Transcript West African History

West African History
Ghana & Mali
The Kingdom of Ghana
(500 AD – 1170 AD)
Rise of Ghana
• Ghana had a lot of gold and iron ore.
• Ghana became the first far-reaching
trade empire in West Africa
• Ghana’s kings established and
maintained their power through:
1. their vast wealth (gold),
2. personal relationship with subjects,
3. and large standing armies (iron).
Ghana’s Economy
Ghana traded gold with cultures in North
Africa for salt
• Salt was important because it:
– Preserved food,
– Essential to their diet,
– And helped the taste of food.
Berber traders, then Muslim traders
controlled the Saharan Trade.
Decline of Ghana
• Spread of the Sahara Desert strained
Ghana’s growing population
• Urban populations became dependent on
imported food
• Muslim traders took primary control over
the Saharan trade 
• Ghana’s income from trade declined
Ghana’s Collapse
• Food shortage and reduced income made
the empire less stable.
• Ghana territory came under increased
influence of the spreading Islamic empire
to the north.
• The Mali leader Sundiata Keita defeats the
remnants of the Ghana Empire around
1240 AD.
The Kingdom of Mali
(1230 AD – 1600)
Rise of Mali
• Established by Sundiata Keita
– Epic of Sundiata
• Sundiata Keita adopts Islam as the official
religion of Mali
• Timbuktu becomes one of the world’s largest
trading centers and the world’s most
advanced centers of learning.
• Eventually, Mali covered a territory
larger than western Europe.
• … and consisted of numerous vassal
kingdoms and provinces in West and
Central Africa.
Type 2 Writing
• What caused the decline and collapse of
the Ghana Empire?
• GOOD NEWS! No more CDV or Take a
Stand format. Just answer the question
with at least 3 supporting details.