Compare And Contrast Mali And Songhai Kingdomss
While the Niger River and Western Sudan remained key geographical features of the Mali and Songhai kingdoms, the thirst for more wealth and larger trade networks caused each kingdom to expand its territory. Greed was the key factor in driving this expansion, because both kingdoms were well placed for trade and had access to resources. Specifically, the Niger was an essential river in West Africa because it “integrated the region economically and linked the interior regions of Western Africa with sea ports to encourage trade with countries in the Mediterranean and Europe.” (WHFUA) The location of Mali and Songhai was extremely pertinent to their success, since their placement in the Western Sudan situated them on many important trade routes
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(WHFUA) By solidifying the capture of the city, Mali expanded its trade networks due to the fact that it gained an important port on the Niger River as well as access to copper. These new assets were used to obtain more wealth and commodities that the people in Mali didn’t have. Despite these significant accomplishments, at it’s peak, the Mali empire was still less powerful that that of Songhai, since Songhai kingdom expanded further and gained more wealth and resources. (????) The empire of Songhai expanded as far North as the salt mines in Taghaza and as far East as Agada and Kano. (MCKAY) Songhai’s need for more resources led it to capture Taghaza, and by doing so they gained more resources to trade and obtain more wealth. By making the territory of the empire larger, Songhai gained more control over the trade routes, which was why it expanded as far as Agada and Kano, even though they didn’t necessarily have access to plentiful resources and weren’t large trade centers. Although the location of the Mali and Songhai kingdoms greatly contributed to their success, since they were located both in the Western Sudan and situated on the Niger River, they greed of their leaders lead to expansion which brought more wealth and resources, making the kingdoms more
(WHFUA) By solidifying the capture of the city, Mali expanded its trade networks due to the fact that it gained an important port on the Niger River as well as access to copper. These new assets were used to obtain more wealth and commodities that the people in Mali didn’t have. Despite these significant accomplishments, at it’s peak, the Mali empire was still less powerful that that of Songhai, since Songhai kingdom expanded further and gained more wealth and resources. (????) The empire of Songhai expanded as far North as the salt mines in Taghaza and as far East as Agada and Kano. (MCKAY) Songhai’s need for more resources led it to capture Taghaza, and by doing so they gained more resources to trade and obtain more wealth. By making the territory of the empire larger, Songhai gained more control over the trade routes, which was why it expanded as far as Agada and Kano, even though they didn’t necessarily have access to plentiful resources and weren’t large trade centers. Although the location of the Mali and Songhai kingdoms greatly contributed to their success, since they were located both in the Western Sudan and situated on the Niger River, they greed of their leaders lead to expansion which brought more wealth and resources, making the kingdoms more