Mali

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Africa’s Astounding Achievements
West Africa prior to the arrival of the Europeans was a thriving and flourishing land at the peak of its wealth and prosperity. The land which they inhabited was filled with natural resources such as gold and salt. This led the people of West Africa to great wealth and riches. The government was also supportive and brilliantly strategic, coming up with an intelligent taxing system which also led them to an advancement in the wealth category. Although it provided some tough geographic obstacles, the location of the West African Kingdoms proved to be very beneficial to their society. These three features all made up the successful civilization of Western Africa before the arrival of the Europeans. The following paragraphs assist to portray just how significant this culture was.

Unlike some parts of modern day Africa, during the 300’s and forthwith until their decline, most parts of the area were swimming in wealth. Cities including Ghana, Mali and Songhai were situated upon an area swarming with gold, salt and even iron specimens waiting to be retrieved. Al-Bakir observed in The Book of Routes and Realms: “...He sits in a pavillion around which stand ten pages holding shields and gold-mounted swords: and on his right hand are the sons of the princes of his empire, splendidly clad and with gold plaited into their hair” (Document 1). In this quote Al-Bakir expressed the true wealth of the city of Ghana. There was an excessive amount of gold, which can be observed by the excerpt that it was used for frivolous purposes. Ghana as well as Mali and Songhai were rich with resources which then meant that they used it for exorbitant intentions. Examples of this include silk carpet, silk umbrellas, golden bird...

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...vernment, acknowledging the amount of trading going on within their land. By applying tax to each visitor, the government showed brilliant intelligence and skillful techniques (Document 1). This was a significant achievement made by the civilizations and provided each one with an extensive amount of money that sent each city into a pool of wealth and riches.

Ghana, Mali and Songhai all proved to be advanced cultures in West africa from the years 300-1400. Each city flourished with wealth and proved to provide evidence of organized and stable governments. Resources such as gold and salt provided valuable trade materials. Each Kingdom showed independence and control over their people as well as skillful and thoughtful trade systems. Overall the empires of Western Africa were all advanced in their own way and came across many achievements during their peak of success.

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