Cultural Exchange In West Africa

The accomplishments of trans regional exchange gold across Cario was due to the Mali empire. Mansa Musa who traveled to Cairo for a royal visit and Egyptian officials felt a lot of generosity from Mansa Musa who gave gold to any office of the sultanate (Doc 1). Since this document was written in the 14th century during the time of restoration of expansion trans-regional, it seems likely the economy in Cairo grew since the exchange of gold. Travelers who came to Timbuktu were amazed at how

In History of Africa, Shillington focuses on many aspects of African culture and factors that made Africa to be the continent that it is today. Chapter 5 primarily focuses on the Northern region of Africa and how empires took over and spread their ideology technology, and culture all through out the region. Even today some remnants of the Roman and Greek empire live on to this day (Shillington, 69.) Despite many people getting the impression that Northern Africa is only influenced by Arabic and Islam, these empires and their conquests are best understood through topics like intricate trading routes, farming, and the spread of religion. Shillington provides an in depth analysis of how many of these conquests affected Northern Africa centuries ago and today.

These stateless societies had a legitimate, informal government but, had no official bureaucratic system. During the early Post-Classical era, Ghana played an important part in West African society because even though they had limited connections to outside kingdoms, they still traded with neighboring societies. Gold and salt were two of the major commodities that helped grow these small stateless societies into large and prospering empires. With trade increasing throughout the Saharan, the amount of gold and salt that was able to reach this region was able to increase, which allowed for both the resources and the incentive to build a larger empire. Between the years 700-1450 CE, elaborate court life, degrees of admission and military forces were created as a result of the increased trade through the Saharan.

The first few pages of the book give us a background to how exactly Sundiata was given his royal authority he was born into it as the book gives us the past names of those kings who came before Sundiata and how they ruled how Mali become what it was while his father was the Ruler (Sundiata PG, 3). Sundiata was supposed to be a great leader and king as a child he was unable to walk like most people and Mali teased and mocked hi some even questioned if he was truly supposed to be this great leader that the prophecies gave warning of and that the griots foretold. But as time went on Sundiata grew strong and he learned how to walk I believe that this is proof in itself because if it was possibly any other person they probably would be unable to walk for the rest of there but Sundiata overcame this trial just like the many he would be facing later on in the story. Sundiata was also faced with exile and dealing with some family problems his older brother who is now the ruling king and took over the throne because their father passed away his older brother exiled Sundiata, his mother, sisters, and half-brother Manding Bory.

There are several versions of Sundiata’s birth and childhood, but there are two main versions that are agreed upon. One version of the story is that Sundiata was one of 12 brothers of the Mandinka royalty. They were unfortunately murdered by the jealous tyrant of Kaniaga, Samguru. Murdered all, except for Sundaita. It is said that Sundiata was spared because of he was sickly and expected to soon die anyway.

So Europe invaded Africa, took possession of Africa, and divided Africa into colonies of Europe. The period of invasion, lasting some twenty years, was more or less completed by 1900. There followed a longer period, between sixty and ninety years, of direct European rule, called colonial rule. This was a time of profound upheaval for all of Africa’s peoples. It brought irreversible changes” (4).

An area that was changed due to this, was the city of Timbuktu. It is located about 12 miles North of the southern edge of the River Niger. Subsequent to the pilgrimage, Timbuktu was transformed into a cultural center of the Mali Empire. Trade elevated immensely during this time and as the population grew, a university was created to educate the newcomers. Islam was spread through the merchants and by teachers at the University.

Imagine traveling through the Sahara Desert with 60,000 other people for four months. This is what it was like on Mansa Musa’s hajj. Mansa Musa was the king of Mali; he was a powerful and generous leader. Mansa Musa went on hajj because he was a Muslim. He wanted to show his commitment to Islam.

Mansa Mūsā was an emperor of the West African empire of Mali. He ruled from 1307 to 1312 and did many remarkable things during his ruling such as building The Great Mosque at Timbuktu. In the Middle East and Europe, he is best known for his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1224. Sundiata, Mansa Mūsā’s grandson or great nephew, founded his dynasty and was also a West African monarch who founded western Sudanese empire of Mali. He lead the path for Mansa Mūsā to become emperor in 1312 and also helped him with his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324.The world was awakened to the marvelous wealth of Mali due to the pilgrimage.

Some people lived in larger, centralized states, while other lived in simple village communities. Islam was one of the most widespread religions in Africa before missionaries came to convert them to Christianity. This might have been a more positive influence if the Europeans hadn’t viewed the Africans as a people in need of refinement and guidance instead of understanding and respecting their culture. However, one benefit of Europe’s growing control of Africa was that the transatlantic slavery slowly came to an end, but in East Africa, slavery continued to run rampant. Although the end of much of the slavery did rid Africa of much exploitation, it continued in other ways including the harvest of copper, ivory, and other resources taken from the Congo, civilians forced into hard labor for little compensation, and little to no control of the government was given to native

As for salt, it was seen as a major resource for its nutritional and preservation qualities. It was a vital resource that these Mali people used. The Niger river allowed the Mali empire to trade easily, as the current would calmly drift them into other civilizations. Both empires also utilized camels as the river was not always accessible. All in all these trade routes allowed these civilizations to expand their wealth, and distance of trade.

The African kingdoms Ghana, Mali, Songhai The African nations of Ghana, Mali, Songhai, shared so many characteristics between each other. For one primary comparison is, all three ancient empires relied on the trans-Saharan trading routes and their lush amount of gold, copper and other natural resources. They established many political ties with many Arab countries and nearby African societies. These three nations shared abundantly cultural similarities from just the rise of Islam.

The biggest impact of Mansa Musa's journey was in Mali itself, which became a religious and educational place based on the amount of exceptional people Mansa Musa recruited upon his return. He instituted mosques at Timbuktu and Gao. During his reign, Timbuktu became an important trade stop for caravans in the region, and an educational center that evolved into a university where history, law and theology were supported by royal funds. His influence on his people was to instill Islam into their lives, so much that his subjects became educated in religious and secular matters.

Wallerstein described how Cairo’s “economic crisis was accompanied by a breakdown of its monetary system.” The dramatic drop in the value of gold, which people majorly depended on as currency, showed that the economy there had clearly declined tremendously due to Musa’s distribution of gold in Egypt. Just as Alkhateeb stated, “the effect that Mansa Musa’s visit had on Egypt clearly shows the wealth and importance of the Mali Empire, even when it encountered far-off lands.” By the end of the fourteenth century CE, the economy in Egypt experienced a depreciation due to the substantial decline of the currency system. Although Mansa Musa set out on the Hajj in order to help others in need by generously giving out bountiful amounts of gold, the results ironically turned out to have a significantly negative impact that lasted for as long as 12 years—over an entire decade—until the Egyptian economy could gradually and finally recover from the damage Mansa Musa had

The Early African Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai were established sufficiently and later met their demise. The Early African Kingdoms were able to progress in economy and political structure by the actions of their leaders, location, religious influences, and geographical features. Religion influenced the African economy, political structure, and cultural practices. All Early African Kingdoms took advantage of the gold and salt trade and used it to hike in power. Sundiata Keita, Mansa Musa, Sunni Ali, and Askia the Great abetted their kingdoms, economy, and society.