West Africa (1108 – 1251 CE): Ghana’s Decline, Sundiata’s Revolution, and Benin’s Consolidation

Geographic and Environmental Context

As above.

Climate and Environmental Shifts

• Generally favorable rains, with localized dry spells.

• Flood-recession agriculture in the Inland Delta remained productive.

Societies and Political Developments

• Ghana (Wagadu) declined under internal fissures, shifting trade, and pressure from nomads and rival states.

• In the upper Niger, Sundiata Keita forged the Mali polity (crowned after the Battle of Kirina, c. 1235), uniting Mande chiefdoms and seizing the goldfields’ arteries.

• Gao persisted as a Songhay kingdom; Takrur remained an Islamic river state.

• Hausaland: city-states expanded walls, markets, and dynastic courts.

• Benin region: Ogiso-era town clusters consolidated toward the early Oba monarchy.

Economy and Trade

• Mali’s control of Bambuk–Buré gold routes shifted the balance from Ghana; salt from Taghaza/ Taoudenni supplied the Sahel.

• Caravans: copper from Takedda, textiles from Ghadames–Ghat, and horses from the Maghreb flowed south; gold, slaves, ivory, and kola moved north.

• Agriculture: Sahel grains; Inland Delta rice and fish; forest yams and oil palm.

Subsistence and Technology

• Irrigation and floodplain management in Inland Delta; iron hoes and sickles increased yields.

• Camel logistics refined; caravanserais multiplied along trunk routes.

Movement and Interaction Corridors

• Upper Niger trunk (Niani–Kangaba) under Mali;

• Gao–Air–Takedda copper axis;

• Senegal–Takrur routes to the Atlantic edge;

• Hausa corridors through Kano and Katsina toward the Sahara.

Belief and Symbolism

• Islamic courts in Mali, Gao, Takrur sponsored mosques and jurists; indigenous rites persisted in rural hinterlands.

• Griots preserved royal epics (e.g., Sundiata), legitimating rule.

Adaptation and Resilience

• Political succession from Ghana to Mali preserved caravan security.

• Ecological spread—Sahel grains + floodplain rice + forest kola—hedged climate risk.

Long-Term Significance

By 1251, Mali had supplanted Ghana; Gao, Takrur, Hausa, and Benin matured—setting up a 14th-century boom in gold, cities, and Islamic learning.

The Almoravids have substantial contacts with the Maghreb, but influences from the black Sudanic kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai play an important role in Mauritania's history for about seven hundred years—from the eighth to the fifteenth century.

Ghana, the first of the great West African Sudanic kingdoms, included in its territory all of southeastern Mauritania extending to Tagant.

Ghana reached its apogee in the ninth and tenth centuries with the extension of its rule over the Sanhadja Berbers.

This large and centralized kingdom controlled the southern terminus of the trans-Saharan trade in gold, ivory, and salt.

The capture of Koumbi Saleh in 1076 by the Almoravids had marked the end of Ghana's hegemony, although the kingdom continues to exist for another one hundred and twenty-five years.

The Mande, under the leadership of the legendary Sundiata, found the second great Sudanic kingdom, Mali.

By the end of the thirteenth century, the Mali Empire extends over that part of Mauritania previously controlled by Ghana, as well as over the remaining Sahelian regions and the Senegal River Valley.

Sundiata and his successors take over Ghana's role in the Saharan trade and in the administration and collection of tribute from vast stretches of the Sudan and the Sahel.

West Africa (1252 – 1395 CE): Mali’s Gold Age, Songhay’s Ascent, and Hausa–Benin City Networks

Geographic and Environmental Context

As above.

Climate and Environmental Shifts

• The onset of the Little Ice Age (~1300) introduced greater rainfall variability in the Sahel; core river basins and floodplains remained productive.

• Caravan viability continued with route adjustments to oasis conditions.

Societies and Political Developments

• Mali Empire reached its zenith: Mansa Musa (r. 1312–1337) centralized power, reformed finances, and performed the celebrated hajj (1324–1325), projecting Malian prestige across the Islamic world; Mansa Sulayman (r. 1341–1360) maintained stability.

• Songhay at Gao expanded autonomy under the Sonni dynasty (pre-Sunni Ali), positioning for later takeover of the Niger Bend.

• Hausa city-states (e.g., Kano, Katsina, Zaria) entrenched urban courts, craft guilds, and caravan diplomacy.

• Jolof confederation rose in Senegambia (mid-14th c.), shaping Atlantic-edge politics.

• Benin Kingdom consolidated the Oba monarchy (late 13th–14th c.), strengthening city walls, palace rituals, and regional trade.

Economy and Trade

• Gold from Bambuk–Buré and Wangara networks sustained Mali’s coin and credit circuits;

• Salt from Taghaza fed the Sahel; copper from Takedda supplied smiths; horses from the Maghreb armed elites.

• Agriculture: Sahel grains; Inland Delta rice/fish; forest kola, pepper, and palm products.

• Urban craft: cloth weaving, leatherwork, metalwork, and manuscript culture in Sahelian towns.

Subsistence and Technology

• Floodplain irrigation and rice paddies in the Inland Delta; millet–sorghum rotations across the Sahel; orchard and garden plots near cities.

• Camel caravans optimized with relay oases; riverine canoes moved grain and fish.

Movement and Interaction Corridors

• Niani–Timbuktu–Gao trunk within Mali; Gao–Air–Takedda; Takrur–Senegal; Hausa–Saharan routes through Air and Ajjer into the Maghreb; Benin–Nupe forest–savanna corridors to the Niger.

Belief and Symbolism

• Islam deepened in courts and trading towns (mosques, jurists, scholars); Timbuktu and Walata matured as centers of learning.

• Indigenous ritual remained strong in rural communities (earth shrines, rainmaking).

• Court pageantry—gold regalia, horse trappings—signaled sovereignty; griots preserved dynastic memory.

Adaptation and Resilience

• Route redundancy across Sahara and Sahel hedged against drought/war.

• Plural economies—grain, rice, fish, gold, salt, kola—spread risk.

• Urban institutions—guilds, mosques, market courts—stabilized exchange; kin/clan systems secured rural production.

Long-Term Significance

By 1395, West Africa was a constellation of powerful states and city networks—Mali at its height, Songhay rising, Hausa and Benin consolidating, Jolof emerging—bound into Afro-Eurasian circuits by gold, salt, and scholarship, and resilient enough to carry this prosperity into the 15th century.

West Africa (1396–1539 CE): Empires, Gold, and the Atlantic Turn

Geographic & Environmental Context

The subregion of West Africa includes the Sahelian and savanna zones stretching from the Senegal and Niger River basins across modern Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, as well as the forest and coastal belts of modern Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria. Anchoring landscapes included the Niger River’s inland delta, the Sahel’s grasslands, the forested Guinea coast, and the Atlantic seaboard with its lagoons and estuaries.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

The Little Ice Age brought modest cooling and rainfall variability. Sahelian zones experienced alternating drought and recovery, testing herders and farmers. Savanna and forest belts enjoyed relatively stable rainfall, sustaining yam and oil palm cultivation. Along the coast, seasonal monsoons shaped farming cycles, while the Atlantic upwelling enriched marine fisheries.

Subsistence & Settlement

• Sahel and savanna: Millet, sorghum, and rice supported large populations, with cattle, sheep, and camels managed in mixed herding systems.

• Forest belt: Yams, kola, palm oil, and plantains anchored subsistence, complemented by hunting and river fisheries.

• Urban centers: Timbuktu, Gao, Jenne, and other cities combined farming hinterlands with trade, scholarship, and crafts.

Technology & Material Culture

Iron smelting and blacksmithing flourished, supplying weapons, hoes, and ritual objects. Sahelian architecture—mud-brick mosques and palaces—defined skylines (Djinguereber Mosque, Askia’s Tomb). In the forest, the Benin court produced brass and ivory works. Textiles, leatherwork, and gold jewelry circulated widely. Manuscripts in Arabic script preserved Islamic scholarship in Timbuktu and other cities.

Movement & Interaction Corridors

• Trans-Saharan routes: Caravans carried gold, kola, and captives north in exchange for salt, horses, and luxuries.

• River corridors: The Niger River served as an east–west artery for goods and ideas.

• Atlantic seaboard: Portuguese ships reached Senegal in the mid-15th century, later tapping the Gambia and Gold Coast, inaugurating direct Atlantic trade while older Saharan links persisted.

Cultural & Symbolic Expressions

Islam flourished in Sahelian capitals: mosques, Qur’anic schools, and zawiyas anchored faith and learning. Oral traditions of griots preserved epics and genealogies. In the forest zone, ritual kingship, sacred groves, and ancestral veneration structured societies. Festivals, drumming, and praise-songs reinforced political legitimacy.

Environmental Adaptation & Resilience

Agricultural diversification and transhumance buffered environmental stress. Tribute and trade redistributed surpluses in lean years. Coastal chiefdoms exploited fisheries and mangroves. Spiritual rituals reinforced cohesion under climate pressure.

Transition

By 1539 CE, the Songhai Empire dominated the Niger bend; Benin flourished as an artistic and political power; and coastal polities engaged Portuguese traders. Gold, ivory, kola, and enslaved captives linked West Africa to both Saharan and Atlantic networks, reshaping its place in the wider world.

The slow decline of the Mali Empire that starts at the end of the fourteenth century comes about through internal discord and revolts by the inhabitants of vassal states, including the Songhai of Gao.

By the end of the fifteenth century, the Songhai Empire has replaced the Mali Empire and extends to Mauritania and the upper Senegal River Valley.

At the end of the sixteenth century, a large Moroccan force defeats the Songhai, bringing to an end the seven centuries of domination of the western Sudan (and a large part of Mauritania) by strong, centralized black kingdoms.

Little is known about the original inhabitants of the present Ivory Coast.

Historians believe that they were all either displaced or absorbed by the ancestors of the present inhabitants.

The first recorded history is found in the chronicles of North African traders, who, from early Roman times, conducted a caravan trade across the Sahara in salt, slaves, gold, and other items.

The southern terminals of the trans-Saharan trade routes are located on the edge of the desert, and from there supplemental trade extend as far south as the edge of the rain forest.

The more important terminals—Djenne, Gao, and Timbuctu—had grown into major commercial centers around which the great Sudanic empires developed.

By controlling the trade routes with their powerful military forces, these empires are able to dominate neighboring states.

The Sudanic empires also become centers of Islamic learning.

Islam had been introduced into the western Sudan by Arab traders from North Africa and spread rapidly after the conversion of many important rulers.

From the eleventh century, by which time the rulers of the Sudanic empires had embraced Islam, it spread south into the northern areas of contemporary Cote d'Ivoire.

Ghana, the earliest of the Sudanic empires, flourished in present-day eastern Mauritania from the fourth to the thirteenth century.

At the peak of its power in the eleventh century, its realms extended from the Atlantic Ocean to Timbuctu.

After the decline of Ghana, the Mali Empire grew into a powerful Muslim state, which reached its apogee in the early part of the fourteenth century.

The territory of the Mali Empire in Cote d'Ivoire is limited to the northwest corner around Odienne.

Its slow decline starting at the end of the fourteenth century follows internal discord and revolts by vassal states, one of which, Songhai, flourishes as an empire between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Songhai is also weakened by internal discord, which leads to factional warfare.

This discord spurs most of the migrations of peoples southward toward the forest belt.

The dense rain forest covering the southern half of the country created barriers to large-scale political organizations as seen farther north.

Inhabitants live in villages or clusters of villages whose contacts with the outside world are filtered through long-distance traders.

Villagers subsist on agriculture and hunting.

Some of the Mande, who had stimulated the development of states in what is now northern Nigeria (the Hausa states and those of the Lake Chad area), move southwestward also in this same period, and impose themselves on many of the indigenous peoples of the northern half of modern Ghana and of Burkina Faso (Burkina—formerly Upper Volta), founding the states of Dagomba and Mamprusi.

The Mande also influence the rise of the Gonja state.

West Africa (1540–1683 CE): Gold, Slavery, and the Rising Atlantic World

Geographic & Environmental Context

The subregion of West Africa includes the Sahelian and savanna zones stretching from the Senegal and Niger River basins across modern Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, as well as the forest and coastal belts of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria. Anchors included the Niger River’s inland delta, the savanna–forest transition zones, the Guinea coast lagoons, and the Atlantic seaboard from Senegambia to the Bight of Benin. This was a world of caravan roads, goldfields, forest polities, and increasingly, European coastal forts.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

The Little Ice Age brought variability: Sahelian droughts tightened pasture and farming margins, leading to migrations of herders and farmers. Rainfall in forest zones remained more stable, supporting yam, oil palm, and kola production. Along the coast, seasonal monsoons shaped agricultural calendars and maritime trade, while estuaries and lagoons sheltered fleets of canoes.

Subsistence & Settlement

• Sahel and savanna: Millet, sorghum, and rice farming sustained large populations. Cattle herding remained vital to Fulani and other pastoralists.

• Forest belt: Yams, plantains, oil palm, and kola nuts supported dense farming villages. Fishing and salt collection flourished in lagoons and mangroves.

• Urban centers: Timbuktu, Gao, and Jenne thrived as commercial and intellectual hubs. Coastal towns from Elmina to Lagos grew around markets and forts.

Technology & Material Culture

Iron smelting continued to produce tools and weapons. Mud-brick mosques, fortified palaces, and walled towns reflected Islamic and local traditions. Coastal states commissioned brass, ivory, and gold works—exemplified by the Benin bronzes. Manuscript culture flourished in Timbuktu, with Arabic scholarship in law, theology, and science. Europeans introduced firearms, textiles, and new shipborne technologies, altering trade balances and warfare.

Movement & Interaction Corridors

• Trans-Saharan caravans: Still carried gold, kola, and slaves northward, though now rivaled by Atlantic trade.

• Niger River: Remained a great artery of commerce, ferrying grain, salt, and scholars between Sahelian cities.

• Atlantic coast: Portuguese, Dutch, English, and French traders established forts at Elmina (Portuguese, 1482; Dutch, 1637), Ouidah, and other sites. Slaves, gold, and ivory flowed outward; firearms and cloth flowed inward.

• Internal slave routes: Raids and wars supplied captives to coastal markets, reshaping inland societies.

Cultural & Symbolic Expressions

Islam remained dominant in Sahelian cities, expressed in mosques, Qur’anic schools, and Sufi brotherhoods. In the forest belt, indigenous religions emphasized ancestor veneration, sacred groves, and ritual kingship. Oral traditions and griots preserved genealogies and epic histories. Court art in Benin and Oyo projected power with bronzes, ivories, and regalia. Music and drumming structured rituals of kingship and community life.

Environmental Adaptation & Resilience

Communities responded to drought with migration, crop diversification, and riverine farming. Trade networks redistributed surpluses during shortages. Palm oil and kola supported resilience in forest zones. Along the coast, fishing, salt, and coastal trade cushioned against inland famine. Sufi networks and communal rituals reinforced solidarity in times of stress.

Transition

By 1683 CE, West Africa had entered a new global order. The Songhai Empire had collapsed after the Moroccan invasion of 1591, fragmenting Sahelian power. Coastal states like Benin, Oyo, and Asante rose to prominence, enriched by Atlantic commerce. European forts dotted the seaboard, embedding Africa into the triangular trade system. West Africa remained vibrant and resilient, but its future was increasingly bound to the transatlantic slave trade.

The African continent, situated between Europe and the imagined treasures of the Far East, quickly became the destination of the European explorers of the fifteenth century.

The first Europeans to explore the West African coast were the Portuguese.

Other European sea powers soon followed, and trade was established with many of the coastal peoples of West Africa.

At first, the trade included gold, ivory, and pepper, but the establishment of American colonies in the sixteenth century spurs a demand for slaves, who soon become the major export from the West African coastal regions.

Local rulers, under treaties with the Europeans, procure goods and slaves from inhabitants of the interior.

By the end of the fifteenth century, commercial contacts with Europe had spawned strong European influences, which permeated areas northward from the West African coast.

Ivor Coast, like the rest of West Africa, is subject to these influences, but the absence of sheltered harbors along its coastline prevents Europeans from establishing permanent trading posts.

Seaborne trade, therefore, is irregular and plays only a minor  role in the penetration and eventual conquest by Europeans of Ivory Coast.

The slave trade, in particular, has little effect on the peoples of Ivory Coast.

A profitable trade in ivory, which gives the area its name, is carried out during the seventeenth century, but it brings about such a decline in elephants that the trade itself virtually has died out by the beginning of the eighteenth century.

The state of Ashanti, of the components that will later make up present-day Ghana, is to have the most cohesive history and will exercise the greatest influence.

The Ashanti are members of the Twi-speaking branch of the Akan people.

The groups that come to constitute the core of the Ashanti confederacy move north to settle in the vicinity of Lake Bosumtwi.

Before the mid-seventeenth century, the Ashanti begin an expansion under a series of militant leaders that lead to the domination of surrounding peoples and to the formation of the most powerful of the states of the central forest zone.

Under Chief Oti Akenten (r. ca. 1630-60), a series of successful military operations against neighboring Akan states brings a larger surrounding territory into alliance with Ashanti.