Background
The African Trading Kingdoms
consist of three main cultures, Ghana, Mali,
and
Songhai, all located in West Africa. All
three kingdoms maintained vast trading networks
across the Sahara desert and into the Middle East and
North Africa. The main
export was gold,
which made each kingdom wealthy and strong, and provided
them with the conditions necessary for cultural and
intellectual achievement
Islamic Influences
Ghana,
Mali, and Songhai were all influenced by
Islam  to different degrees. The kings
of Ghana often had Islamic advisors, while Mali
and Songhai established Islamic Empires after
converting. In Mali, the emperor
Mansa Musa
was famous for his
pilgrimage to Mecca, one of
the
Five Pillars of Islam. This pilgrimage gained
Mali closer ties with the Islamic world, and increased
trade and
cultural diffusion between Mali and the Muslim Empire.
Spread of Ideas
During the 1400s, Timbuktu
became a center of learning under the leadership of Mali
emperor, Mansa Musa. Again, this is the influence
of Islam, with Islamic
scholars traveling from
around the Muslim world to study and teach and the University
of Timbuktu. This interaction helped to spread
ideas about Africa to the outside world. Commerce
Ghana, Mali, and
Songhai established trade routes that were in use for
centuries. Early  trade
networks were setup inside of Africa. As these
networks grew and became more prosperous, they expanded
to include the Mediterranean and then eventually Europe.
Trade goods included gold, salt, cooper,
iron, various minerals, and agricultural
products. A negative effect of this
interaction was the start of the
slave trade, when
Europeans needed a cheap, reliable labor source for
their New World colonies. Migrations
Many
migrations occurred throughout Africa. This
resulted in a diversity of cultures across the
continent as ideas and beliefs were
spread. African
cultures included
hunter-gatherers,
fishers, farmers, and cattle herders.
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