Africa Dbq

The empire was rich in gold and became a leading force in the trans-Saharan trade. The economy of Ancient Ghana received their wealth and power from the mines, the use of iron weapons, decimating neighboring villages, and farming along the river( ). The prosperity of the empire is mainly due to the role they played in the trans-Saharan trade, the empire traded with Muslim countries of the Middles east ( ). Gold and salt were the central bases of revenue, gold being extremely important to Ghana causing the empire to develop quickly. The trading activities that constituted the backbone of Ghana’s economy were the sale of gold, kola nuts, and ivory to cities along the Mediterranean, in exchange for salt ( ).

The Empire of Mali inherited all of gold mines that the previous Ghanaian empire controlled, as well as gold from other kingdoms, Futa-Jallon, Wangara (Goodwin). Mali “grew in influence and replace Ghana as the main producer and distributor of gold . . . [as well as] salt mines, diamonds, and copper production” (Mali). This ensure Mali as the dominant economic marketplace throughout the world. Mali’s strategic location allowed control of trade routes throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, the Niger River, North Africa, as well as many other routes connecting to different parts of the world.

Black South Africans living in South Africa, had to endure fifty years of oppression and racial discrimination. Apartheid was a policy implemented by the South African government across South Africa. It was used to control the Black South African population since they make up the majority of the population. The government created Apartheid, due to their fear that the Black population will overthrow them. Living as a Black South African meant that they had to live a more oppressive and undesirable life.

Even before Europeans came to Africa, the kingdoms in Africa were quite wealthy. As previously mentioned, Ghana was a very strong kingdom in which its people were also incredibly wealthy. Their government appeared to be wealthy as well, which assisted Ghana in being able to control the gold and salt trade. An Arab scholar, Al-Bakri, wrote about the king’s court and how basically everything that the court had was gold (Document 2). The point of view of this document was also positive, and that is because scholars are usually upper class, just like the king’s court. Al-Bakri thought very highly of the court, and explains in detail how every person has some gold on them and how their surroundings also possessed gold. Ghana had a strong army and an intelligent political counsel, which made other countries fear them. Nations around Ghana did not want to start problems and usually just maintained peace with Ghana (Document 3). Ghana was not the only successful kingdom, one of the leaders of Mali, Mansa Musa,

The development and growth of civilizations in African history were contradicted by several American and European historians in the sixteenth and early twentieth centuries. The reason for this lack of understanding is because the focus was mainly on Europe’s chaotic society at the time. In addition, Africa didn’t have physically written documents to present their actual history. Instead, it was orally passed down. This is why historians have falsely concluded that Africa was an uncivilized “Dark Continent.” But what does it mean to be civilized? A group of people is characterized as civilized when they are organized as a society, and able to advance it. Since West and East Africa were able to develop advanced forms of economy, education, and government, they are characterized as civilized

A developed government was another achievement to Africa before the arrival of the Europeans. Ghana, a strong African city, had military forces to maintain peace and

African Kingdoms were civilized prior to the accession of Europeans in the 15th century. African Kingdoms, such as Ghana, Mali and, Aksum were already progressive in the areas of trade, wealth, and overall advancement. Aksum’s location benefited the region’s advancement by making it a trading center. Mansa Musa was one of the most generous people who expanded the Mali empire through wealth. Through trade and wealth came overall advancement, which brought the rise of literature and art.

The first empire in West Africa was the empire of Ghana. West Africa has an economic base in gold, 600 years ago. That means that West Africa had a deposit of gold that had brought great wealth to the surrounding people from which great empires emerged. The gold was trade and the trader with camels carried the gold across the Sahara from West Africa to North Africa. From there traders shipped the gold to Europe and to the West Asia. One of the three most powerful empires in West Africa is Ghana. In the 11th century,

The Kingdom of Ghana was a rich and mysterious country. The Ancient country lay where Maturia, Mali, and Senegal are to day. The kingdom existed from 700-1200 A.D. but people had been living in the area since the Fourth century A.D. Ghana's Golden age was from the Ninth to the Eleventh century A.D. During this time gold was abundant along with salt and other valuable goods. These items made Ghana a rich nation where the primary income was made from trading with the Arabs and other African nations. Even though trading was the main source of income, most of the common people were farmers. These farmers grew crops like corn, wheat, and rice. All of these reasons make the Ancient Kingdom of Ghana a desireable place to move to.

Ghana was no exception to this, as they were said to have food for all its citizens, advanced weapons, and a good government (doc 3). They were more than capable of living good lives and thriving. The city of Timbuktu in the empire of Mali valued written manuscripts and sold them for a higher price than that of any other good (doc 5). Mali also viewed security and justice as very important things to include in a society (doc 6). They were always fair and the citizens and tourists were never afraid. Finally, bronze was important, and went through a very lengthy process to make beautiful and amazing figures (doc 7). Aspects that make a society complex were valued and used during the reign of African

In West Africa, the savanna provided a long distance trade site before the use of Atlantic slave trade. Its surplus of gold makes Africa rich and rivaling with Europe's power

“. . . Forts built by the Portuguese and Dutch on the Gold Coast (modern Ghana) were captured by the British in 1667” (“Africa and the Atlantic Slave Trade”, NA), and later, “. . . New technologies and medicines . . . allowed the Europeans to pursue military and political power further into the interior” (Getz and Clark, 2011, p. 103) The British fought to control the area specifically for the gold, and palm oil – an ingredient used for the production of soap, and as machine lubricant. “Second, the industrial Revolution enabled Britain in particular to enlarge its military and commercial power to the point that it was able to eventually drive the other European powers out of the region, with the Danish (1850) and Dutch (1871-1872) being the last to leave” (Getz and Clark, 2011, p. 103). After Britain gained control of the region, new rules were placed into effect. Most Africans adapted to the sudden changes: becoming English-speaking Africans, accepting jobs from the British, trading with the British and even marrying British citizens. “It was this these men who tried to create European-style but independent states such as the Accra Confederation and who wrote a constitution for the Fante Confederation of 1873” (Getz and Clark, 2011, p. 106). Yet, despite these positive effects, negative effects also existed. In the 1670s, with sugar becoming high demand, the need for slaves increased. “. . . Europeans

In between the eighth and eleventh century the kingdom of Ghana grew. Their advance of political structure can be shown through the amount of wealth

Because of its size, surface features, climate, resources, and strategic importance, Africa became a prime candidate for conquest by ambitious European empires. Although Africa is physically remote from the power centers of Europe, North America, and Asia, it is surrounded by water and can therefore be reached easily from the other continents. This meant that the Europeans needed to establish rules for dealing with one another if they were to avoid constant bloodshed and competition for African resources. The Berlin Conference established those ground rules.

The rulers of Ghana controlled the trade of their kingdom and collected taxes on salt from the north. From the south of the kingdom came gold that fed the king's wealth. This gold came from the Senegal and Niger rivers and was in great demand across the Sahara. Ghana was a sort of meeting place in which the north and the south traded. From the north came ceramics, glass, oil lamps, and salt, from the south came kola nuts,palm oil, copper, and gold. Ghana became a wealthy trading empire. Mali and Songhai were also affected because they neighbored Ghana so they were in similar circumstances. When they were at war and Mali took over the Ghana gold mines, they tried to establish salt trades. Several kings later the Songhai took over the gold mines