WHAT WAS AFRICA LIKE IN THE 14TH CENTURY?
WHAT WAS AFRICA LIKE IN THE 14TH CENTURY?
West Africa- Mansa Musa
Mansa Musa was the king of the Mali Kingdom and is considered the richest man who ever lived. His wealth has been estimated at over $400 billion. The current richest man in the world, South African born Elon Musk has a net worth of $264 billion. Dangote has a net worth of $28 billion.
HOW DID HE BECOME SO RICH?
The kingdom of Mali spread across parts of modern-day Mali, Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Mauritania, and Burkina Faso. Mansa Musa controlled all the gold and salt trade in these areas. The years between 1100 and 1600 are known by historians as the golden age of African trade. In the 14th century there was a big demand for West African gold and this increased trade routes. These Trans- Saharans routes were used for trade, travel and scholarship. The Sahara desert actually linked numerous African countries through trade and didn’t separate them as some have tried to argue.
HOW DID HE BECOME KING?
According to the eye witness account Mansa Musa gave to the Sultans of Egypt, his predecessor Bakari 2 departed on a large fleet of ships to explore the Atlantic Ocean and try and reach the Americas. He handed the kingdom to him just before his departure.
LEGACY
Mansa Musa brought scholars and architects from across the Islamic world to Mali. Timbuktu had a huge library and University. Mali today still has over 700,000 manuscripts. His skillful administration left the empire well-off after he died.
Should one man own all the gold? Look out for Mansa Musa in a historical fictional comic soon to be released by one of our admins Mpilo Mizere early next year.
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