Hi there! Welcome to the final day of our 10 Days of African History for Kids series! We’re ending with a discussion of apartheid in South Africa.

What was Apartheid?

The word apartheid literally means “separateness” and, true to its name, apartheid was used to enforce racial segregation between blacks and whites. Interestingly, the policy didn’t just apply to black Africans, but to Indians and all people of color. The prevailing view of many white Africans at the time is underscored by this property sign:

I had to explain to the children that this sign was informing all people of color that they would be killed for stepping foot on the property. Notice that this policy pointedly applies only to people of color, so this is not simply the work of an overly possessive property owner.

Image c/o: McDaniel.edu

We found it interesting that all people of color were grouped together under apartheid. Skin tone, country of origin, or language had no bearing on how they were viewed. On the other hand, all whites were viewed as “clean”, no matter where they came from or their ethnic heritage.

Back in August, we took an in-depth look at the life of Nelson Mandela and his efforts to overturn the apartheid policy. The kids remembered much of what we talked about from that lesson and mentioned it during this discussion. Homeschooling win! We read the book S Is for South Africa (World Alphabets) at the end to help the children look at how South Africans live today now that apartheid has ended.

African Kingdoms Timeline

Afterward, we wanted to go back and get a historical perspective of all of the kingdoms and events we covered in our African history series. We wrote all of the topics on the board and had the kids tell us which event they thought came first.

They were surprised to learn that Kush was actually an older empire than Egypt.

Everyone took turns filling in the timeline.

We included two timeline pages: a blank one for filling in the chronological order of the events and kingdoms and a second one with all of the topics and dates added.

Grab your free download of our basic African history timeline by clicking on either of the pictures or the link below!

Basic African History Timeline

Books and Resources about South Africa and Apartheid

Time for Kids: South Africa Timeline – Interactive timeline of the development of the country of South Africa, including dates during the anti-apartheid movement

Kids Net Encyclopedia: History of South Africa – A thorough kid-friendly summary of how the country of South Africa was formed, including the original African tribes, colonization by the Dutch and the British, and the end of apartheid

McDaniel.edu: Apartheid in South Africa – Upper elementary grade lesson plan with a picture activity and a discussion prompt

Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

African Beginnings

The Colonial Conquest of Africa

S Is for South Africa (World Alphabets)

Thank you so much for following along with our series 10 Days of African History for Kids! We hope you enjoyed reading about it as much as we enjoyed studying it!

This post is part of the 2013 Autumn Hopscotch from iHomeschool Network! Click below to read the Hopscotch posts from our fellow bloggers!

Hi everyone! We’re coming to the end of our African History series and, as sad as it may be, no history of Africa is complete without a discussion of colonization and the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Jay and I don’t agree with the idea of avoiding this subject with our kids simply because they are young. We’re careful about the extent to which we cover the topic, but we do talk about it with them. As they get older, we’ll decide when and how to explore this matter further.

The Scramble for Africa

If you’ve been following our series, you may have noticed that we’ve been marking the locations of the original African kingdoms on a map of the continent. We used this map from Exploring Africa as the basis for the activity:

As you can see from the map, Africa was sparsely populated as a whole. There were clusters where certain kingdoms and tribes resided, but much of the continent was empty (mostly because of lack of water). Despite Africa’s modern unrest, the ancient continent was fairly peaceful and united. Rival kingdoms engaged in warfare, but there were no ongoing civil wars or long-lasting periods of unrest.

The European colonization of Africa drastically altered this landscape. From 1881 to 1914, several European nations engaged in what has been called “The Scramble for Africa”. During this period, 90 percent of the continent came under European control. Contrast the map above with the redrawn map of Africa in 1914:

What’s really infuriating about the Scramble for Africa is that it began after the European countries met and signed the Berlin Treaty of 1884. This treaty was established at a summit to which NO AFRICAN LEADERS WERE INVITED. The governments of these countries literally got together and carved up the continent like a pie without even telling the people who lived there that it was happening. I don’t care how long ago that was. It was an unconscionable act.

We printed out a sketch version of the colonization map and had the kids color it in.

Since the lines were fairly complex, I outlined them in advance to give them a guide to follow.

The kids were amazed at how much of Africa went to France and the U.K. Interestingly, both Liberia and Ethiopia remained independent of European control during these years.

Here’s a look at Tigger’s completed colonization map.

The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade got started during the 1400s when Portuguese traders began buying Africans from some of the tribal rulers. They needed cheap labor to help develop their colony in South America (which became Brazil) and African slaves were especially good workers. Over time, this ballooned into the worst part of what Africans refer to as the maafa, meaning “great and terrible tragedy”.

During the years 1450 to 1850, an estimated 10 to 15 MILLION Africans were sold into European and American slavery. That is a mind-boggling number, especially when you consider the logistics of overseas communication and transportation in those days. Eventually, the traders grew tired of paying for slaves and simply resorted to overpowering them and kidnapping them. In some cases, entire tribal villages were impressed into slavery.

Many African rulers who sold slaves to the Europeans imagined that they would be treated humanely. This proved not to be the case. Slaves were literally treated as cargo and were crammed onto and under shelves that were as low as 18 inches high, nearly on top of one another. Those who died or became sick along the way were thrown overboard.

We showed the children a slave ship diagram to help them imagine what it must have been like to cross the Middle Passage aboard a slave ship:

Image c/o: Hitchcock.Virginia.edu

A few weeks back, we visited the African Panoramic Experience (APEX) Museum as a family to learn more about the lives of enslaved people in America. After being marched to the western coast of Africa, slaves passed through the “Door of No Return” into the holds of the ships. 

A visual representation of the way slaves were packed into cargo holds

Those that made it through the Middle Passage were immediately sold. If they were fortunate enough to arrive in America as families, they were quickly separated and sold to different owners.

Our kids were frightened to learn that babies and children were routinely sold away from their parents. The tour guide explained that this was done so that children would forget their parents and become attached to their owners, making them less likely to run away.

A reproduction of a slave auction advertisement

Slaves were literally branded with cattle irons. This was typically done when they were first captured and then again after their arrival in America. Horrible.

These are some of the actual slave chains used to shackle small children. I teared up staring at these. The thought of someone taking my children away and treating them like this is unfathomable.

Visiting the APEX Museum was a difficult experience, but I’m glad we went. The museum also focuses on the incredible accomplishments of African Americans through the years. We’ll be sharing our complete field trip to the museum on the blog in a few weeks.

Books and Resources about the Colonization of Africa and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

Michigan State University: Exploring Africa – Complete lesson plan about the colonization of Africa with student activities

Teacher Ed: The African Slave Trade – Early elementary grade level lesson plan about the slave trade with a reading activity and discussion prompts

Michigan State University: Exploring Africa – Complete lesson plan about the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade with student activities

Africa for Kids: African Slave Trade – Kid-friendly summary of the slave trade and the extent of its operation

Wikipedia: Maafa – A thorough definition of the African term “maafa” and all of the events that played a role in it, including colonization and European/American slavery

The Colonial Conquest of Africa by Robin McKown

Africa: Postcolonial Conflict (Troubled World)

Daily Life in Ancient and Modern Cairo (Cities Through Time)

African Beginnings

Tomorrow we’ll finish up our 10 Days of African History for Kids series with a look at South Africa and apartheid. We’d love to “see” you there!

This post is part of the 2013 Autumn Hopscotch from iHomeschool Network! Click below to read the Hopscotch posts from our fellow bloggers!

This post contains affiliate links. See our Disclosure Policy here.

Hi everyone! We’re on Day 7 of our African History for Kids series! Today we’re learning about the Asante (Ashanti) Empire.

What was the Asante Confederacy?

The Asante Kingdom was actually a confederacy of several smaller tribes that banded together in the late 1600s. The original group was a migratory clan that traveled down from the area originally covered by the Ghana Empire. Over time, several clans began to join forces under the leadership of Osei Tutu, who ruled over the Asante from 1670 to 1717.

One of the things that set the Asante Empire apart from the earlier African kingdoms is that the king was not considered divine nor was he considered all-powerful. Rather, the Asante king (called asantehene) was sort of like a modern-day president. He had a group of advisors who he listened to and received suggestions from and he made his decisions based on their input. The city of Kumasi eventually became the Asante capital and most of the empire’s wealth came from its trading in gold, ivory, and slaves.

Where was the Asante Kingdom?

The Asante Kingdom was located in West Africa just below the area originally covered by the Mali Empire. If you look at the diagram we made below using the blank Africa map from Discover Africa, you’ll see it in light green below the teal lines of the Songhay Empire and the light purple lines of the Mali Empire.

One of the things I’m most proud of from this unit is that all three of our kids can look at this map and identify the kingdoms on it, even without the names. It’s great that they realize that Africa had a history long before that of the politically divided nations that exist on it today.

Asante Empire Culture

The most recognizable aspect of the Asante Empire was the kente cloth, which is still associated with African culture today. Kings and queens wore clothing made of it, but it was also woven and worn by the common people. Looking at it, it’s easy to see why it was so widely used. It’s stunning.

We decided to try our hands at construction paper weaving with kente-inspired colors. We got some paper weaving directions from Dick Blick and off we went!

The directions suggested cutting the loom lines on a curve to make a more visually interesting weaving.

The kids had a little trouble learning how to move the loom lines without tearing them, but they got the hang of it. Once we finished the weavings, we slid them through our favorite laminator and we were all done!

Ta-da! We think we’ll use them as placemats at snack time. 🙂

Books and Resources about the Asante Empire

Saylor.org: The Ashanti Empire – A printable PDF about the history and operation of the Asante Conferacy

Afropede@: Asante (Ashanti) Empire – A nice in-depth look at the ruling succession of Asante kings

Wikipedia: Ashanti Empire – Very thorough review of the history of the Asante Empire, its culture, and its eventual decline through colonization

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Art of the Asante Kingdom – Photo slideshow of a exhibition of Asante art previously on display at the Met

UNESCO: Asante Traditional Buildings – Slideshow of the remaining Asante traditional buildings that are still standing

Centuries of Greatness: The West African Kingdoms, 750-1900 (Milestones in Black American History)

Kings and Queens of West Africa (Watts Library)

African Princess: The Amazing Lives of Africa’s Royal Women

Tomorrow we’re wrapping up our look at African kingdoms with the last great African empire: The Zulu Nation! We hope you’ll come back to learn about this empire with us!

This post is part of the Autumn 2013 Hopscotch from iHomeschool Network! Click below to read all of the Hopscotch posts from our fellow bloggers!

This post contains affiliate links. See our Disclosure Policy here.

Good morning everyone! We’re off on our second week of African history with a look at the Songhay Empire!

What was the Songhay Empire?

The Songhay Empire was the successor to the realm that was originally covered by the Ghana and Mali Empires. It was originally founded as a community of fishermen within the Mali Empire, but because the fishing industry was so profitable, the community refused to pay taxes to Mali’s rulers and always remained somewhat independent. Keep Reading…