Chapter 12Ghana Empire

12. 2 ~ Ghana’s Government and

Military (pages 146-147)

1. Why would the king of Ghana hold court every day in his kingdom?

Ghana’s King would probably hold court everyday to keep order within the kingdom and check on his fortune within the kingdom.

2. If you were an Arab visitor to Ghana, based on your observations how would you know that Ghana was rich in gold? What were some of these

observations?

The way that the king dressed with gold accents.

Soldiers with swords decorated with gold, hair braided with gold, and guard dogs with gold collars around their neck.

A large gold nugget used as a hitching post for the King’s horse.

3. Why would the king of Ghana only allow the people of his kingdom have gold dust and he kept

all other types of gold?

The King of Ghana wanted to tightly control the gold within the kingdom.

4. If the king of Ghana were to die, his sister’s son would take the throne. How is this different to a kingdom in Europe?

In Europe, the king’s son would take the throne.

5. Even though the king of Ghana had a paid army of elite men, what did the king do in advance in order to prepare for a larger war/battle?

The King of Ghana made sure that every man within his kingdom knew how to battle in time of war. This was smart because then he did not have to take the time to train them.

12.3 ~ Trade: The Source of Ghana’s

Wealth

1. How did Ghana’s location allow for it to become a wealthy kingdom?

Ghana’s location allowed for it to control the trans-Saharan trade. Traders who traded with North Africans had to pass through Ghana in order to make that trade.

Ghana was able to tax these traders as they passed through its kingdom.

2. If you look at the map on page 149, describe why goods were transported by that person/animal in the different locations.

Donkeys: These animals were able to cross over the Atlas Mountains and wooded/rocky areas.

Camels: These animals were able to cross through the Sahara desert due to their adaptations to the environment.

Porters: These men were able to take the goods and load them onto cargo ships along the coasts.

3. Why would many travelers/traders stop at Taghaza?

Taghaza was a location that mined salt and salt was an excellent material to sell to people living away from the desert.

Salt allows you to replace salt in your body due to sweat and it also preserves meat.

12. 4 ~ The Gold-Salt Trade

1. Why was salt more important than gold to the West Africans?

The people who lived below the Sahara did not have an ample supply of salt and they needed it to survive.

2. Why do historians believe that if Taghaza did not have salt to offer, it would have been a non-existent location in history?

Taghaza only had salt to offer. It was not a place where someone could farm easily so they had to import food into the area in order to feed the people mining for salt.

3. Even though traders had to pay a tax when they entered and left the kingdom of Ghana, they may not have cared about the cost because Ghana protected their goods from raiders along the trade routes. Explain how this

system of tax/trade benefited everyone that was involved.

The taxes that the traders paid in Ghana helped finance the army that Ghana provided to protect these traders along the trade routes.

12.5 ~ The Exchange of Goods

1. Explain the process of silent bartering with the Wangarans.

The traders would spread their goods along the river and then beat on the drum to let the Wangarans know that a trade has been offered.

If the Wangarans liked the goods, they left gold dust next to the goods. They beat on the drum and then left.

If the traders thought it was a good offer, they took the gold dust and left. However, if the trade was not good, the trader left until the Wangaran made another offer.

During this entire trade, not a word was exchanged. Eventually the trader & Wangaran met after the trade was final.

2. What were the two advantages to silent bartering?

People who spoke different languages were able to make trades.

The Wangarans were able to keep their location of the gold mines a secret from traders.

12.6 ~ The Decline of Ghana and the Rise of Mali

1. In the year 1,000 C.E., Ghana was at its height of power and prosperity. What two things led to its downfall?

War was one area that made Ghana decline.

Loss of natural resources was another area that strained Ghana’s empire.

2. How does Ghana’s decline mimic what is happening today in Africa?

Many countries within Africa are in war and they are also having a difficult time with clean drinking water.

3. What new empire took over Ghana and it too relied heavily on trade?

Mali continued where Ghana left off. It relied heavily on trade, especially in gold because that is what many foreign traders were interested in obtaining.

Interesting facts: List two things that you found interesting in this piece about the Ghana Empire.

Interesting facts will vary.