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The Bantu Migrations began one of the most important migrations in history. The many different Bantu-speaking groups began moving south and east through Africa.
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The Shona people moved onto an area of rich farmland between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. There they established a thriving empire.
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There were large numbers of the Bantu-speaking peoples that had migrated across central Africa toward the eastern coast.
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Kilwa, the most important coastal city-state, grew very influential during this time period.
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The beginning of the Age of Exploration began in Europe when other great changes around the world were taking place.
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A man named Mutota left Great Zimbabwe and traveled north in search for a new source of salt.
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Off the west coast Africa, the island, Sao Tome, was claimed by the Portuguese.
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The Portuguese explorers encountered the Kongo kingdom by sailing down the western coast of Africa.
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Coastal towns remained largely independent because the city-states competed with each other for trade. This lack of unity would make it easier for the Europeans to invade and conquer the area.
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Great Zimbabwe was abandoned. Some say that drought and overuse of land caused a shortage of resources and others argue that people left in order to take advantage of shifting trade networks.
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When Nzinga Mbemba became the ruler of the kingdom, the Portuguese influence in Kongo had increased.
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The Portuguese had enslaved thousands of Africans each year after the death of Afonso.
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The Kongo people came to war with their neighboring kingdom and had a battle invasion by the Jaga people.
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The Kongo kingdom had cut itself off from Portugal because the increasing slave trade caused their relationship to collapse.
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With the help of the Portuguese people, the kingdom of Kongo slowly regained its stability.
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