- Aksum: An important civilization in north Africa
- Ashanti: the people how now live in Ghana
- Bantu migrations: migration of people through southeastern Africa as they spread their cultures
- Berlin Conference: 14 European nations convened it to prevent Europeans wars over Africa
- Carthage: one of the great cities of ancient North Africa
- Ethiopia: Stayed independent during the period of colonization because of its strong leader and organized army
- Fang sculpture: sculptures done by the fang, who live in Gabon
- Goree Island: this island served as one of the busiest points for exporting slaves during the slave trade
- Great Zimbabwe: Became the capital of a thriving gold-trading area.
- Islam: the major cultural and religious influence in North Africa
- Kilimanjaro: highest mountain in Africa
- King leopold II: Belgian king who took over Congo for its river
- Liberia: stayed independent during the period of colonization because of its ties to the US
- Masai: A major ethnic group
- Mobutu Sese Seko: congos leader from 1967 till 1997
- Mutapa Empire: extended throughout all of present-day Zimbabwe expect the eastern part.
- Nelson Mandela: emerged as one of the leaders of the ANC, and he led a long stuggle to end apartheid that resulted in his being imprisoned
- Olduvai Gorge: located in northern Tanzania, home of some the oldest fossils in the world
- Pandemic: An uncontrollable outbreak of aids
- Stateless Society: the people rely on family lineages to govern themselves
- apartheid: complete separation of the races in South Africa.
- cash crop: food grown for direct sale
- colonization: Africa was divided among several European nations
- rai: a kind of music developed in the 1920s by poor urban children
- sahel: semi-arid land between desert and grassland
- savannah: African grasslands