Ghana Middle Passage

Africa, like many other continents, was a very tremendous and a very diverse civilization that is very complicated to introduce due to all its wonderful but also diverse features and beliefs. From the differences between its society and language to its religion and politics, Africa always had the reputation that its empires, cities, and kingdoms never progressed in the developments and achievements for their civilization. Many people believed that the Europeans were actually the cause of Africa’s achievements and advanced developments for their civilizations. However, this is further than the whole truth. Before the arrival of the Europeans between the 15th and 16th century, African kingdoms, empires, and cities had many achievements and accomplishments

In Africa there were three great empires, first the Ghana Empire who domesticated camels and carved trade routes all across the Sahara then

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.

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,

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 Kingdom Ghana in western Africa flourished. Ghana gained control of the salt-and-gold trade (Doc. 2). This was important because Gold was used as a currency,

The relationship between the geography of West Africa and the development of the Kingdom of Ghana go hand in hand. It was a great place for civilization because it flourished over time. The Kingdom of Ghana’s development was helped because of trade and wealth.

West Africa was more wealthy than anyone today some say, they devoted themselves to religion, had a great economy, and were exceedingly educated. During the 15th and 16th centuries in West Africa it was prosperous and hopeful. People were extremely faithful and loyal towards their religion, and trade was making people tremendously wealthy, people like Mansa Musa, the king of Ghana. He is considered the wealthiest man to ever step foot on earth. Ghana was also super educated and valued education. They loved books and would pay a hefty amount for them, in the end they would become doctors, priests, and other jobs that you have to be highly educated to do. Education, economy, and religion contributed most to the prosperity and greatness of West

In early Africa, the kingdom of Ghana was prosperous due to the trade of salt and gold. Ghana’s location benefited it in many ways. First Ghana’s location allowed them to be the center of the Gold/Salt trade. Since salt was so valuable at the time, the people of Ghana were able to sell salt for gold throughout Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Middle East. Ghana also made a lot of revenue from taxes on the Gold/Salt trade route. Since they were the center

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.

Civilizations in Africa like Mali, Ghana, and Kilwa all exhibited great wealth enjoyed by many in the empire. In document 2, Ghana’s gold and salt trade are shown to have made the kingdom very rich and powerful. The king’s court had very luxurious items and this showcased their wealth, one of the reasons the Europeans came to Africa in the first place. Mansa Musa, the ruler of Mali, also had riches, and he handed them out while traveling through Cairo to Mecca (doc 4). Finally, the city-state of Kilwa was considered one of the most beautiful places in the world by Ibn Battuta (doc 8). African cities were very wealthy from the gold and salt mines on the continent and it was very beneficial to them.

Mansa Musa expanded the Mali empire and was a very smart and generous person. He had lots of wealth. An Egyptian official describes him as very generous, as there was no one who did not receive a sum of gold from him (Document 4). Timbuktu is a name of a city in Mali that has a very highly sophisticated political structure. They have many doctors, judges, priests, and other men who are very intelligent and well taught. The importance of education in Ghana led to better health for the people living there. Also in Ghana they have manuscripts and written books brought there that are sold for more money than any other merchandise (Document

How did the polity of Ancient Ghana arise? How did Ghana maintain its strength and what were some of the challenges? The Wagadou Empire was a monarchy, and the king was regarded by the people to be a semi-divine figure who kept order and justice. Ghana was not rich in natural resources as it was located along a major trade route between ivory and gold producing areas and salt miners in the Sahara. Merchants were lured into Ghana by the wealth of gold and prosperity helped the capital, Kumbi Saleh, to be a center of trade. The country will eventually become a prosperous entrepôt. Ancient Ghana derived power and wealth from gold and transportation of camels during the Sub-Saharan trade to increase the quantity of goods that were transported. The traditional Ghanan religions and Islam spread

The Mali Empire, one of the most powerful empires in the country’s history, ruled until 1591 and gained their success by trading gold, salt, and slaves to the Europeans. The