extended family parents children, and other relatives living together under one roof
  3. Extended families combined into larger social units known as “lineage groups” were the building blocks of African society
  • Lineage groups made of past present and future generations

II – Women

  1. Women were inferior to men
  2. Women could inherit property and be merchants
  3. Matrilineal – Your lineage group was based on your mother traced
  1. Man moved into women’s house upon marriage

III – Religion

  1. Some tribes were polytheistic while other were monotheistic
  2. Polytheistic – Ashanti tribe
  3. Monotheistic – Yoruba tribe
  4. Animism – A religious belief that spirits are present in animals, plants, and natural objects
  5. Ancestor worship – When a family member dies, he or she goes to their after life where they are close to god
  1. Divines – Religious people who could communicate with gods
  2. Ancestors could communicate with the gods
  • One must pray, worship, and respect their ancestors
  1. Africanized Islam – Islam’s beliefs of Allah combined with animism. Because of Africa’s warm climate, less clothing such as the burqa were required to be worn by women.

Aim: How was African culture reflected through art, music, and story telling?

I – Art

  1. Rock paintings showed history (hunting and trade) from 4000 B.C.
  2. Metal sculptures were made of bronze and iron during the 13th and 14th century
  3. Masks were carved from wood (used to link the living with the dead)

II – African Music

  1. Strong and rhythmic
  2. Flutes, strings, horns, chanting
  3. Served a religions purpose
  1. Dancing – People danced to communicate with sprits of ancestors and god
  1. Music could tell stories of folktales

III – Stories

  1. Griots – Storytellers – Held stories for community and could be said to be a “Human Library”. They kept track of history.

Aim: Who were the Mongols and how did they come to power?

I – Mongols – 1100 A.D. 1300 A.D.

  1. The Mongols were nomadic people from central Asia
  2. They lived in the Steppe Region – Treeless, dry, flat, area covered with grass
  3. Pastonalists – Herded animals (sheep and goats)
  4. Lived in yurts – domed tents – portable
  5. Temuchin – Organized the warring Mongolian tribes into one fighting force named. Genghis Khan was leader – Universal Ruler
  1. Genghis Khan – Military leader – 130,00 soldiers, all loyal and fierce warriors – fought with bow and arrows, and daggers on horse back (most skilled horse back riders in history)
  2. As said by Genghis Khan, “Man’s highest joy is in victory. To conquer one’s enemy, to make their beloved weak, and to embrace their wives and daughter
  3. Genghis Khan conquers ½ of the world – central Europe to Asia over a 20 year period
  4. Kublai Khan (Genghis’ grandson) took over after Genghis. He defeated the Song dynasty and created the Yuan dynasty in 1279 A.D.
  5. He united China
  6. He made a new capital, Beijing – Khanbaliq used to be the capital
  7. He expanded trade and helped China to prosper
  8. Mongolians ruled the Chinese government, but Chinese people ruled at the local level
  9. Looked to expand and conquer south east Asia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan

Aim: How did foot binding develop in China?

I – Foot Binding – “Lotus Style”

  1. Began in the 11th century in China and lasted until the 20th century
  2. Used on girls as young as 3 to 5 years old
  3. Bones in the feet are broken so ultimately, there will be a 3 to 4 inch foot – Prevented the feet from growing
  4. For Chinese, small feet were considered beautiful and sexy
  1. Mothers wanted small feet for their daughters in order to get married
  2. Started off with wealthy families then eventually made its way down to the poor
  3. Make sure women don’t run away and remain faithful to their husband

Aim: How did Zhang He’s explorations impact China?

I – Zhang He

  1. Was a famous Chinese explorer
  2. Was a Muslim boy captured by the Chinese
  • Worked as a house servant for a Chinese prince. He helped the prince become emperor, and was then given a job in the navy as an admiral where he explored
  • *1405 A.D. – 1433 A.D. – Lead 7 expeditions outside of China
  • Largest expedition (Until WWI in 1914) – 300 ships, 28,000 sailors, largest ship was 400 feet long
  • Ships were very advanced – Had watertight compartments and a balanced rudder

Chris Columbus – 1492 A.D. – Had 3 ships; largest was Santa Maria at 85 feet long with 90 sailors

  1. Zhang went to Africa for gold and ivory and India for spices
  • By 1450 A.D., China ended its explorations – New emperor refused to allow China’s navy to explore
  1. Defense
  2. Afraid of cultural diffusion
  3. Leaders preferred isolation

Aim: What factors influenced Japanese history?

I – Japanese Geography

  1. 4 main islands; Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikkoko (Big time fishers because of the water around them)
  2. Very mountainous – Mount Fuji is the largest mountain
  3. 20% of the land is suitable for agriculture
  4. Homogenous society – Little diversity amongst people (race) because of low immigration rate
  5. As an island nation, it favored geographic isolation – Believed they were unique and had a special destiny
  1. Kublai Khan tried to invade Japan with a navy
  • A typhoon destroyed the fleet (known as a divine wind – Kamikaze)

II – Rise of Japan

  1. Japanese borrowed some Chinese culture (e.g. Alphabet and Confucianism)
  2. Warring Classes (rich vs. poor) – Shotuku Taishi united Japan and created a strong national government
  • Shotuku Taishi died and the government could no longer stay strong. The landowners soon took control.

oSocial structure – Showgun; military leaders  Daimyo; Wealthy aristocrats (owned land)  Samurai; warriors who protect Daimyos  Peasants; work land  Merchants

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Created by Matt Ronas

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