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The Nok Civilization flourished around 600 BCE with the use of iron tools, and it marked the positive shift from hunter-gatherer societies to more settled communities. The Nok settled in the northern and central regions of what is now Nigeria. The language spoken by the Nok people is still unknown. The government was a decentralized government based on hierarchy, and the leadership was based on regional placement. The Nok were known for their numerous terracotta sculptures of both animals and people, which were possibly used for religious practices, though it is still unknown. The Nok made money by working with iron, farming, and potentially trade as well. Their use of iron provided jobs to the Nok as smelters and blacksmiths, which they could then use as tools for a variety of tasks.

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The Hausa Fulani is located in Northern Nigeria.

They consist of a number of states with a centralized polity nd were similar politically with a sarkin(king) that ruled each state. Kings converted to Islam to gain political networks with Islamic powers.

They began to form in the ninth and tenth centuries.

They shared the Hausa language. They practiced traditional Hausa religion. The King of Kanem converted to Islam, the religion spreading to many other Hausa rulers and causing them to convert. These Kings merged Islam and traditional indigenous religions in order to please the people and the Islam world.

They made money through trade and commerce. The Kings converted to Islam to strengthen trading networks with Islamic powers.

Significance: The Hausa Kings' conversion to Islam shows how power can influence religious belief through converting to Islam in order to gain political and economic networks.

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Routes of origin of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade

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Slavery in Nigeria began long before the arrival of Europeans. There was more equality before the Europeans because the enslaved typically lived with the people who enslaved them. They worked in jobs similar to their household member and if the enslavers were in high status the enslaved could have worked in high-power positions like the government. However, all of that changed when the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was introduced to Nigeria and its people. Within interior Nigeria, people would kidnap families and bring them to the coast, then the kidnappers would be given money for their work, and the kidnapped would be sold and put onto ships with multiple other people who were kidnapped. They would be put into chains on the lower deck of the ship in terrible conditions and confined spaces. Then they would either go to the Bhamahs to harvest sugar cane in a hot and humid environment with harsh conditions, or they would be shipped to the coast of the United States to work on plantations to pick cotton and do other work. The Nigerian leaders used the people to gain more power by selling them to the Europeans to be transported to North America. Slavery especially led Europeans to believe they were superior to all native Africans. Attempts to reach enslaved quotas increased the gap between the rich and the poor, and a large population declined because of the kidnapping and transportation of people into the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

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What: The Yoruba were an ethnic group of African people who successfully formed centralized societies and spread the traditional Yoruba religion throughout regions.

Where/when: located in the Southwest of Nigeria & around 1000-1500 CE

Religion: the traditional Yoruba religion - belief in deities, called orisa, and the belief of a supreme being

Government: Ile-Ife became a powerful and significant Yoruba city-state, influencing other Yoruba communities. For example, local kings called Obas ruled individual communities based on the structure of Ile-Ife.

Language: Yoruba communities shared linguistic similarities with other groups.

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Arabic was the main language that was spoken but also Huasa and Fula. It was an Islamic state and was run by a sultan and his emirates. Established in 1804. The Government wanted to enact Religious reforms and Opposed the mixing of traditional beliefs

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Region- Northern/Southern present-day Nigeria

Religion- Islamic Caliphate who sought to enact religious reform among the people by conquering and uniting various groups under an Islamic government.

Economical Production- Many states under the Caliphate shared trade routes which led to peaceful economic growth.

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Image of Sokoto Caliphate

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The trans-Saharan trade goal was improving the commerce of Nigeria city-states, starting in the fourteenth century.

Prominent from 1300 to 1500, the trans-Saharan trade involved merchants from North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, and even foreign powers like the Middle East and Europe.

Specifically, the goods traded included leather, weapons, salt, horses, but it also included riches such as gold.

Unfortunately, slavery was a part of the trans-Saharan trade.

For reference, the Hausa ethnic group participated in the trans-Saharan trade. They gained a lot of profits and acquired foreign products.

1500's: activity diminishes because Europeans became dominant in the trading economy of Nigeria.

Significance: established trading within and outside Nigeria + increased interactions of tribes + brought them closer together