Atlantic Slave Trade Research Paper

The Mali Empire became a site of cultural exchange because of their immense wealth. According to an article “ Mali and the world Document C: Section from the Catalan Atlas” by Abraham Cresques created in 1375, it stated, “This king is the richest and most noble lord of all of this region due to the abundance of gold

In the mid 1300s, West African kingdoms started gaining more reigns and power. The main three kingdoms of West Africa were Ghana, Mali, and the Songhai empire. The vast expanse of the Sahara desert impacted the change from complexity to prosperity. The kingdoms of West Africa became so prosperous from their consistent incline of gain. Western African kingdoms gained their trade with the help of Mansa Musa, geographical and cultural aspects, and access to natural resources.

The head was created at the commission of the current Oba of the Benin to honor his father who has passed away. Kings were the only ones allowed to ask for their creation and the only ones wealthy enough to pay for it. The head was a piece required for the shrine each king made for his predecessor and through this they would communicate with the deceased king (Metropolitan Museum of Art “Head of an Oba”). The Benin people believed that the head acted as a conduit in which the past king gave his power to his son and through this the new king is accepting the responsibilities of being the ruler (Metropolitan Museum of Art “Head of an Oba”). The people of Benin( the Edo people) saw the head as the focus of a man’s overall character, all that he knows, his authority, his success and leadership(Metropolitan Museum of Art “Head of an Oba”)..

Can you imagine living in the empire of Mali? Knowing that people would die to go to Mali. Well, in 1230 to 1670, if you went to Mali you would be a very lucky person. “During the Empire of Mali, many traveled across of Mali just for one resource, gold. The desire of gold in Mali was so strong it caused merchants and the rest of North Africa to take a difficult journey from the Maghrib across the Sahara Desert to the region of Savannah and the forest called West Africa.

In West Africa, the Niger River provided gold to West Africa. The presence of gold throughout Africa contributed to abundant wealth throughout the medieval empires. Al Bakri, an Arab scholar, showed that the Ghana Empire used gold to decorate their horses, swords, and hair(Doc 1). The use of gold as decorations demonstrates that the western empires had abundant gold that could be used for other purposes besides trading.

These stateless societies had a legitimate, informal government but, had no official bureaucratic system. During the early Post-Classical era, Ghana played an important part in West African society because even though they had limited connections to outside kingdoms, they still traded with neighboring societies. Gold and salt were two of the major commodities that helped grow these small stateless societies into large and prospering empires. With trade increasing throughout the Saharan, the amount of gold and salt that was able to reach this region was able to increase, which allowed for both the resources and the incentive to build a larger empire. Between the years 700-1450 CE, elaborate court life, degrees of admission and military forces were created as a result of the increased trade through the Saharan.

In the extract Roth uses the term “fine specimens” this connotes a scientific approach, that he believes the objects to be good examples of sculpture or African Art. The line “the finest collection of plaques that is to be found in any museum” connotes arrogance, that he is proud that these objects have been acquired and that they are now owned by the British Empire. His arrogant and possessive tone occurs more throughout the extract and he states “govern native communities” this shows that Roth views the bronzes as commodities to be used not to gain an anthropological understanding in order to educate but instead to use the knowledge gained from the Benin Bronzes as a way to enslave people and gain more profit. It is clear that as a person of the early twentieth century, Roth clearly views the object as a means of gaining power and money. The line “what methods of government and what forms of taxation are most suited to the particular tribes” again

African kingdoms have been trading enslaved people long before the Atlantic Slave Trade. The Trans-Saharan set up a foundation for the African kingdoms to sell their enslaved people for gold and hard goods. Before Europeans brought over African slaves, the Europeans were enslaving lands they conquered and people

The artists within the Empire of Benin were typically appointed by the king and were assigned to a guild such as the ivory workers (Igbesanmwan) guild or the brass workers (Eronmwon) guild. Many of the sculptures and artefacts developed by Benin’s artist were used to depict and glorify the king and his royal family. When the King or Oba of Benin is depicted in a sculpture he is typically show wearing his crown and tunic woven of red coral beads as was the tradition in the empire. This type of sculpture symbolised the wealth and prosperity of the empire to the citizens and more importantly to other foreigners with whom trade was conducted. Benin was known for brass casting and the smelting of copper and zinc which had been ongoing in west Africa since 600 BC by the Nok Kingdom, Yoruba, Benin Kingdom and Mande people who later formed the Mali Empire.

With all the people in Mali it lead to many things, good and bad. There were three medieval kingdoms in West Africa, one of them was Ghana. In the 400s the Ghana empire was in existence as Arab merchants traveled to trade. Trading was not what created the Ghana empire, but it definitely made them richer. Another thing that made them richer was charging to protect the gold from neighboring networks.

Due to the Europe refusal to admit that the Benin people wasn’t barbaric at all , since they could create such high quality of art, they made them self believe that they reached an conclusion , by conclude that the Benin world was in contact with a civilization that suddenly disappeared. Moreover, they were justifying the invasion by claiming that they would bring humanity and peace upon a backwards and barbaric

The Yoruba people are an ethnic group located in various parts of Nigeria in which art forms play a huge role in their spiritual and political lives. The Yoruba are diversed and urbanized compared to other cultures and there is no set ruler of their political structure yet they have many autonomous rulers who are in charge of each city-state. The Yoruba people have numerous amounts of art pieces and many objects are placed on shrines to honor the gods and the ancestors. Sculptures are made out of wood, brass, and sometimes terracotta. Each on of these city-states have artistic specialist who are trained in an apprentice like setting where techniques are taught for aesthetic purposes.

They exported golds, ivory, and spices (Hansen, Curtis, Isaiah 45:14; 60:6; Psalm 72:15). From creation, the land of Ethiopia, and the land of Havilah the son of Ethiopia-Cush were blessed by God with abundance of gold and precious stones, of which the bible talked about the topaz of Ethiopia and also said that the gold of the land of Ethiopian Havilah is good, and in the land was bdellium and the onyx stone (Job 28:19; Genesis 2:11-12). Topaz and onyx are beautiful precious stones, of which Lucifer was once covered with them in the Eden before iniquity was found in him (Ezekiel 28:12-15). And the bible also said in “Genesis chapter 2:11” that there is bdellium in the land of Havilah. Bdellium

Orompto and Ojigi were were skilled commander and power king respectively. The former was also a successful statesman who regained the lost military while the latter was one in whose reign, Dahomey was brought under the authority of Oyo empire. (revealed by Aderibigbe, 1977) This empire invested greatly in agriculture, and trade in craft and agricultural products. They engaged in distant trade even to as far as Hausa land.

The Early African Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai were established sufficiently and later met their demise. The Early African Kingdoms were able to progress in economy and political structure by the actions of their leaders, location, religious influences, and geographical features. Religion influenced the African economy, political structure, and cultural practices. All Early African Kingdoms took advantage of the gold and salt trade and used it to hike in power. Sundiata Keita, Mansa Musa, Sunni Ali, and Askia the Great abetted their kingdoms, economy, and society.