Empires of West Africa

1
Empires of West Africa

• Ghana

2
Location

• The Empire of Ghana was located in modern day
  Senegal, Mali, and Mauritania.
  
• It was north west of present-day Ghana.

3
Origins

• Specifics are unknown!
• Its believed that the people of Ghana were
  farmers called the Soninke.
  
• After being attacked by nomads, the Soninke
  joined together.
  
• They were led by a leader from outside of their
  community.
  
• This banding together formed the Empire of Ghana.

4
Origins

• Farming led to food production for the people of
  Ghana.
  
• Population increased.
• Iron became a useful tool and weapon.

5
Trade

• Trans-Saharan Trade Route
• Gold and Salt were the main products.
• The use of the camel for transportation increased
  trade.
  

6
Silent-Barter

• A process in which people exchange goods without
  ever contacting each other directly.
  
• Salt traders left salt on the riverbanks.
• Gold traders came and picked up the salt, leaving
  gold in exchange.
  
• If the salt traders approved, all was well.

7
Strength from Trade

• Trade increased Power and Wealth Increased
• Military strength grew.
• Ghana gained control of the trade routes.
• Cities in Ghana, along the trade routes, grew.

8
Other Important Goods

• Wheat
• Leather
• Cloth
• Gold Tassels

9
Trade Routes

• Trade routes were protected by Ghanas army.
• Since trade routes were safe, there was more
  trade.
  
• More trade MORE MONEY!

10
Taxes

• Ghanas leaders collected taxes from traders.
• Taxed on goods they sold.
• Taxed on goods they bought.
• They also collected taxes from the people they
  conquered.
  
• Forced to pay tribute (taxes) to support the army.

11
Gold

• Ghana traded gold.
• Ghanas kings kept much of its gold.
• People were not allowed to own gold nuggets (they
  would be kicked out).
  
• People could own gold dust to use as a form of
  money.

12
Expansion of Ghana

• Conquered neighboring lands.
• Kept the riches from trade.
• Assigned a king to rule each conquered land.
• The king was similar to a governor.
• They would answer to the main king.

13
The Fall of Ghana

• Ghana lasted until 1200 AD
• Muslim invaders (Almoravids) came in and forced
  them to convert to Islam.
  
• Almoravids let their animals overuse the land
  making it unfertile and unusable.
  
• There was a rebellion within the empire.

14
POSTER ON GHANA

• Create a poster that promotes trading in the
  Empire of Ghana.
  
• Your poster should have the following
• A title AND your name!
• At least 4 reasons why you would want to trade in
  Ghana.
  
• At least 4 pictures showing products, location,
  etc.
  
• COLOR!

15
POSTER ON GHANA

• On the back
• Write one paragraph on why the leaders of Ghana
  would require traders to pay a fee for trading
  their goods.
  
• Think about the taxes that are placed on goods
  today when they are traded between countries.