In pre-colonial Africa kinship and inheritance provided the bases of organization of many African communities. Males were recognized for the purpose of inheritance. Males inherited their clan names based on their accomplishments, as well as other things when one decease.
Land was not owned in many parts of Africa during the pre-colonial period. The male chief of the patrilineage held and distributed the land. They distributed the land as necessary to male members. The woman's access to land depended on the female's obligations or duties within the gendered division of labor. .
Agriculture was the job of many African women. The men believed in having a lot of wives, all of the wives worked together and farmed his land for him or whatever duties he required for that day.
Africa is considered to be a multi-lingual country. There are eleven officially recognized languages. Many others are often spoken but not widespread. English is generally understood across the country. It is one of the eleven common spoken languages but it only ranks 5th out of the eleven spoken languages.
During the 15th and the 19th century major changes had happened to the African and North American continents. Europeans ventured to Africa where they began a trans-Atlantic slave trade. Many Africans were taken as free people and then forced into slavery in South America, the Caribbean and North America. This slave trade had brought about a different type of racism. It was the color of your skin that determined whether a person would be a free citizen or be enslaved for life. The slave trade devastated Africans life and heritage. Some slaves were sold and traded more than once, often in a slave market. Families were torn apart, children hysterically cried while they said their good-byes. Some infants were taken from their parents at birth with no knowledge of who they are. .
During this colonial era, more than half of all African Americans lived in Virginia and Maryland.
