Famous People-- West Africa
This Frankish king was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 800 AD.
Charlemagne
This Ottoman sultan conquered Constantinople in 1453.
Mehmed II
This warrior class dominated feudal Japanese society. They had a strict code of conduct that emphasized mental as well as physical discipline.
Samurai
This term refers to the Spanish explorers who came to the New World.
Conquistador
This group was responsible for preserving the oral traditions of the West African people.
Griots
This English king signed the Magna Carta in 1215.
King John
This Ottoman sultan was known as "the Magnificent" for his reign's cultural and military achievements.
Suleiman I
These countries influenced Japanese culture by introducing them to a writing system and to various religions.
Korea and China
This Spanish explorer aimed to conquer the Incas.
Francisco Pizarro
This West African empire was the largest of the three empires. They reigned for almost 1000 years, and eventually gained primary control over West African slave trade.
Songhai
This French peasant girl led the French army to victory in the Hundred Years' War.
Joan of Arc
This architectural masterpiece was originally built as a Byzantine church and later converted into a mosque by the Ottomans.
Hagia Sophia
This military leader held the real power in feudal Japan, ruling in the name of the emperor. See also: warlord.
This system was used in Spanish colonies to “organize” and “civilize” the Native Americans; in reality, it led to forced labor and death of hundreds of thousands of Native Americans.
Encomienda System
These two minerals were highly prized and formed much of the wealth of the West African empires.
Salt and Gold
This Spanish conquistador is known for conquering the Aztecs.
Hernan Cortes
This term describes the time period of the Ottoman Empire characterized by cultural and technological achievements, as well as an increase in wealth. There were also few military losses during this time period.
Golden Age
This describes a “golden age” period in Japan characterized by dominance of the ruling class and advancements in art and literature.
Heian Aristocracy
This was the reason why so many explorers to the New World were from Spain and Portugal.
The Kingdom of Spain was new, and there was no land left in Europe, Asia, or Africa to colonize.
This legendary figure is considered the founder of the Mali Empire.
Sundiata
This English king led the Third Crusade.
Richard the Lionheart
This term describes the five foundational beliefs of Islam.
These religions and belief systems profoundly influenced Japanese culture, even though they were not indigenous to Japan.
Confucianism and Buddhism.
This person stated that “Native American labor should be replaced by labor of African slaves” as a well-intentioned, but misguided solution.
Bartolome de las Casas