Lesson 16: Ghana: A West African Trading Empire

• Ghana

  war chief
• Ghana


  a medieval civilization and empire in West Africa
• King


  • head of army
  • final decisions in matters of justice
  • led religious worship
  • acquired great wealth through control of gold and trade
  • large hierarchy of officials (Muslim) helped govern
• At court, the king conducted the business of


  his empire and heard the people's concerns
• Royal inheritance was matrilineal, meaning it was traced through


  woman's bloodlines
• Ghana's military


  • regular army
  • reserve forces
  • elite soldiers
• Regular army


  • several thousand career soldiers
  • secured borders
  • suppressed minor revolts
  • maintained peace and order
• The color of a soldier's tunic and the number of feathers in his headdress indicated...


  rank
• Every man in the Ghana empire was required to complete


  military training
• Special groups of soldiers were selected for their courage, honesty, and intelligence and served the king as


  bodyguards, escorts, and military advisors
• Ghana was located at the cross roads of major trade routes south of the Sahara and along the rivers, bringing the empire great wealth and power.
• What two groups helped the king govern? How?


  • large hierarchy of officials - in charge of diff parts of Ghana's society (armed forces, industry, tax collection, foreigners)
  • governors - rules parts of the empire (capital city, conquered areas)
• trans-Saharan trade


  trade between peoples north and south of the Sahara
• Camels should travel several days without stopping, which sped up travel times.
• The location of Ghana allowed officials to tax traveling traders going both ways. Traders payed for importing and exporting goods in Ghana.
• A larger variety of goods came from the southern forests of West Africa.
• Trans-Saharan trade grew due to the


  introduction of camels and spread of Islam
• Travel across the Sahara was challenging.


  • caravans lost their way
  • traders died in the desert
  • dehydration
• North Africa traded...


  salt, copper, cowrie shells
• South Africa traded...


  kola nuts, hides, leather goods, ivory, slaves, and gold
• The spread of Islam contributed to the growth of trans-Saharan trade:


  besides wanting to convert West Africa, Muslims also wanted to control trade
• By 400 C.E. large amounts of gold were being made into Roman coins in


  North Africa
• By 1000 C.E., Ghana's empire dominated


  the trade routes between North and West Africa
• Ibn Battuta


  a Muslim historian and traveler who crossed the Sahara with a trade caravan in 1352
• Differences in geography led to different methods of transportation along the trade routes between North and West Africa. 


  Camels donkeys, and porters all contributed to the transport of trade goods.
• 1 load of salt


  1/6 of an oz of gold (importing)

  1/3 of an oz of gold (exporting)
• North Africa wanted gold from the


  forests south of Ghana
• West Africa wanted salt from the 


  Sahara
• Wangara


  the secret source of gold
• Taghaza


  village built with salt
• Gold was valuable to the West Africans for

  trade
• Salt was valuable to the West Africans.


  • diet to replenish salt lost through perspiration
  • keeping food fresh
  • for cattle
  • taste
• Production of salt:


  • evaporation
  • mining
• Taghaza relied on trade caravans because


  no food was produced and they had to trade for it
• How taxes benefited the Ghana empire:


  • enriched treasury
  • financed armies (protected and allowed king to conquer other territories)
  • (traders benefited with safer trade routes)
• How did the gold-salt trade benefit Ghana?


  generated tax revenue
• Steps of a silent barter with the Wangarans:


  1. traders spread out their goods along the river
  2. traders beat the drum
  3. Wangarans spread out gold dust next to the goods
  4. Wangarans beat the drum
  5. (repeated until traders were happy with the amount of gold dust)
  6. Traders take the gold dust
• Advantages of the silent barter system:


  • enabled people who spoke different languages to trade
  • allowed the Wangarans to protect the secret location of their gold mines
• Kumbi (capital of Ghana) had the


  busiest marketplace in the West that was most known for its slave market
• Currency in Ghana:


  gold dust