This extensive trade route allowed West African kingdoms to trade valuable resources, most notably gold and salt, for other goods like textiles and various spices. This map also highlights the importance of key trade cities like Timbuktu which served
The Mali Empire became a site of cultural exchange because of their immense wealth. According to an article “ Mali and the world Document C: Section from the Catalan Atlas” by Abraham Cresques created in 1375, it stated, “This king is the richest and most noble lord of all of this region due to the abundance of gold
A place that they could bring their own cultures and mix with others. Ghana A state that is below the Sahara and was big in trading throughout Africa.
According to Document A: The Ghana Empire by UC Davis History-Social Science Project Lesson Plan on Sites of Encounter in the Medieval World-Mali created in 2014, it states: “The kings of Ghana taxed the gold-salt trade and kept an army to protect people from the desert nomads, but they probably did not actually rule over the people of the smaller chiefdoms in the confederation.” This shows that Mali was rich thanks to the taxes they got out of the salt trade. According to a Document B: Berber Peoples by UC Davis History-Social Science Project Lesson Plan on Sites of Encounter in the Medieval World-Mali created in 2014, it states… “Their trade of gold for salt was very profitable for everyone involved.” This shows that they didn’t just own to salt trade, they traded themselves with the plentiful gold they had. This provides that Mali was rich because of a lot of different reasons.
In West Africa, the Niger River provided gold to West Africa. The presence of gold throughout Africa contributed to abundant wealth throughout the medieval empires. Al Bakri, an Arab scholar, showed that the Ghana Empire used gold to decorate their horses, swords, and hair(Doc 1). The use of gold as decorations demonstrates that the western empires had abundant gold that could be used for other purposes besides trading.
Can you imagine living in the empire of Mali? Knowing that people would die to go to Mali. Well, in 1230 to 1670, if you went to Mali you would be a very lucky person. “During the Empire of Mali, many traveled across of Mali just for one resource, gold. The desire of gold in Mali was so strong it caused merchants and the rest of North Africa to take a difficult journey from the Maghrib across the Sahara Desert to the region of Savannah and the forest called West Africa.
These stateless societies had a legitimate, informal government but, had no official bureaucratic system. During the early Post-Classical era, Ghana played an important part in West African society because even though they had limited connections to outside kingdoms, they still traded with neighboring societies. Gold and salt were two of the major commodities that helped grow these small stateless societies into large and prospering empires. With trade increasing throughout the Saharan, the amount of gold and salt that was able to reach this region was able to increase, which allowed for both the resources and the incentive to build a larger empire. Between the years 700-1450 CE, elaborate court life, degrees of admission and military forces were created as a result of the increased trade through the Saharan.
Both Europe and West Africa followed a system of centralized rule. In West Africa the kingdoms of Mali, Songhai, and Kongo had centralized governments capable of collecting taxes, regulating commerce, and mobilizing armies. For instance, the kingdom of Kongo consisted of smaller kingdoms that were ruled by the Manikongo. In Europe, absolute monarchs held power over provinces. In North America, on the other hand, chiefdoms became more prevalent during the Mississippi tradition.
With all the people in Mali it lead to many things, good and bad. There were three medieval kingdoms in West Africa, one of them was Ghana. In the 400s the Ghana empire was in existence as Arab merchants traveled to trade. Trading was not what created the Ghana empire, but it definitely made them richer. Another thing that made them richer was charging to protect the gold from neighboring networks.
Mali and Ghana Essay Ghana and Mali were one of Africa’s greatest ancient civilizations. The Ghana kingdom was founded around the year 750, and developed between the Senegal and Niger River, while the Mali kingdom came about in 1240 after taking over Ghana. Rich in trade and supplies, their empires flourished under their rulers. The Ghana and Mali empire had a series of key similarities and differences throughout their years as a civilization, such as education, their culture, and their resource for trade.
Interviewing Taylor Hughes was an interesting experience. We all asked the same questions from a list of questions given to us. During this interview Taylor and I learned a lot about each other. She responded to my basic interview questions with some interesting responses.
Famine: “the incidence of serious food shortage across a country that dangerously affects the nutrition levels, health and livelihood of any people, to the extent that there is a large incidence of acute malnutrition and many people have died of hunger.” – World Food Program Introduction Famine in North Korea is a long history crisis started from food shortage to its worst and being dependent on China and Soviet Union on Food and financial aids. The worst famine cases happened in North Korea is in the 1990s which have killed 1 million North Korean. Noland and Haggard (2008) reported that in the 1990s, 600,000 to 1 million North Koreans, or about 3–5 percent of the pre-crisis population perished in one of the worst famines of the 20th century. Famine cases in 1990s was not the first time in North Korea instead it started in 1950s when they were having a Korean War.
The primary difference in the political organization of both East and West African from 1000-1500 CE comes in the form of government. While all sub-Saharan Africa utilized kin-based groups, West Africa was structured more around kingdoms, and East Africa structured around city-states. Some West African kingdoms had a strong centralized government, such as the Kingdom of Kongo. The government included a king, who controlled military, judicial, and financial affairs, with the help of his officials. When the emergence of formal states came about, the strong kin-based societies of the West survived for centuries later.
The Early African Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai were established sufficiently and later met their demise. The Early African Kingdoms were able to progress in economy and political structure by the actions of their leaders, location, religious influences, and geographical features. Religion influenced the African economy, political structure, and cultural practices. All Early African Kingdoms took advantage of the gold and salt trade and used it to hike in power. Sundiata Keita, Mansa Musa, Sunni Ali, and Askia the Great abetted their kingdoms, economy, and society.
All three of them shared the standard lifespan of incredible growth, expansion of wealth and resources, and then finally ending. All three of these empires starting from Ghana to Songhai chronology inherited the same trade routes and geopolitical and cultural traditions
