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Empire of Ghana and the Gold-Salt Trade. Empire of Ghana. Ghana emerged as a Kingdom by the 700s. Ghana grew rich through the newly formed trade across the Sahara with Musilm traders. Gold-Salt Trade. Gold and Salt were the two most important trade items in West Africa.
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Empire of Ghana • Ghana emerged as a Kingdom by the 700s. • Ghana grew rich through the newly formed trade across the Sahara with Musilm traders.
Gold-Salt Trade • Gold and Salt were the two most important trade items in West Africa. • Ghana produced a lot of Gold and wanted salt which is essential for large cultures. • The explosion in trade made the kings of Ghana extremely wealthy.
Ghana and Islam • Islam spread through Trade to West Africa. • Although the leaders converted to Islam and employed Muslim advisors, many Africans hung on to their local religions. • Ghana went into decline after loosing multiple wars to the Almoravids.
Empire of Mali • Mali emerged by 1235 just south of Ghana. With Ghana still week, this allowed Mali to become the dominate kingdom of the region as well as take over the gold-salt trade.
Sundiata • Mali’s first great leader. • He overthrew a dictator like ruler, expanded the empire, and declared himself Mansa which means emperor. • He strengthened the empire through trade, conquest, and increasing the size of the government.
Mansa Musa • Came to power 50 years after Sundiata and restored the wealth and prestige of Mali and promoted Islam as the empire’s religion. • Brought Muslim ideas of education to West Africa and launched several building projects.
Ibn Battuta • A Muslim traveler who traveled for 27 years attempting to write a chronicle and history of all Islamic nations in the world. • He was blown away by how advanced Mali was and wrote that in many ways it was more advanced than any place in the world.
Empire of Songhai • Mali gradually declined into the 1400s as a result of poor leadership and lower trade profits. • Songhai was a small kingdom that use to be ruled by Mali but now began to expand and make an empire for itself.
Sunni Ali • Came to power in 1464 and built a professional army that conquered most of West Africa. • He also heavily relied on his navy to control the rivers which were the main way of transporting goods to trade.
Collapse of Western Empires • Despite being extremely wealthy, West African Empire lacked advanced military technology. • In 1591, and army with guns and cannons from Morocco conquered what was left of Songhai and West Africa. • European powers began expressing interest and claiming land in Africa.
Other West African Kingdoms • The Hausa organized themselves into city-states and relied on trade to prosper. • Yoruba was a small but old kingdom that was famous for it’s art and architecture. • Benin were a powerful kingdom that often competed with Mali and Songhai but fell victim to the slave trade when the Portuguese arrived.
Trading Empires Assignment • Before moving on and studying other parts of Africa, now is a good time during this year to take a closer look at trade and the vital role it played in mankind’s future at the time and continues to do so today. • Complete the following with your textbook: • #1-4 on pg. 429 • #1-2 on 431 • #1-2 on 432 • #1-2 on 433 • #1-2 on 435 • Complete 3 out of the 6 DBQ questions on 434-435. *Honors complete all 6.
East Coast Trade Cities • Most of the East African population was concentrated in coastal cities who traded by sea. • The modern day language of Swahili was created when Arabic from Muslim traders mixed with African Languages.
Portuguese Conquest • In 1488, the first Portuguese ships arrived looking for a trade route to India. • In order to establish permanent trading ports, the Portuguese attacked using their cannons and conquered several East African cities.
Islamic Influence • Islam was introduced through trade and quickly became the preferred religion of the leaders and wealthy merchants. • Most common people maintained their traditional religious beliefs.
Enslavement • Muslim traders began exporting slaves from East Africa along with luxury goods. • Although this trade went on for a long time, it was relatively small when compared to West Africa. • Often times East African armies would capture other Africans to sell in the trade.
Great Zimbabwe • A city-state in Southern Africa where most East African cities got their gold and ivory to trade. • After reaching its’ height of power, Great Zimbabwe was mysteriously abandoned by 1450. One theory is that food supplies could not support the large population.
Mutapa Empire • According to oral tradition, a man names Mutota founded a new trading city to the north when Great Zimbabwe collapsed. • The kingdom he established came to dominate Southern Africa into the 1500s. • Although they survived an attempt by the Portuguese to conquer them, Mutapa fell when the Portuguese instigated a Civil War.
African Art Analysis • Thursday Workers Only • See Handout
Modern Africa Jigsaw • In groups of 4 you will read a little bit about the situation of Africa in the Modern World. Pages 1012-1016 and 1040-1045 • 1. Divide the reading into 4 parts, one for each person. • 2. Read your part only and take notes summarizing the key points. • 3. You will then meet with people who read the same part but are in other groups and you will share and refine what you wrote. • 4. Finally you will come back to your original group and present your part of the reading to your group members as they take notes.
Suggested Split • 1. Achieving Independence, Ghana Leads the Way, Fighting for Freedom • 2. Civil War in Congo and Angola • 3. Colonial Rule Limits Democracy, Civil War in Nigeria, Nigeria’s Nation Building • 4. South Africa Under Apartheid, Struggle for Democracy • *If you have a group of 3 then one person does #1 and #2, if 5 then the 5th person does Fighting for Freedom.
