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300
Ghana Empire Came To Power
The Ghana empire was the first major state of its kind in West Africa. It was founded in AD 300. The capital was at Koumbi Saleh, in present-day Mauritania. Ghana was extremely wealthy and powerful, controlling not just trans-Saharan trade, but also massive gold deposits. There were rumors that the streets were paved with gold and that the emperor of Ghana routinely tied his horse to a nugget of pure gold. This empire was ruled primarily by different princes. -
1235
The Ghana Empire Fell
The empire was destroyed in the late 11th century. It was taken down by the Muslim Berbers of the Almoravid Empire. They said they attacked the empire because of their half-hearted adoption of Islam. Even though they said it, historians believe that they attacked because of their desire of gold and trade routes. Another name for the Ghana empire is “Wagadu.” Their main source of wealth came from the mining of iron and gold, and they produced strong weapons. -
1300
Mali Empire Was Founded By Sundiaata Keita
The Mali Empire was one of the largest and greatest empires in Western Africa. This empire took the place of the Ghana empire after its fall. This empire would fall due to civil wars among other things. -
1460
The Songhai Empire Replaced The Mali Empire
This empire was one of the greatest in Western Africa. The Songhai was led by king Sunni Ali for a while. This kingdom lasted from C. 1460- C. 1591. -
Timbuktu Became An Important Commercial City
Timbuktu was an important commercial city. It is located in Mali. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region. It is one of the eight administrative regions of Mali. Mansa Musa was the king and he was the richest man in history. It became a major trading city. Timbuktu is 20 kilometers north of the Niger River. It settled in the 5th century BC. It is a 21 hour 56 minute flight from where we are now. Plane tickets for Timbuktu are in the thousands. -
The Kingdom Of Congo Came To Power
The Kingdom of Congo had a population of around 100,000 people. This Kingdom Lasted from approximately the 14th century to the 19th century. This kingdom prospered by trading copper, ivory, and slaves along the Congo River. Congo kings were converted to Christianity by the Europeans. -
Mungo Park Discovered The Niger River Flows East, Not West
Mungo Park was a Scottish explorer of West Africa. After an exploration of the upper Niger River around 1796, he wrote a popular and influential travel book titled Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa in which he theorized the Niger and Congo merged to become the same river. It’s rich soil gave rise to several civilizations; it also helped unite the region by enabling merchants and travelers to spread goods and ideas up and down the river. -
The Demands For Slavery Increase
In 1824 the slavery rates in West Africa increased and a number of states became centered on the slave trade and domestic slavery increased dramatically. When slavery increased about half of the population was put into slavery. After slavery increased populations for each state was decreasing. Some Africans were taken to other countries and some stayed in their state but was owned and forced to do work, and many places in Africa were slavery areas. -
Africa Faces European Imperialism
Between the 1870s and 1900. Africa faced European imperialist aggression, diplomatic pressure, military invasions, and eventual conquest and colonization. At the same time, African societies put up various forms of resistance against the attempt to colonize their countries and impose foreign domination.The european imperialists were pushed into africa and were motivated by three main factors economic, political, and social. -
Slavery Comes To An End In West Africa
In 1875 slavery in west Africa was ended, but most areas ended around the 1860s. The emancipation proclamation is what mainly ended slavery in west Africa, but it didn’t fully end slavery. After the civil war, slavery was officially ended for many places, but for west Africa, slavery didn’t end until 1875 because many people didn’t budge when it came to freeing their slaves. When slavery ended, many people were free but many also died.
