FREE ESSAY ON AFRICAN EMPIRES 200-1600

AFRICAN EMPIRES 200-1600

There were many empires and kingdoms in West Africa. The empires of Ghana, Mali, and
Songhai were three of them. These empires set the way for new ones to come. The way these
people lived is very unique. The most important thing that all of these people did was
trading. This was how all of the prospered so well. The West African empires of Mali,
Ghana, and Sonhai were very important cultures to all people of Africa.
The Empire of Ghana rose when Africans started to use the Camel to cross the Sahara
Desert. Before this trade across this desert was practically impossible. The trade routes
came right through the part of the savanna, which was originally called the Soninke
region. It became known as Ghana because that was what they called their leader. The main
thing that made Ghana such a big empire is the Gold-Salt trades that they made with the
people of the Sahara. The trading was done under close watch by the tax collector for the
king. All of the good were weighed to assure the right amount. All of the Gold was stored
in the king's palace to keep it safe. The power all of this gave Ghana let them put
together a huge army. With a huge army at their disposal they could tax all small
villages around them.
The kingdom of Mali emerged from a pre-existing kingdom, as did some other great empires.
Like Ghana, Mali was also based on the trading of gold. As the mines ran out of gold in
Ghana the miners had to shift eastward which put them in the small Mali Empire. With all
of this gold the power of the kingdom grew and they were able to take over the struggling
Ghana Empire. The first great leader of Mali was Sundiata. He came in and took over many
trading cities. A period of peace followed this. He was the leader that reinstated the
gold-salt trade. Sundiata eventually died and Mansa Musa took over. Mansa Musa divided
the empire into small self-governed territories. Musa also brought the Muslim religion to
the Mali Empire. When he died his successors came into power they couldn't handle the
empire and it eventually declined.
The empire of Songhai was one of the only West African Empires that did not rely on
trading Gold. The empire started by building up a huge army to gain power with more land.
As they gained more land they gained more trading centers. Eventually they stopped
conquering other empires and they traded to keep their power. This empire was based on
the trade of anything that came to them. The two major leaders of the empire were Sunni
Ali and Askia Muhammad. Ali used military force to take over Timbuktu, which was one of
Mali's major cities. He also gained almost all of the land the Mali held at the time.
Muhammad didn't gain a lot of land for the kingdom but he made it more organized. He set
up laws and a government to collect taxes. He appointed officials to serve as ministers
of the treasury, army, navy, and agriculture. Despite all of their hard work a Moroccan
fighting force of several thousand warriors came in and swept the Sonhai army in a short
period of time.
All three of these empires relied almost all on their trading ability. The Sahara trade
routes crossed through all of them. With all of the trading these empires were able to
build up huge empires and conquer other peoples for more land. These empires all set the
way for future settlements and more technology.