Transcript West Africa - SchoolRack

West Africa
Ghana

Between 300 and 1200 AD it covered a
trading area of more than 100,000 square
miles.
 Their
wealth came from taxes on trade
goods.
– They taxed goods coming in or going
out of the country.
– The main trade goods were salt
and gold.
 The
height of economic and political power was from
800 to 900 AD.
 At the end of the 1000s AD the Almoravids (Islamic
traders) attacked Ghana and began its decline.
 The empire broke down and became independent
states.
Mali

Means “where the king resides”
 Was

once part of Ghana
Sundiata Keita
 Early
king who surrounded surrounding territories
around 1235 AD
 He tried to improve agricultural production and
restore trade routes.

Mansa Musa (1312 to 1332 AD)
 Introduced
Islam to Mali
– He built mosques and made Mali a place of learning
 Modeled after the House of Wisdom in Baghdad.
 After
his death the Berbers and Songhai attacked and
split up the kingdom.
Songhai
Skilled traders, farmers and fishermen
 By the late 1400s they had conquered
most of the western African savannah


Under Askia Muhammad the empire
reached its peak (1493-1528 AD)
– He divided Songhai into 5 provinces
– He was a devoted Muslim
– Timbuktu became a center of learning under
his rule

In 1589 Morocco attacked Songhai and
defeated them.