Module Overview
Empires of Africa and the Americas

artwork from the Mesoamerican city of Teotihuacan

Artwork from the Mesoamerican city of Teotihuacan

By the mid-1400s, Europeans began trading with the kingdoms of West Africa. They came in search of ivory, stone beads, slaves, salt, and gold. This interaction broadened the cultural and culinary horizons of the medieval Europeans, and the financial horizons of the medieval African kingdoms. While there had already been a millennium of contact between the two cultures, it had not proven as beneficial or profitable.

On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, a different story was unfolding, which involved the powerful Native American Empires of the Aztec, Mayan, and Incan Empires. This complex history would become even more complicated when the Europeans and Africans began exploring in 1492.

Getting Started

Continents and Oceans of the World Interactivity getting started iconIn this module, you will explore civilizations from across the globe. Take a moment to see if you can identify the continents and oceans of the world. Click the player button to get started.

Key Vocabulary

glossary iconTo view the definitions for these key vocabulary terms, visit the course glossary.

altitude
amber
Andes Mountains
animism
archipelago
astronomer
Cabot, John
cartographer
Chichen Itza
circumnavigate
city-state
Columbus, Christopher
compass
conquistador
immunity
Machu Picchu
maritime
Mesoamerican
navigation
polytheistic
Pre-Columbian
Prince Henry the Navigator
Tenochtitlan
textiles
Timbuktu
trans
transatlantic trade route
trans-Saharan trade route
triangular trade