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Difficulty: EasyWest African Kingdoms (Ghana, Mali, Songhai)

The medieval West African kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai all achieved significant wealth and influence. Which of the following was the primary economic foundation of these empires?

  1. Control over the trans-Saharan trade routes exchanging gold and saltAnswer
  2. B
    The cultivation and export of cash crops like sugar and tobacco to European colonies
  3. C
    Direct maritime trade with East Asian empires for silk and porcelain
  4. D
    The establishment of isolated, self-sufficient farming communities that avoided external trade

Answer

Control over the trans-Saharan trade routes exchanging gold and salt
The correct option is correct because the economic power of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai relied on their strategic location between the goldfields of West Africa (Wangara) and the salt mines of the Sahara (Taghaza). By controlling and taxing this trans-Saharan exchange, these kingdoms accumulated wealth, built major cities, and funded complex administrations.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the geographical and historical context of the medieval West African kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai.
These kingdoms flourished in West Africa from roughly the 4th to the 16th centuries.
This timeline helps rule out commodities associated with the post-1500 transatlantic economy.
2
Analyze the primary trade network that connected West Africa to North Africa and the Mediterranean.
The trans-Saharan trade network was the main commercial artery for West Africa.
This excludes maritime trade routes with East Asia, which were typical of East African Swahili Coast trade rather than West African kingdoms.
3
Determine the key resources traded along these trans-Saharan routes.
West African gold was exchanged for Saharan salt, providing the tax base and wealth for the ruling classes of these kingdoms.
This identifies the correct economic foundation of the empires.

Key Concept

The trans-Saharan gold-salt trade was the economic cornerstone of the medieval West African empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai, enabling urban growth, administrative centralization, and cultural exchange.
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West African Kingdoms (Ghana, Mali, Songhai)

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