Key Terms

caliph

an Islamic title designating a spiritual and secular leader

dhow

a ship made of coconut-wood planks sewn together with coconut fiber and equipped with lateen sails

lateen sail

a triangular-shaped sail that allows a boat to sail both with and into the wind

Slave Coast

a section of African coast along the Bight of Benin, centered on the port city of Whydah and a major source of African people sold into slavery

Sudanic

a term describing the region of West Africa south of the Sahara Desert

Swahili

a language that combines the grammar of African Bantu languages with a Bantu and Arabic vocabulary and is spoken in East Africa