West African Empires
While Europe was reeling from plague and despair, parts of Africa were
enjoying peace and prosperity. In West Africa, three great kingdoms arose. The
first, ancient Ghana, came to power around 300 A.D. For the next 1,300 years,
each empire, in turn, became even more powerful by controlling trade across
West Africa.
Every day caravans crossed the great Sahara from Asia and Europe to trade for
African gold and precious salt, but crossing the huge desert took months. Was
there an easier way to get there? Many Europeans hoped so.
THREE GREAT EMPIRES
Ancient Ghana, one of the first great African kingdoms, rose to power because
it controlled the trade from the vast salt mines and gold fields, and it became a
great trading center. In 1230 a man named Sundiata formed a new empire,
Mali, which became even richer than Ghana.
In 1307 Sundiata’s great-nephew, Mansa Musa, took power and became one of
the most famous African kings, as well as one of the richest. He built a city
called Timbuktu, which was known for its universities and libraries.
After Mansa Musa died, a series of bad rulers led to Mali’s fall. The kings from
neighboring Songhai took over, expanding the empire even more. It was here
where sailors from Portugal first made their way in the early 1400s.
A TERRIBLE TRADE
Over the next few years, Portuguese sailors, using better boats and improved
navigation aids, sailed farther south along Africa’s coast. They began to carry
metals, cloth, and other manufactured goods from Europe to trade for the
West African empires’ gold.
As trade with Africa grew, a new product was added—people. The buying and
selling of slaves became a huge business. By the 1470s Lisbon, Portugal's
capital, became a busy slave-trading port. Slavery, which had been around for
centuries as a way to put captured prisoners of war to work, soon took on a
terrible new meaning when Europeans reached the Americas.
1. Ghana
2. Mali
3. Songhai
1. How did the three empires remain powerful?
2. What two places did traders come from in order to trade with West Africa?
3. What did Mansa Musa add to his Mali empire that made it more advanced?
4. Which country from Europe interacted with the Songhai empire?
5. Identify one good thing and one bad thing about the Europeans interaction
with the West African empires.