Name __________________________________________ Date ___________ Class _______ Period _____ West African Gold and Salt Kingdoms Directions: Examine the documents below and answer the questions that follow. Source: “Kingdoms of West Africa”, Susan Ramirez, World History: Human Legacy 1. How was the Empire of Ghana able to benefit economically from scarcity?
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Name Date Class Period West African Gold and Salt Kingdoms...2. Based on this document, what were two results of the Trans-Saharan Gold-Salt Trade in West Africa? The Kingdom of Mali
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The Kingdom of Mali MaliemergedagainstthebackdropofadecliningofGhanaundertheleadershipofSundiataoftheKeitaclan.Buttheregionhetookoverhadapastrichintradeandpowerfulrulers.SundiataKeitarosetopowerbydefeatingthekingoftheSosso-Soumaoro,knownastheSorcererKing,in1235.HethenbroughtalltheMandinkeclanrulers(orMansas)underhisleadership,declaringhimselfMansaoverall.HetookthecityofTimbuktufromtheBerbers(nomadsoftheSahara),transformingitintoasubstantialcity,afocusfortradeandscholarship.AsignificantportionofthewealthoftheEmpirederivedfromtheBuregoldfieldsinthesouth.Thefirstcapital,Niani,wasbuiltclosetothisgoldminingarea.Malialsoacquiredcontroloverthesaltminesinthenorth.Thepeopleofthesouth
Malians in the Americas? Malireacheditspeakinthe14thcentury.Whilesomescholarsdoubttheseaccounts,oneruler,AbubakarII,goesdowninhistoryasthekingwhowantedtocrosstheAtlanticOcean,andmayhavereachedtheAmericas.WhiletherearenoaccountsofMaliansreturning,thenextkingwhocametopower,MansaMusa,speaksofthevoyage.SoAbubakarequipped200shipsfilledwithmenandthesamenumberequippedwithgold,water,andprovisions,enoughtolastthemforyears...theydepartedandalongtimepassedbeforeanyonecameback.Thenoneshipreturnedandweaskedthecaptainwhatnewstheybrought.Hesaid,“Yes,OhSultan,wetravelledforalongtimeuntilthereappearedintheopenseaariverwithapowerfulcurrent...theothershipswentonahead,butwhentheyreachedthatplace,theydidnotreturnandnomorewasseenofthem...Asforme,Iwentaboutatonceanddidnotentertheriver.”TheSultangotready2,000ships,1,000forhimselfandthemenwhomhetookwithhim,and1,000forwaterandprovisions.Heleftme[incharge]andembarkedontheAtlanticOceanwithhismen.Thatwasthelastwesawofhimandallthosewhowerewithhim.Andso,Ibecamekinginmyownright."Source:MansaMusa,talkingtoSyrianscholarAl-Umari
Mansa Musa: Muslim King of Mali ThegreatestrulerofMaliwasMansaMusa,whocametothethronein1312.HeexpandedMali’sborderswestwardtotheAtlanticOceanandpushednorthwardtoconquermanycities.Duringhis25-yearreign,MansaMusaworkedtoensurepeaceandorderinhisempire.HeconvertedtoIslamandbasedhissystemofjusticeontheQuran.However,hedidnotimposeIslamonthepeople,butpromotedreligiousfreedomandtolerance.Source:ElizabethGaynorEllis,“KingdomsofWestAfrica”,WorldHistory
The Hajj of Mansa Musa MansaMusaobservedIslamictraditionbymakinghispilgrimagetoMeccain1324-1325.Hispartyformedagargantuancaravanthatincludedthousandsofsoldiers,attendants,subjects,andslavesaswellasahundredcamelscarryingsatchelsofgold.MansaMusabestowedlavishgiftsonthosewhohosedhimalongtheway,andduringhisthree-monthvisittoCairo(thecapitalofEgypt),hedistributedsomuchgoldthatthemetal’svaluedeclinedbyasmuchas25percentonlocalmarkets.Source:JerryHBentley,“IslamicKingdomsandEmpries”,TraditionsandEncounters
The City of Timbuktu ...OneofthechieftradecentersforsaltintheancientworldwasthefabledcityofTimbuktu.LocatedonthesouthernedgeoftheSaharaDesert,thecitythrivedonprofitsfromthesalttrade....Thesalttrademadethecityprosperous;inAfrica,saltrankedwithgoldandslavesinvalue.Formerchantstoriskcamelsoverhundredsofmilesofburningsand,theprofitsmusthavebeenenormous.Nordidthecitysquander[waste]itswealth.Timbuktu’ssalt