The Kingdoms of Africa

It was in ancient Ghana that the trade routes running across the Sahara Desert met the trade routes

from the south. Luxury goods abounded as merchants exchanged ostrich feathers, gum, leather, kolanuts, ivory and gold. Little wonder that in those days, Ghana was frequently called the Land ofGold.African Kings - the Wealthiest Monarchs in the World

Ghana was by no means the only thriving state in Africa. Long before Ghana was founded in around300AD, the city of Axum on the east coast of Africa already had a valuable trade in ivory. There werealso many other kingdoms and states that likewise grew rich on trade and several were large,powerful empires with widespread influence across the continent.

For many centuries, the kings of Africa were among the wealthiest monarchs in the world. One ofthe most magnificent was Mansa Musa, who became king of Mali in 1307. He owned an ebonythrone decorated with elephant tusks and his personal weapons of war, his sabre, lance, quiver, bowand arrows, were made of solid gold.

Distributing Gold - Mansa Musa's Pilgrimage to Mecca

In http://www.tradersway.com/trading_platforms/fxstat_autotrading 1324, Musa, who was a Muslim,made a pilgrimage to Mecca, the holy city of Islam, accompanied by five hundred attendants, each ofthem carrying a golden staff. Eighty camels went, too, carrying 10 tons of gold dust. Along the routeto Mecca, the King scattered gold among the huge crowds that gathered to watch the royalprocession pass by.

Musa was famous, too, for encouraging scholars and poets. Timbuktu, the capital of Mali, became arenowned center of Islamic learning and there were several schools of music and dancing in the city.

The fabulous wealth of Musa's Mali had begun with his grandfather, Sondiata, who became king in1230. At that time, Mali was a small state but Sondiata built up its power by conquering theneighboring kingdom of Susu and invading more lands until his kingdom spread down to the RiverGambia.

Gold Fields in the Empire of Mali

Sondiata's new empire contained extensive gold fields. The power and wealth of Ghana had faded inthe 11th century, and Mali soon inherited the title the Ghanian kingdom had once held as the Landof Gold. It was well justified, for the wealth of the kings of Mali was so great that amazing storiesabout it were told as far away as Europe..

The Empire of Mali flourished until the 16th century and was a considerable influence on the spreadof the Muslim faith to the lands in the east occupied by the Hausa people. There were severalpowerful Hausa states such as Zaria, Kano, and Katsina and these, like Mali itself, became richcenters of Muslim learning and trade.

The Portuguese in Africa

So did Malindi, now part of Kenya on the east African coast, which had been trading with Chinasince the 11th century. In 1498, when the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama reached Malindiduring his first voyage to India, he was amazed to find the harbor full of merchant ships loaded withsilk, gold and ivory.

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to sail the coasts of Africa and during these explorations inthe late 15th century, they established settlements and trading posts. From their west coast

settlement,the Portuguese traded with the Kingdom of Benin, a great centre of culture which laydeep in the forests of what is now Nigeria.

The Fate of Benin, the Empire of Oyo

Benin became particularly famous for the bronze sculptures that were made by its artists, buttragically, the country was ruined by the slave trade. By the 17th century, Benin was a prime targetfor slave raiders and eventually became the most important slave market west of the River Niger. Somany people from Benin were exported as slaves that the kingdom was weakened and gradually itswealth and glory faded away.

Benin's neighbor, the Kingdom of Oyo lay much deeper inside the forest and was not so easy forEuropean and African slave raiders to reach. So, while Benin was weakening, the Alafins (emperors)of Oyo, protected by their relative isolation, extended their own power. By 1700 the Alafins hadconquered a huge empire that covered much of west Africa.

Seventy Years of Civil War

But after little more than a century, in 1821, there began some seventy years of vicious civil warsthat eventually tore the Empire of Oyo apart. Tribes turned against each other, defeated enemieswere sold into slavery, towns and even entire kingdoms were destroyed.

By the late 19th century, when more Europeans arrived to share out Africa between themselves, thegreat days of the African kingdoms were past. The change was total, for by 1914, the whole of EABuilder Africa except for Ethiopia and Liberia had become colonies of the European empires.

Sources

Davidson, Basil,Africa in History (Clearwater, Florida, Touchstone Books, 1995)ISBN-10:0684826674/ISBN-13: 978-0684826677

Walker, Robin, Classical Splendour: Roots of Black History - A Comprehensive Guide to the Ancientand Mediaeval History of Africa (London, UK. Bogle-L'Ouverture EA Builder Reviews Press 1999ISBN-10: 0904521338/ISBN-13: 978-0904521337

Website: Ancient Africa's Black Kingdoms

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