Cultural Exchange In West Africa

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.

In Basil Davidson’s video, “Different but Equal”, Davidson examines ancient Africa, and how Africans were perceived in ancient and modern times. Davidson discusses pre-colonized Africa and its history, and how racism prevailed in the past and in modern day. By discussing early civilizations, as well as modern day perspectives, Davidson allows the viewer to have expansive information on how individuals view Africans and their culture.

Africa is known as the origin of the human race. Since that is the case, Africa has had the most opportunities to impress the modern world. Africa has done just that. Africa had three major kingdoms, each of which were major successes. Throughout history, Africa’s kingdoms have utilized their natural resources to become some of the most prosperous kingdoms the world has ever seen. Also, the rulers of said kingdoms have used no nonsense policies, both domestic and foreign, to decrease crime rates and peacefully trade. And, lastly, Africa’s natural geography has helped the African people be some of the most successful. Whether it’s the desert or the densely vegetated areas, Africa’s geography has helped it’s people. Before the arrival of the

The empire of Mali was established around 1235 C.E. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita, when he united the tribes of Malinke. He then led these tribes to overthrow the ruler Soso. The empire then became stronger, and took over many surrounding areas. When Mansa was the emperor he made many changes to the way he ran the society. ”The empire was then divided up into provinces that were each led by a governor called a ferba” (ducksters.com). The religion of Islam played an important part in the government and many of the government admin. Mansa Musa was thought of as one of the most famous emperors of Mali. He is best known for his pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It is said that Mansa was a very wealthy man and brought over 60,000 people

Colonialism and Imperialism affected our world both positively and negatively. On one hand, Imperialism has often been linked with racial segregation, manipulation, and hardship. On the other, it has been said that many colonial powers contributed much in terms of schools, roads, railways, and much more. Whether this time period was constructive or harmful, it has played a large part in shaping our lives today.

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 Musa’s hajj influenced the world’s perception of West Africa because it showed how many people were Muslim and the amount of resources West Africa had.

In Africa during the Post-Classical era, 600-1450 CE, the Saharan was no longer a barren wasteland hardly suitable for travel, but, an essential part of both North African and Sub-Saharan West African societies. Camels and caravans allowed for quicker and more effective traveling. With trading becoming increasingly popular in this area, it provided the resources to build new and larger political structures. During this era, Africa’s economy began to change and the western part of Sub-Saharan was no different. With the Trans-Saharan trade routes ability to increase with the help of wealthier Islamic states, it allowed for the spread of religious and political ideas such as larger empires and the Islamic faith in which both greatly influenced

During the period of imperialism in Africa all of the countries were competing for the title of being the richest and the strongest. In fact, the whole scramble for Africa was an opportunity for countries to enhance their overall economy. For example, King Leopold II of Belgium was determined to get the area of land so he can become more wealthy. France’s politicians thought that an overseas company would strengthen the country when it came to wealth, prestige, and power, so as a result they invested in land more toward the west and north-west. Britain wanted to protect their trading routes which required them to purchase land in East Africa, and they they soon discovered the rewards of the land so the were determined to obtain as much as possible.

Mansa Musa, who ruled from 1312 to 1337 CE (often referred to as “the golden age of the Mali Empire”), was the tenth mansa, or king, of the Mali Empire, which was located in the Sahara Desert and “stretched across two thousand miles from the Atlantic Ocean to Lake Chad” (Alkhateeb; Tesfu). In 1324 CE, Musa, a Muslim ruler, decided to begin his pilgrimage to Mecca, called the Hajj, which is the fifth pillar of Islam. Mansa Musa’s visit to Cairo, Egypt during his Hajj to Mecca had an incredibly negative impact on the economy in Egypt for over a decade.

Ghana and Mali were one of Africa’s greatest ancient civilizations. The Ghana kingdom was founded around the year 750, and developed between the Senegal and Niger River, while the Mali kingdom came about in 1240 after taking over Ghana. Rich in trade and supplies, their empires flourished under their rulers. The Ghana and Mali empire had a series of key similarities and differences throughout their years as a civilization, such as education, their culture, and their resource for trade.

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. All three of them shared the standard lifespan of incredible growth, expansion of wealth and resources, and then finally ending. All three of these empires starting from Ghana to Songhai chronology inherited the same trade routes and geopolitical and cultural traditions

In the book Medieval West Africa, Al- ‘Umari (1301–1394) described many actions of Mansa Musa that reflect him as a pious Muslim, and a person of high moral virtue. Many of these actions occurred during Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage to Mecca in 1312. However, even before then Mansa Musa readily accepted the religion of Islam and did everything in his power to be a pious Muslim. For example, when Mansa Musa is told that it is not permissible to have concubines even if you are a king he immediately replies “By God I did not know that. I hereby leave it and abandon it utterly!” (page 59). This provides evidence to his piety as he immediately accepts this belief with complete devotion, and his

Mansa Musa was a Medieval African emperor who ruled over Mali from 1312-1337. He is most well-known for his pilgrimage to Mecca that happened in 1324. He was the first Muslim African ruler to make the pilgrimage.

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.

A ruler named Samanguru killed Sundiata’s eleven brothers. Luckily, Sundiata made it out of the attack and survived to have a successful war against Samanguru. This war, called the Battle of Kirina, led to Sundiata becoming the king of Mali. Immediately, he made his army stronger. Trade had fallen off during the war between Ghana and Mali. Sundiata wanted the trade to continue. The northern part of the Niger River, where plenty of gold came from, was in Mali. Therefore, the people had a lot of gold, but they lacked salt. Given that, Sundiata controlled the gold and salt trade. He also made some of his people work in the fields to grow crops.