The Major Empires Of West Africa From 1200-1500

Ever heard the saying big bank take little bank ? That’s basically what imperialism is. Imperialism is a policy which a strong nation take complete control over other countries . This is exactly what the Europeans did in several different parts of Africa . Not only did the Europeans divided and colonized Africa but they took everything away ,from their culture to their independence. Why take all this away ? It’s simple , the Europeans nations was competing against each other and they thought they were superior. They noticed Africa had many raw materials and resources they could use and benefit from. The driving force for imperialism in Africa was economics , competition , and politics.

However, the Mali Empire’s power was weakened due to quarrels about orderly succession of the emperors. When the Songhai Empire realized that weakness at the center of Mali, they started rebelling. In 1375, Geo rebelled. Soon Songhai Empire began its expansion at the expense of Mali. They conquered Mema, Timbuktu from the Tuareg. The military commander responsible for these victories, Sunni Ali Ber, was considered the first great ruler of the Songhai Empire. He continued to expand and build the empire by taking control of important Trans-Saharan trade routes as well as other cities and provinces of Mali. Trade had a significant influence on the history of these empires. The riches made through these trades contributed to build larger kingdoms and empires. In order to protect their trade, they build even larger armies. The slave trade was the most important contributor to their economic development. “The Songhai kingdom under the rule of Askia Mohammed used slaves as soldiers. Slaves were trusted not to overthrow their rulers. Sometimes, slaves were given position such as royal advisers because “Songhai rulers believed that slaves could be trusted to provide unbiased advice unlike other citizens who held a personal stake in the outcome of decisions” (Tesfu 2015).

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

The European colonization of Africa, also known as the Scramble for Africa, Partition of Africa, or Conquest of Africa, occurred between the 1870s and 1900s, and was the invasion, occupation, colonization, and annexation of African territory by European powers during a period of New Imperialism. European control of the continent increased from 10 percent (1870) to 90 percent (1914), with only three territories, Saguia el-Hamra, which was later integrated into Spanish Sahara, Ethiopia and Liberia remaining independent of Europe’s control. There were many reasons for the European colonization of Africa, including economic and political motives, with the Berlin Conference serving as a catalyst. Africans resisted the European invasions of their lands, with the two main methods of opposition were guerilla warfare and direct military engagement. European influence on Africa still remains today, though these influences are generally negative and hurt Africa’s overall development.

People of the early African kingdoms were able to create successful trade routes with Europe and Asia, become very wealthy from conquering and gaining land, and were able to have a strong central government. All of this was done before the Europeans had reached Africa. Trade flourished on the East African coast, especially when trading was established with India and Arabia. African kingdoms were prosperous, because of their success with not only trading but also with their ability to conquer land. A governmental structure is key to allowing any kingdom to thrive, and the African people were able to achieve this.

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,

A lot of Mali’s success came from their very generous and humble ruler named Mansa Musa (Doc.4). Mansa Musa took a hajj to Mecca to learn and give a chance to the monotheistic culture of Islam. When he returned to Mali, he spread Islam throughout it and eventually it spread all throughout Western Africa by merchants bringing their culture and religion with them when they traded and spreading their beliefs. The capital of Mali was Timbuktu, a very successful city that produced many of Africa's greatest scholars at the time and had a library with many books and manuscripts that would have sold for a fortune (Doc.5). The government of Mali also had a very strict set of laws, most similar to Hammurabi's code of laws from ancient Babylonia. Its laws were very harsh and they showed no mercy for any crime. Even if you stole the littlest thing you would still be punished greatly. Mali also had very great security from outside invaders. These two things impressed many other rulers of similar kingdoms, and made people not commit any crimes in Mali

The second Empire that was more extensive was Mali in West Africa. They were dominating in the 13th and 14th century. This empire was one of the largest trading posts in the world, which had roots in the gold of West Africa. Mali Empire flourished because of the trade above all else. This empire contained three immense gold mines within its borders unlike the Ghana Empire, which was only a transit point for gold. The taxed every single once of gold, cotton and salt that entered its borders. Mali was the source of almost half the old world’s gold exported from mines in Bambuk, Boure and Galam. The gold nuggets were the exclusive property of the mansa, and were illegal to trade within his borders. All gold was immediately handed over to the imperial treasury in return for an equal value of gold dust. The gold dust had been weighted and bagged for use at least since the reign of the Ghana Empire. The next great unit of exchange in this empire was salt. Salt was as valuable, if

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.

Throughout history, Africa has been a vulnerable player in the eyes of the rest of the world. From the slave trade to various civil right injustices that have taken place over in every century, we have studied in this class, we have been able to see the lasting impact on the continent as a ramification of certain events occurring. Using sources from the text, I will attempt to prove how the western world, exercised their power to capitalize on the African continent, in addition to the exploitation of the African people and land.

Around the year 1897 Edward Morel noticed something that would change the way the modern world viewed the colonization of Africa and the supposed “humanitarian” work there forever (Hochschild 1). Morel worked for an English shipping company that was responsible for cargo going between the Congo Free State and Belgium. What Morel noticed was that ships from Africa were filled with rich, exotic goods like rubber and ivory, but the ships headed to Africa from Belgium were filled with military members and various firearms and ammunition (Hochschild 2). Morel made the conclusion that the cause of this odd “trade” between Europe and Africa was slave labor. European colonization of Africa was a slow, arduous process resulting in the deaths of

The Empire of Mali was the “Land of Gold” to all of Eurasia. Their huge abundance of gold brought many people from all around the world in seek for this valuable treasure. The Empire of Mali was founded by Sundiata after the Ghana Empire fell. Sundiata created a new society that involved powerful warriors and elite craftsman. He also created a society with religious freedom. Sundiata ultimately helped Mali grow and prosper in the beginning years. Mali developed into a site of cultural exchange because of the gold-salt trade, which quickly resulted in religion being mixed together and many merchants becoming eager for a large profit.

Mali During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the Mali Empire commanded West Africa. This group particularly took charge of the savanna. Merchants of the Mali Empire were associated through religious ties. These connections were tied to wealthy Islamic royalty that were located in North Africa and the Middle East.

This statement from this book explains that West Africa was able to establish a trade route in this region that would become a significant factor in their economy. In West Africa, the most common trade items were gold and