United States History to 1877

Exploration to Revolution: Pre-Columbian Times to the 1770s

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

• Focus the unit on the following two questions:
  What was the importance of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai?
  How did West African empires impact European trade?
• Introduce the unit on the West African societies of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai by turn from 300 to l600 A.D.and that African people and African goods played an important role in arousing European interest in world resources.
• Explain to students that Ghana, Mali, and Songhai became powerful by controlling trade in West Africa. The Portuguese carried goods from Europe to West African empires, trading metals, cloth, and other manufactured goods for gold.
• Provide the following background information on the West African societies of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. See Empires of the Western Sudan Web site at http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ghan/hd_ghan.htm.
• Introduce the West African society of Ghana. Use the following Web sites for additional background information:
  http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica
  The Story of Africa West African Kingdoms from the BBC
  http://www.globaled.org/nyworld/materials/african2.html
  Ancient West African Kingdoms: An Overview from the American Forum for Global Education
  http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/ghtoc.html
  A Country Study: Ghana from the Library of Congress.
• Use graphic organizers at http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/torganiz.htm (Score Graphic Organizers) or http://teacherresourcecatalog.pwnet.org/docs/ReadingStrategies.pdf (Reading Strategies for Content Teachers) and have the students organize the following background information. Trade has played an important role in the economy of West Africa since very early times. As early as 300 AD, camel caravans carried salt from mines in the Sahara Desert to trading centers along the Niger River in present-day Mali. Their mission was to exchange the salt for the gold that was mined in forests near the headwaters of the Niger. West Africa's first kingdom, Ghana, became wealthy and powerful because it controlled the trade routes and commercial activities in its region.
• Add that the Empire of Ghana has no geographical connection with the modern African state of that name. Rather, its boundaries would have included most of modern Mali and parts of modern Senegal and Mauritania. Modern Ghana, formerly the Gold Coast during the Colonial Era, was named after this great state of African antiquity. The salt that was brought down from the Sahara was usually traded for gold. The gold was mined in the forests of Guinea, near the source of the Niger, and carried downstream to the markets along the Niger in dugout canoes. Many local merchants became quite wealthy. Ghana, West Africa's first kingdom, depended upon income from trade. It became so rich it was known as the Land of Gold. By the time Arab geographers began to write of West Africa in the 8th century A.D., the Empire of Ghana -- described as a "land of gold" -- was already in existence. This ancient state's origins, however, remain unclear. The Tarikh as-Sudan, a book of West African history written in Timbuktu around 1650 A.D., claims that the Empire of Ghana had 22 kings before the beginning of the Muslim era (622 A.D.), and 22 kings afterwards. If this is anything more than an exercise in symmetry, then we may expect the origins of the Empire of Ghana to extend back to the first few centuries A.D. Certainly there is good archaeological evidence for the existence of large towns within, and north of, the Inland Niger Delta by ca. 300 A.D.
• During the 10th and 11th centuries A.D., Ghana's fame grew and geographers and compilers of travelers' tales describe it in some detail at that time. In these writings, Ghana is depicted as a great military power, which could put "200,000 warriors in the field, more than 40,000 being armed with bow and arrow." The king, it was said, controlled the flow of gold from the south, and the traffic of salt from the north. In 1076 A.D., the capital of Ghana fell to the Almoravid Berber jihad, launched from Morocco. The once great Empire decomposed into a number of small feuding kingdoms. Out of this disorder would arise the greatest of West Africa's pre-Colonial Empires -- that of Mali.
• Introduce the country of Mali. Use a large world wall and have students locate the continent of Africa and the country of Mali. Discuss the location and what the climate and the land is like. Discuss the location of bodies of water. Have the students brainstorm what problems the people of Mali long ago may have experienced because of its location and environment (i.e. deserts, hot and dry climate, lack of water, difficulties in farming crops, etc.).
• Use the following Web sites for background information on the West African society of Mali: http://mali.pwnet.org/ ("Mali: Ancient Crossroads of Africa," is provided by the Virginia Department of Education and has numerous links, resources, lesson plans, pictures, and maps) and http://www.maliembassy.us/new_site/default.htm (Embassy of the Republic of Mali has current information on Mali, including the history, Exploring Mali, and Mali Interactive).
• Give the students a black line map of Mali. Have students color in the land (brown) and water (blue). Have them make a legend/map key.
• Discuss the following background information before conducting a simulation trade activity. The West African Empire of Mali was a rich and powerful empire. During this time, Mali was an important trade center that lay across the trade routes between the sources of salt in the Sahara Desert and the gold mines in West Africa. People came to Mali to trade in the market places. People from Eastern Africa, Northern Africa, and regions in the south also had to pass through Mali to do their trading. The West African empire of Mali was run by a king, like many other empires in Africa and like a pharaoh in Egypt. The king of Mali controlled the trade in West Africa and put a tax on things that were sold or traded within the country of Mali. This is how the Empire of Mali became so wealthy and powerful. Mali had market places where many items were traded like the agoras in ancient Greece. West African people from the deserts in the north carried salt, copper, cloth, books, shells, and pearls to these market places to trade. Traders from the south brought gold, nuts, ivory, and slaves. The people from Mali traded their own gold and products, and managed the trade between other countries. This is why Mali became an important trade center. People went to the market places in Mali to trade things they had for items they needed or to sell things for money. Merchants often traded gold for salt. Remember, for the people of the desert, salt was an important natural resource. People used salt for their health and to preserve foods. Without salt, people would grow sick and die, especially when the climate was hot. Salt was also used as money in Mali to trade or buy other goods.
• Complete the following simulation trade activity:
• Choose a student to be the king of Mali. The king's job will be to tax people that come to the market place in Mali.
• Divide the rest of the students into three groups:
  --people from the desert in the north (carrying rock salt, cloth, books, and shells);
  --people from the south (carrying gold nuggets and nuts); and
  --the people from Mali in the market place (had gold nuggets).
• Set up a market place and conduct a brief bartering/trading role-playing session. People passing through the market place may use salt rocks, gold nuggets, or coins to pay taxes to the king.
• Introduce the West African society of Songhai. Use the following Web sites for additional background information:
  http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/sghi/hd_sghi.htm
  Empires of the Western Sudan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
  http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/CIVAFRCA/SONGHAY.HTM
  Civilizations in Africa from Washington State University
• Explain that in the 15th century, the leaders of a kingdom known as the Songhai (also spelled Songhay) began expanding their domain along the Niger River. Like the kingdoms of Ghana and Mali that flourished in the region in earlier centuries, Songhai grew powerful because of its control of local trade routes. Timbuktu would soon become the heart of the mighty Songhai Empire. Timbuktu was founded at the dawn of the 12th century. Given the active trade network that already existed in the local region, it wasn't long before it became an important stopping place for merchants. By the mid-13th century, the kingdom of Mali had gained control of the lucrative trade networks of the upper Niger River. During the reign of Mansa Musa, Mali's most famous ruler, Mali expanded to become a sizable empire and reached its peak of prosperity. Timbuktu continued to be an important center of trade as a city in Mali.
• Read more on the history of Timbuktu at:
  http://www.timbuktufoundation.org/history.html
  History of Timbuktu from the Timbuktu Foundation
  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1911321.stm
  Timbuktu - city of legends from the BBC News
• Explain that the Moroccans defeated Songhay in 1591 and the empire quickly collapsed. In 1612, the cities of Songhay fell into anarchy and the greatest empire of African history came to a sudden close.
• Review by using graphic organizers at http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/torganiz.htm (Score Graphic Organizers) or http://teacherresourcecatalog.pwnet.org/docs/Reading%20Strategies%20for%20Content%20Teachers.pdf (Reading Strategies for Content Teachers) and have the students review the content covered on the West African societies of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai.

WEB SITES

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ghan/hd_ghan.htm
Empires of Western Sudan

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/4chapter1.shtml
Story of Africa: West African Kingdoms from the BBC

http://www.globaled.org/nyworld/materials/african2.html
Ancient West African Kingdoms: An Overview from the American Forum for Global Education

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/ghtoc.html
A Country Study: Ghana from the Library of Congress

http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/torganiz.htm
SCORE graphic organizers

http://teacherresourcecatalog.pwnet.org/docs/ReadingStrategies.pdf
Reading Strategies for Content Teachers

http://mali.pwnet.org/
Mali: Ancient Crossroads of Africa, provided by the Virginia Department of Education, has numerous links, resources, lesson plans, pictures, and maps

http://www.maliembassy.us/new_site/default.htm
Embassy of the Republic of Mali Web site has current information on Mali, including the history of Mali, Exploring Mali, and Mali Interactive

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/sghi/hd_sghi.htm
Empires of the Western Sudan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/CIVAFRCA/SONGHAY.HTM
Civilizations in Africa from Washington State University

http://www.timbuktufoundation.org/history.html
History of Timbuktu from the Timbuktu Foundation

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1911321.stm
Timbuktu - city of legends from the BBC News

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