Lesson video

Hi, I'm Miss Miah.

Thank you so much for joining me in this lesson today.

In today's lesson, you'll be able to explain how trade across the Sahel made West African Kingdoms richer, but also brought some problems.

Your keywords are on the screen now, and you can write them down if you'd like to.

So we've got Sahel, Mansa, devout, oral tradition, caravan.

Super.

Let's find out what these keywords mean.

The Sahel is a dry region bordering the southern Sahara Desert.

Mansa is the word used in the kingdom of Mali to refer to the ruler.

To be devout is to show strong religious commitment.

Oral tradition is a form of communication where ideas and knowledge are shared by word of mouth.

A caravan is a group of merchants traveling together on a long journey through a desert.

Super.

So those are our keywords.

Let's see if we can use them in our writing today.

So this lesson is all about the kingdoms of Sahel, and we've got two lessons cycles today.

Our first lesson cycle is to do with the wealth and culture in the Sahel and then we'll be looking at the problems in the Sahel.

I'm super excited about this lesson.

I hope you're too.

Let's begin.

So here we have a map of West African Kingdoms from 1200 to 1700 centuries.

Long before the arrival of Europeans, West Africa had been at the heart of some of the most important trade route between Africa, Europe, and Asia.

The center of this trade was known as the Sahel, a region on the border of the Sahara Desert.

These routes were formed as West Africa became known for its gold mines.

As Muslim traders traveled across the Sahel in search of gold, many West African societies became more connected to Islamic states and their religion.

In this period, new kingdoms began to flourish across the Sahel.

The most famous of these were the kingdoms of Mali and Songhay.

However, other kingdoms would later emerge such as Kano, in modern day northern Nigeria, and Mossi in modern day, Burkina Faso.

Why did the kingdoms of the Sahel begin to flourish?

Is it a, merchants from the Sahel migrated to Europe, b, the Sahel became the center of trade in West Africa, or, c, the kingdoms became less connected to Islamic states?

What do you think?

You can pause the video here and click Play once you've got the answer.

So what did you get?

If you got, b, you are correct.

The Sahel became the central trade in West Africa.

Let's move on.

So here on the map, we can see the kingdom of Mali, and here we've got the Kingdom of Songhay.

Here on the left we have an image of Djinguereber Mosque.

Many rulers began to convert to Islam.

Some were more devout than others.

For rulers who mixed Islamic and traditional African cultures and practices, historians have focused on all tradition, in the absence of written records.

The rulers of these new states began to convert Islam, some much more devout than others.

Those who were devout would make the pilgrimage Mecca, as well as warm, strong relationships with the Muslim scholars at the time.

These traders had access to Islamic literature and would also be written about by Muslim scholars, which means that we can learn much about them today.

Other rulers which continue to mix Islamic and traditional African practices and so are less commonly written about.

For rulers like Sonni Ali or the Kingdom of Songhay, you continue to mix both cultures and religious practices.

Historians have focused on all tradition in the absence of written records.

Here's an illustration of Mansa Musaa This mosque was built by Mansa Musa.

He used his wealth to build the Djinguereber Mosque.

Let's build on this.

So many of these rulers became very, very wealthy by controlling the supply of gold and all the Sahel.

And the most famous of these was Mansa Musa, the emperor of Mali, from around 1312 to 1327.

When he traveled to Mecca in 1324, it is believed that he bought 12,000 royal servants, each of whom carried a bar of solid gold.

He brought so much gold and gave so much out on his travels that he caused an economic crisis across the Middle East.

Mansa Musa would return to Mali and use his wealth to build this mosque at Timbuktu, which would become an important central trade.

The mosque became a visible sign of the new world, which was being produced in the region.

While some rulers like Mansa Musa became devouted Muslims and others like Sonni Ali attempted to make both cultures and practices, local West African people often remained committed to the traditional beliefs and practices.

Any attempt to convert them was often met with hostility.

This meant that many African kingdoms became a mix of cultures and religious practices with huge signs of wealth from gold mines to impressive mosques.

Over to you.

All rulers of kingdoms in the Sahel became devout Muslims as trade expanded.

Is this true or is this false?

You could pause the video here for this part of the check your understanding.

So what did you get?

If you got false, well done.

I'd like you to now justify your answer.

Is it because, a, all rulers remain committed to traditional African practices, or b, some rulers became devout Muslims, others mixed Islamic and African practices?

What do you think?

You can pause the video here.

So what did you get?

If you got b, you are correct.

Some rulers became devout Muslims, others mixed Islamic and African practices.

Let's move on.

Back to you again.

What have historians focused on to find out more about West African rulers who are not devout Muslims?

Is it, a, accounts from Muslim scholars b, oral tradition, or c, they cannot find out more?

What do you think?

You can pause the video again.

So what did you get?

If you got, b, oral tradition, well done.

Let's move on.

Task A.

I'd like you to complete the table to show whether each of the following statements is true or false.

So let's read through our statements.

Devout Muslims would make a pilgrimage to Mecca.

The center of trade on the border of the Sahara Desert was called the Sahel.

The rulers of Songhay mixed Islamic practices with Christian practices.

Mansa Musa took 120,000 royal servants on his pilgrimage, each carrying a bar of gold.

Rulers in West Africa became wealthy from controlling the supply of silver.

You could pause the video here and click play once you've completed this task.

So how did that go?

Let's have a look.

So the first two statements are true, and the last three are false.

Part two of this task.

I'd like you to now rewrite the false statements as correct statements.

So the three statements that we're looking at are the last three statements.

You can pause the video here and click Play once you've really written those statements correctly.

So what did you get?

Let's have a look.

The rulers of Songhay mixed Islamic practices with traditional African practices.

Mansa Musa took 12,000 royal servants on its pilgrimage, each carrying a bar of gold.

Rulers in West Africa became wealthy from controlling the supply of gold.

Well done for completing this task.

Let's move on to our second lesson cycle.

Problems in the Sahel.

So here we have an illustration of Mansa Musa.

Kingdoms, like Mali, Kano and Mossi, had access to large goldmines and would trade gold for textiles.

As these African kingdoms were rich in gold, it was the main product that they traded in return for other items.

Many traders in the Sahel were exchanging gold for textiles, cloth, and clothing.

This would become a problem for the African kingdoms as over time gold was valuable than the textiles they were getting in exchange.

The trade across the Sahel was therefore unequal as it meant wealth was being traded out of West Africa.

True or false.

Wealth was being traded out of West Africa.

Is this true or is this false?

You can pause the video here and click Play when you've completed the first part of this check your understanding.

So what did you get?

If you got true, well done.

I'd like you to now justify your answer.

Is it because, a, gold over time was far more valuable than the textiles it was being traded for?

Or b, merchants traveled to West Africa to take gold and gave nothing in exchange?

What do you think?

You could pause the video here and click Play when you're ready to continue.

So what did you get?

If you got a, you are correct.

Gold over time was far more valuable than the textiles it was being traded for.

Well done.

Let's move on.

Here we have a caravan.

Caravans were used to carry goods across the desert and every caravan required protection.

So the second problem, as you can see here, came in the form of thieves and robbers.

Caravans were used to carry goods across the desert.

They could be made of as many as 12,000 camels and every caravan need a protection.

To provide protection, kingdoms would use their military forces to guard the trade routes.

Unfortunately, more military action only led to more violence.

The violence would become a problem for kingdoms like Mali, which were eventually defeated in a series of battles.

After Mali was defeated, Songhay became the most powerful kingdom in the region.

As the kingdom of Songhay grew, the city of Gao, now part of Eastern Mali, became the Sahel's most important trading center and trade across the Sahel continued to grow.

The kingdom of Songhay became the most powerful kingdom in the Sahel after the fall of Mali.

However, the growing wealth of these kingdoms gained European attention in the 1440s.

Back to you.

Military forces were used to guard caravans on trade routes.

Why was this a problem?

Is it because a, the military forces were too weak, b, the military forces rebelled against the rulers, or c, more military force led to more violence?

What do you think?

You can pause the video here.

So what did you get?

If you got c, you are correct.

More military force unfortunately led to more violence.

Let's move on.

Back to you again.

Why did more violence become a problem for some kingdoms in the Sahel?

Is it because, a, violence spread into some kingdoms and led to the collapse of power, b, violence forced many European merchants to leave decreasing trade and wealth in the region, or c, violence led to some kingdoms trying to take gold from other kingdoms?

What do you think?

You could pause the video here and click Play once you've got the answer.

So how did that go?

Well, you shoulda got, a, violence actually spread into some of the kingdoms and led to the collapse of power.

Let's move on.

Task B, I'd like you to explain who you think makes the more convincing judgment about the problems in the Sahel.

So Jun says, "The biggest problem in the Sahel was the loss of wealth as gold was being traded out of West Africa in exchange for textiles which were less valuable.

" Jacob says, "Increasing violence was the main problem in the Sahel as the attacks on caravans spread to powerful kingdoms.

" What do you think?

You pause the video here and lick Play once you completed this part, the task.

So what did you get?

Let's have a look.

Your answer may have included something like this.

I think that Jun makes the more convincing argument about the problems in the Sahel as the loss of wealth would cause huge problems for the local kingdoms.

As the rulers, like Mansa Musa, had controlled the trade of gold, they had become more wealthy and powerful.

If this wealth continue to leave the Sahel, then these rulers would also loose their power and kingdoms might begin to collapse.

Task B.

Explain why someone might disagree with your response.

So what did you get?

Here is a model answer.

Let's read this together.

Someone might disagree with my response and argue that Jacob makes the more convincing judgment about the problems in the Sahel.

They might argue that the attacks on caravans, which led to increased violence were a greater threat to the local kingdoms and the loss of wealth.

This is because when increased violence spread from the trade routes into the kingdoms, rulers could be overthrown by rebellions rather than lose their power because of a loss of wealth.

Well done if you managed to include some of those key points.

We've now reached the end of this lesson, so let's summarize our learning.

So this lesson was all about the kingdoms of the Sahel.

You now understand that the Sahel was home to kingdoms that were rich in culture and wealth like Mali and Songhay.

These kingdoms became rich from the growing trade with the Islamic states, which also led to some West African rulers becoming devout Muslims.

There were growing problems in the Sahel as wealth was being traded out of West Africa and attacks on caravans became more common.

The wealth of the Sahel attracted European attention in the 1440s.

Thank you so much for joining in this lesson.