How Does Geography Affect The Ghana Kingdom

Geography can affect culture, society, and trade in many different ways. Geography can affect a Kingdoms culture by determining the main language spoken. It can also affect the clothes that the people of the kingdom may wear. Geography also affects the culture by the type of government and the religion that is the most common.

Geography also had a major effect on the society of a kingdom. Geography effected the kingdom if it participated in farming. By farming, the kingdom was provided with resources needed to trade successfully. It also led to migrations of people moving from place to place. Geography also determined the politics of a kingdom in Africa.

Geography placed a major role in trading between multiple Kingdoms. If mountains were in the trade route, the people may have had to find a

different trade route. The people looked to see if water was present in the trade route for ships to travel on. The terrain and climate also played an important role in the trade of a kingdom.
One kingdom that was affected by geography in a large way was the Ghana kingdom in West Africa.

The Ghana kingdom dates back to the 9th and 11th centuries. The kingdom was known to be extremely wealthy due to the fact that it sat on a large gold mine. The resources provided from the gold mine led to a prosperous trading system for the Ghana kingdom. Another important factor in leading the Ghana kingdom to extreme wealth was a strategic governing system. The Ghana kingdom was also known as the Wagadugu. Wagadugu was discovered by Arab travelers that recorded their findings while on their journey. Ghana was the name given to Wagadugu kings and was also used to describe the wonderful and mysterious place that they had discovered. Records of the Ghana kingdom dates all the way back to the 4th century. Hundreds of years later, the kingdom became fully established and began to become extremely wealthy through the trade of their resources. The nation became known as Soninke. In the year 1000 B.C.E, the kingdom had to undergo a strategic expansion and also took control of a decent amount of land. Ghana would later go on to become one of the leading trading system in the

world.
The society of the Ghana kingdom in Africa was definitely a unique one. The Ghana king was known as Ghana or war chief, to the people. Whatever the king said to his people, was law and the people listened to him and obeyed him. The king was commander in chief on highly organized army, controller of all trade activities, and he was the head administrator of justice in his kingdom. The mayors, civil servants, counselors, ministers, and many other important people of the kingdom were chosen only by the king. Each and every day, the king would gather a court with his people to listen to each and every single complaint that his people have. Drums sounded throughout the kingdom when it was time to gather the court and begin complaining. No matter how little or important the complaint was, the king listened to each one and gave his judgment for each one. The hearing would normally remain peaceful unless a complaint of criminal nature surfaced. A major act of criminal nature was known to be the denial of debt and the shed of human blood. All criminals were given a drink from the king to determine if they were guilty or innocent. The drink given to the criminals consisted of a mixture of sour and bitter wood and water. If the criminals consumed the drink and vomited, they were innocent and were celebrated for being innocent. If the criminal did not vomit the mixture up, they were claimed as guilty and suffered the wrath of the king. As the kingdom continued to capture land, the inhabitants were examined by the king to test their loyalty. If the people behaved as the king wanted, they were granted autonomy. If the people defied the kings orders, they were appointed watchdogs. The society of the Ghana was a unique, but a successful one.