However, as Askia the Great grew older, his power declined. The main reason for the Moroccan invasion of Songhai was to seize control and revive the trans-Saharan trade in salt and gold. The Empire fell to the Moroccans and their firearms in At its peak, the Songhai city of Timbuktu became a thriving cultural and commercial center where Arab, Italian, and Jewish merchants all gathered for trade. Economic trade existed throughout the empire due to the standing army stationed in the provinces.
Central to the regional economy were independent gold fields. The Julla merchants would form partnerships, and the state would protect these merchants and the port cities of the Niger. The Songhai economy was based on a clan system. The most common were metalworkers, fishermen, and carpenters.
Lower caste participants consisted of mostly non-farm working immigrants, who at times were provided special privileges and held high positions in society. At the top were noblemen and direct descendants of the original Songhai people, followed by freemen and traders. At the bottom were war captives and European slaves obligated to labor, especially in farming. Historian James Olson describes the labor system as resembling modern day unions, with the empire possessing craft guilds that consisted of various mechanics and artisans.
Criminal justice in Songhai was based mainly, if not entirely, on Islamic principles, especially during the rule of Askia the Great. Upper classes in society converted to Islam while lower classes often continued to follow traditional religions.
Sermons emphasized obedience to the king. Sonni Ali established a system of government under the royal court, later to be expanded by Askia, which appointed governors and mayors to preside over local tributary states situated around the Niger valley.
Local chiefs were still granted authority over their respective domains as long as they did not undermine Songhai policy. Tax was imposed onto peripheral chiefdoms and provinces to ensure the dominance of Songhai, and in return these provinces were given almost complete autonomy. Songhai rulers only intervened in the affairs of these neighboring states when a situation became volatile, usually an isolated incident.
Privacy Policy. Skip to main content. Search for:. Key Points The Songhai Empire was a state that dominated the western Sahel in the 15th and 16th centuries.
He continued to enlarge the empire, taking control of important Trans-Saharan trade routes as well as other cities and provinces of Mali. The new ruler, a devout Muslim , was responsible for few additional conquests.
Instead he centralized the bureaucracy, appointing virtually all of the mayors and provincial governors, established Sharia law throughout the empire, expanded Sankore University in Timbuktu and built numerous schools through Songhai. Askia Muhammad Toure also strengthened political and cultural ties with the rest of the Muslim world, encouraging the immigration of scholars and skilled workers from Arabia , Egypt , Morocco and Muslim Spain.
He was the first West African ruler to allow the exchange of ambassadors with these and other Muslim states. That period of peace and stability ended in when a civil war created an opportunity for Morocco Sultan Ahmad I al-Mansur Saadi to send an army to conquer Songhai. Al-Mansur hoped to control the West African gold fields and establish himself as the Caliph of Sudan.
The Songhai fell back in confusion particularly after Ishaq was killed by the Taureg who were allied with the Moroccans. The Moroccan Army, however, soon realized that conquering Songhai was far easier than governing it. Custom duties were paid in respect of each ship as well. By the 18th century the Fon king had absolute power and under his rule Dahomey became strong enough to capture neighbouring coastal states. The Fon were still paying tribute to the Oyo kingdom and this meant that they had to appease the Oyo with guns and other goods each year.
In , Dahomey conquered the Oyo kingdom, and three years later they pushed south to Savi and Whyad, Jakin was taken in but it was only in that the Fon won complete control when Whydah became a Fon colony.
This ushered in control of the coast and even visiting Europeans had to gain prior permission to go ashore. The arrival of the Portuguese in the 15th century in search of new trading opportunities changed the trade networks in West Africa. An important change was the new direction of the slave trade across the Atlantic Ocean instead of the Sahara desert. This increased the power of small West African kingdoms like the Asante and Dahomey kingdoms. It also contributed to the fall of the Songhai Empire, because the slave and gold trade were no longer going through the Songhai kingdom.
As a result, the Songhai rulers could not claim tribute and taxes from these kingdoms. The other change came from the growing slave trade. Portugal, Spain, France and Britain were the key players in this slave trade, which lasted for more than years. Because Portugal was the first to establish itself in the region and to enter treaties with West African kingdoms, it had the monopoly on the slave and gold trade. As a result, Portugal was responsible for transporting over 4.
During the 18th century however, Britain was responsible for almost 2. Due to expanding market opportunities in Europe and the Mediterranean, they increased trade across the Sahara and later gained access to the interior using the Senegal and Gambia River, which bisected long-standing trans-Saharan routes.
The Portuguese brought in copper ware, cloth, tools, wine and horses and later included guns, in exchange for gold, pepper, slaves, and ivory.
The growing trade across the Atlantic came to be called the triangular trade system. The Atlantic Slave Trade also known as the triangular trade was a system of trade that revolved around three areas. The first point of the triangle would begin in Africa, where large shipments of people were taken across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas The Caribbean, North and South America to be sold to work in colonies on plantations as slaves.
Once the slaves were offloaded in the Americas, the same ships would then load products from plantations such as sugar, cotton and tobacco. These products would be sold in Europe.
From Europe the ships would carry manufactured goods such as cloth, iron, rum and guns, which they would use in exchange for slaves and gold. Most captured slaves were taken between and , from the West African interior with the co-operation of African kings and merchants.
There were occasional military campaigns organised by Europeans to capture slaves, especially by the Portuguese in what is now Angola. This accounts for only a small percentage of the total. In return, the African kings and merchants received various trade goods including beads, cowry shells used as money , textiles, brandy, horses, and perhaps most importantly, guns. These guns became a very important trade commodity when West African kingdoms were increasingly organising their militaries into professional armies.
During this period England sold close to muskets a year to West African kingdoms. Slaves crossing the Atlantic Ocean endured inhumane conditions aboard the ships transporting them. They would travel naked and cramped into the hold of the ship chained together at the ankles and packed together side-by-side in holds which were about 1.
They were provided with buckets, which they had to use as toilets. This resulted in many slaves becoming sick and dying. Cases of fevers and small pox were common during the voyages. The health of slaves on board was made worse by the lack of medical attention.
Slaves would be regularly hosed down with water each morning and those that had died overnight, would be thrown overboard. The slave trade was abolished in by the British government. The French only abolished their slave trade in The continued Atlantic slave trade forced the British government to take responsibility to end slave trading.
They captured European ships and released slaves on board. This was made more difficult by the unwillingness of West african kingdoms to give up the slave trade. The British government tried to influence the Asante rulers to stop practising slavery in their kingdom with no success.
As a result, from the s, the British government began to colonise the Asante people in order to prevent the use of slave labour, but also as an excuse to take control of the rich gold mines of the Asante and to protect British commercial interests against French expansion in the region. Click here to read a lesson about colonial rule and African responses.
A royal mausoleum for the ruler of Songhai, Askia Muhammed built in Gao in the once powerful capital of the Songhai Empire. Picture source: baobab. The Songhai defence systemwas the largest organised force in the western Sudan; Not only was a political instrument, but also an economic weapon by virtue of the booty it brought in.
Muslim scholars at Timbuktu called Sonni Ali 'tyrannical, cruel and impious'. The Sonni's were driven from power by the Muslim Askiya dynasty. The following information will still be developed for this topic: - Travel and trade in Songhai at the height of its power Arab, Italian and Jewish merchants at Timbuktu - Learning and culture - Fall of the Empire: Moroccan invasion of Timeline - Gao was established - Timbuktu was established - Empire of Mali established and conquered Timbuktu and Gao - Timbuktu appeared for the first time on a European map - Gold trade flourished - from west Africa, through Timbuktu and Gao, to Europe - Large settlement of scholars and traders in Timbuktu - Songhay Empire established by Sunni Ali.
Only one man survived. Activity Put these events up on the board in the wrong order. Students should try to recall the correct order in their note books. Travel and trade in Songhai Trade significantly influenced the course of history in West Africa. Atlantic System, Contact with Europeans The arrival of the Portuguese in the 15th century in search of new trading opportunities changed the trade networks in West Africa. The Triangular Trade System The Atlantic Slave Trade also known as the triangular trade was a system of trade that revolved around three areas.
Songhai, African Empire, th Century. History Grade 10 - Topic 1 Contextual Overview. Know something about this topic? Towards a people's history.
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