AFAB 110: INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES EXAM
COMPLETE QUESTIONS AND 100% VERIFIED ANSWERS LATEST VERSION
1. What does the term "African Diaspora" refer to? The dispersion of
African peoples throughout the world, particularly through the transatlantic
slave trade, resulting in communities of African descent in the Americas,
Europe, and beyond.
2. Which West African kingdoms were prominent before European
contact? Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Benin, Kongo, and Axum were among the
major West African kingdoms that flourished before European colonization.
3. What was the significance of Timbuktu in pre-colonial Africa? Timbuktu
was a major center of Islamic learning, scholarship, and trade in the Mali
Empire, housing universities and extensive libraries.
4. When did the transatlantic slave trade begin? The transatlantic slave trade
began in the early 16th century (around 1501) and lasted until the mid-19th
century.
5. Approximately how many Africans were forcibly transported during the
Middle Passage? An estimated 12-15 million Africans were forcibly
transported, though millions more died during capture and the Middle Passage.
6. What was the Middle Passage? The Middle Passage was the brutal oceanic
journey enslaved Africans endured while being transported from Africa to the
Americas in cramped, inhumane conditions.
7. What was the Triangle Trade? A three-way trading system: manufactured
goods from Europe to Africa, enslaved people from Africa to the Americas, and
raw materials from the Americas to Europe.
8. What were the main West African regions targeted by slave traders? The
Senegambia region, the Gold Coast, the Bight of Benin, the Bight of Biafra, and
West Central Africa (Congo-Angola).
,9. What role did African kingdoms play in the slave trade? Some African
kingdoms and merchants participated in capturing and selling enslaved people,
often as prisoners of war, though the scale was dramatically expanded by
European demand.
10. What was the mortality rate during the Middle Passage? Mortality rates
varied but averaged 10-20%, though some voyages experienced much higher
death rates due to disease, malnutrition, and brutal conditions.
11. What was "seasoning" in the context of slavery? The brutal process of
breaking enslaved Africans into submission upon arrival in the Americas,
forcing them to accept their enslaved status and adapt to new labor demands.
12. What were the main cash crops produced by enslaved labor? Sugar,
tobacco, cotton, rice, indigo, and coffee were the primary crops cultivated by
enslaved laborers.
13. Who was Olaudah Equiano? An enslaved African who purchased his
freedom and wrote "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano,"
a influential autobiography describing the horrors of slavery.
14. What was the significance of rice cultivation in the Carolinas? Enslaved
Africans from rice-growing regions of West Africa brought sophisticated
agricultural knowledge that made rice cultivation profitable in South Carolina
and Georgia.
15. What were slave factories? Fortified trading posts along the African coast
where enslaved Africans were held before being transported across the Atlantic.
16. What was the Door of No Return? The final exit point at slave fortresses
where enslaved Africans passed through before boarding ships, symbolizing
their departure from Africa.
17. How did enslaved Africans resist during the Middle Passage? Through
suicide, refusing food, rebellions, and jumping overboard despite being
shackled.
18. What was the Amistad incident? An 1839 rebellion aboard the slave ship
La Amistad, where enslaved Africans took control of the ship and eventually
won their freedom in U.S. courts.
19. What percentage of enslaved Africans came to North America? Only
about 5-6% of enslaved Africans came to North America; the vast majority
went to the Caribbean and South America.
, 20. What were ethnic groups commonly enslaved from West Africa? Igbo,
Yoruba, Akan, Fon, Mandinka, Wolof, Fulani, and many others.
21. How did the slave trade impact African societies? It caused demographic
catastrophe, political instability, economic disruption, increased warfare, and
the breakdown of traditional social structures.
22. What was the Maafa? A Swahili term meaning "great disaster," used to
describe the African Holocaust of enslavement and its devastating impact.
23. What were barracoons? Enclosures or buildings where enslaved Africans
were confined while awaiting transport during the slave trade.
24. How did European diseases affect enslaved Africans? Diseases like
smallpox, measles, and dysentery caused massive mortality during the Middle
Passage and in the Americas.
25. What was the Royal African Company? A British trading company
established in 1660 that held a monopoly on England's African trade, including
enslaved people.
26. Who was Ayuba Suleiman Diallo? An educated Muslim from Senegal
who was enslaved but eventually freed and returned to Africa, leaving written
accounts of his experience.
27. What was the Asiento? A license granted by the Spanish government to
supply enslaved Africans to Spanish colonies in the Americas.
28. How did Islam influence West African societies before the slave trade?
Islam brought literacy, scholarship, trade networks, and legal systems to many
West African kingdoms and communities.
29. What were the main European nations involved in the slave trade?
Portugal, Spain, England, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden all
participated in the transatlantic slave trade.
30. What was the significance of the Elmina Castle? One of the first and
largest European slave-trading posts in West Africa, built by the Portuguese in
present-day Ghana.
31. How did gender affect the experience of enslavement? Enslaved women
faced the dual burden of labor exploitation and sexual violence, and were often
separated from their children who were sold.
COMPLETE QUESTIONS AND 100% VERIFIED ANSWERS LATEST VERSION
1. What does the term "African Diaspora" refer to? The dispersion of
African peoples throughout the world, particularly through the transatlantic
slave trade, resulting in communities of African descent in the Americas,
Europe, and beyond.
2. Which West African kingdoms were prominent before European
contact? Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Benin, Kongo, and Axum were among the
major West African kingdoms that flourished before European colonization.
3. What was the significance of Timbuktu in pre-colonial Africa? Timbuktu
was a major center of Islamic learning, scholarship, and trade in the Mali
Empire, housing universities and extensive libraries.
4. When did the transatlantic slave trade begin? The transatlantic slave trade
began in the early 16th century (around 1501) and lasted until the mid-19th
century.
5. Approximately how many Africans were forcibly transported during the
Middle Passage? An estimated 12-15 million Africans were forcibly
transported, though millions more died during capture and the Middle Passage.
6. What was the Middle Passage? The Middle Passage was the brutal oceanic
journey enslaved Africans endured while being transported from Africa to the
Americas in cramped, inhumane conditions.
7. What was the Triangle Trade? A three-way trading system: manufactured
goods from Europe to Africa, enslaved people from Africa to the Americas, and
raw materials from the Americas to Europe.
8. What were the main West African regions targeted by slave traders? The
Senegambia region, the Gold Coast, the Bight of Benin, the Bight of Biafra, and
West Central Africa (Congo-Angola).
,9. What role did African kingdoms play in the slave trade? Some African
kingdoms and merchants participated in capturing and selling enslaved people,
often as prisoners of war, though the scale was dramatically expanded by
European demand.
10. What was the mortality rate during the Middle Passage? Mortality rates
varied but averaged 10-20%, though some voyages experienced much higher
death rates due to disease, malnutrition, and brutal conditions.
11. What was "seasoning" in the context of slavery? The brutal process of
breaking enslaved Africans into submission upon arrival in the Americas,
forcing them to accept their enslaved status and adapt to new labor demands.
12. What were the main cash crops produced by enslaved labor? Sugar,
tobacco, cotton, rice, indigo, and coffee were the primary crops cultivated by
enslaved laborers.
13. Who was Olaudah Equiano? An enslaved African who purchased his
freedom and wrote "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano,"
a influential autobiography describing the horrors of slavery.
14. What was the significance of rice cultivation in the Carolinas? Enslaved
Africans from rice-growing regions of West Africa brought sophisticated
agricultural knowledge that made rice cultivation profitable in South Carolina
and Georgia.
15. What were slave factories? Fortified trading posts along the African coast
where enslaved Africans were held before being transported across the Atlantic.
16. What was the Door of No Return? The final exit point at slave fortresses
where enslaved Africans passed through before boarding ships, symbolizing
their departure from Africa.
17. How did enslaved Africans resist during the Middle Passage? Through
suicide, refusing food, rebellions, and jumping overboard despite being
shackled.
18. What was the Amistad incident? An 1839 rebellion aboard the slave ship
La Amistad, where enslaved Africans took control of the ship and eventually
won their freedom in U.S. courts.
19. What percentage of enslaved Africans came to North America? Only
about 5-6% of enslaved Africans came to North America; the vast majority
went to the Caribbean and South America.
, 20. What were ethnic groups commonly enslaved from West Africa? Igbo,
Yoruba, Akan, Fon, Mandinka, Wolof, Fulani, and many others.
21. How did the slave trade impact African societies? It caused demographic
catastrophe, political instability, economic disruption, increased warfare, and
the breakdown of traditional social structures.
22. What was the Maafa? A Swahili term meaning "great disaster," used to
describe the African Holocaust of enslavement and its devastating impact.
23. What were barracoons? Enclosures or buildings where enslaved Africans
were confined while awaiting transport during the slave trade.
24. How did European diseases affect enslaved Africans? Diseases like
smallpox, measles, and dysentery caused massive mortality during the Middle
Passage and in the Americas.
25. What was the Royal African Company? A British trading company
established in 1660 that held a monopoly on England's African trade, including
enslaved people.
26. Who was Ayuba Suleiman Diallo? An educated Muslim from Senegal
who was enslaved but eventually freed and returned to Africa, leaving written
accounts of his experience.
27. What was the Asiento? A license granted by the Spanish government to
supply enslaved Africans to Spanish colonies in the Americas.
28. How did Islam influence West African societies before the slave trade?
Islam brought literacy, scholarship, trade networks, and legal systems to many
West African kingdoms and communities.
29. What were the main European nations involved in the slave trade?
Portugal, Spain, England, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden all
participated in the transatlantic slave trade.
30. What was the significance of the Elmina Castle? One of the first and
largest European slave-trading posts in West Africa, built by the Portuguese in
present-day Ghana.
31. How did gender affect the experience of enslavement? Enslaved women
faced the dual burden of labor exploitation and sexual violence, and were often
separated from their children who were sold.
