Mansa Musa set off on his hajj and traveled thousands of miles through deserts, and strange cities to get to Mecca. Although this was a very religious journey, was this pilgrimage really all for religious purposes? Religion may have been a large motivating factor for this trip, but Mansa Musa did not journey on his hajj just for religious purposes. There were many other motivating factors for why Mansa Musa took this journey. Some motives were to set up better trade for the future, and gain popularity for his kingdom Mali and himself.
Not only did Mansa Musa give others an interesting life, he lead an quite intriguing one of his own. Musa was the fourteenth century emperor of the Mali Empire. The name Mansa, meaning King of Kings, was given to Musa when he became emperor and ascended the throne in 1312. He was born in c.1280 and died of natural causes in c. 1337.
Amadou Hampaté Bâ is extremely detailed throughout the book, The Fortunes of Wangrin, in explaining the colonial world in West African societies. He provides multiple examples in this work of fiction that precisely describe the factual aspects of African colonialism that we have discussed in class. I will point out a few of the examples that Bâ uses such as: limitations colonial governments set on Africans, the Métis relationships within colonies, and issues that arose, not only between Europeans and Africans, but within the native African communities as well. I will then point out certain details from the book that do not perfectly reflect the components of colonialism that we have studied in lecture.
In Africa during the Post-Classical era, 600-1450 CE, the Saharan was no longer a barren wasteland hardly suitable for travel, but, an essential part of both North African and Sub-Saharan West African societies. Camels and caravans allowed for quicker and more effective traveling. With trading becoming increasingly popular in this area, it provided the resources to build new and larger political structures. During this era, Africa’s economy began to change and the western part of Sub-Saharan was no different. With the Trans-Saharan trade routes ability to increase with the help of wealthier Islamic states, it allowed for the spread of religious and political ideas such as larger empires and the Islamic faith in which both greatly influenced
The Ghana Empire, also known as Wagadou Empire, was a West African empire that existed from the 6th to the 13th century CE. The empire was founded by the Soninke people and became a major center of trade and commerce in West Africa. One of the reasons why the Ghana Empire was significant is because of its role in the trans-Saharan trade. The empire controlled the trade routes that connected West Africa with North Africa and Europe. They traded gold, ivory, and salt.
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.
From what people know Sundiata might have combined many religions, created a new society, and mastered the dangerous people who came from Mecca. We do know Sundiata was powerful and successful. From 1312 to 1337, a new mansa of Mali was Mansa Musa. Mansa Musa was the grandnephew of Sundiata. Mansa Musa is known for leading the pilgrimage of 60,000 people to Mecca in 1324 with tons of camels carrying pounds of gold!
1. Substantiate the piety and moral virtue of Mansa Musa. In the book Medieval West Africa, Al- ‘Umari (1301–1394) described many actions of Mansa Musa that reflect him as a pious Muslim, and a person of high moral virtue. Many of these actions occurred during Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage to Mecca in 1312.
In 1324 CE Mansa Musa embarked on one of the greatest journeys in history. The motives for his journey are obscure. He could’ve been trying to find atonement for the murder of his mother, or he could've been on a journey to elevate the position of the Mali empire on the world stage. One thing is for certain Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage was a turning point in the course of Mali’s influence over West Africa and the rest of the world. His hajj moved Mali into an Islamic state and using his newfound religious power and his vast resources he increased Mali’s influence over West Africa and integrated Mali into the wider world system.
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.
So Europe invaded Africa, took possession of Africa, and divided Africa into colonies of Europe. The period of invasion, lasting some twenty years, was more or less completed by 1900. There followed a longer period, between sixty and ninety years, of direct European rule, called colonial rule. This was a time of profound upheaval for all of Africa’s peoples. It brought irreversible changes” (4).
East and West Africa from 1000 to 1500 CE had profound differences in forms of government, with West Africa being kingdom based, and East Africa city-state based. The conversion of Eastern and Western African ruling elites compacted trading between themselves and Islamic traders from Mesopotamia, China, India, and as far away as Oceania. The relatively stable political environment from 1000-1500 CE in Sub-Saharan Africa attracted displaced peoples from the Abbasid empire in Northern Africa, with West Africa utilizing Trans-Saharan trade, and East Africa utilizing mariner trade routes. The East and West developed in clearly different ways, but paralleled each other in a way in which the political, social, and economic environments facilitated stable trade in the region, as well as a distinct blend between Islamic culture and African tradition.
Mansa Musa, king of the Malian empire, in specific was a large influence on the religion of the population. Other pieces of Muslim architecture, such as the great Mosque of Djenne, are evidence of the religion’s dominance in Sub-Saharan Africa. Along the Indian Ocean trade routes, we also see Islam as a dominant religion, but there is much more of a variety. Evidence of Islam in Eastern Africa can be found in the language itself. Swahili, the dominant language of the region, is influenced heavily by Arabic.
In History of Africa, Shillington focuses on many aspects of African culture and factors that made Africa to be the continent that it is today. Chapter 5 primarily focuses on the Northern region of Africa and how empires took over and spread their ideology technology, and culture all through out the region. Even today some remnants of the Roman and Greek empire live on to this day (Shillington, 69.) Despite many people getting the impression that Northern Africa is only influenced by Arabic and Islam, these empires and their conquests are best understood through topics like intricate trading routes, farming, and the spread of religion. Shillington provides an in depth analysis of how many of these conquests affected Northern Africa centuries ago and today.
The African kingdoms Ghana, Mali, Songhai The African nations of Ghana, Mali, Songhai, shared so many characteristics between each other. For one primary comparison is, all three ancient empires relied on the trans-Saharan trading routes and their lush amount of gold, copper and other natural resources. They established many political ties with many Arab countries and nearby African societies. These three nations shared abundantly cultural similarities from just the rise of Islam.
