After the collapse of Mali, the West African kingdom of Songhai emerged. Songhai was the largest the West African trading kingdoms
Jan 04, 2016
After the collapse of Mali, the West African kingdom of Songhai
emerged. Songhai was the largestof the West African trading kingdoms.
Like previous West African kingdoms, theWest African kingdom of Songhaicontrolled Trans-Saharan trade.
North African salt
for
West Africangold
In 1464, the people of Songhai capturedTimbuktu. Do you remember that
Timbuktu was a great center of learningin the West African kingdom of Mali?
Afterwards, the people of Songhaitook control of the Trans-Saharan
trade routes.
The rulers of Songhai were Muslims.Islam entered West Africa along trade
routes.
North African nomadswere Muslims.
Through trade, Islamentered West Africa.
Trade increasedcultural diffusion or
the exchange of cultural ideas and
objects.
Though the West African kingdom ofSonghai was the largest of the West
African trading kingdoms, it fell in 1591.Moroccans with European guns invaded
and attacked.
The WestAfrican
Kingdomof Songhaionly lasted100 years.
The Trans-Saharan
trade greatlyincreased
culturaldiffusion.
Rulers built beautiful cities withthe wealth from trade.
They encouraged learning.
But the Europeaninvention of the
gun wouldtragically changeAfrican history.
The Big Five
• How did the West African kingdom of Songhai differ from the other West African kingdoms?
• How did cultural diffusion influence the rulers of Songhai?
• Describe the Trans-Saharan trade.• What led to the collapse of Songhai?• How did the European invention of the gun
tragically alter African history?