West AfricaWest Africa

West Africa:

Trading Empires

• There were three big ones in this area: Ghana, Mali, and Songhai (in that order).

• All traded gold and salt and taxed traders who passed through their land on trade routes through the Sahara.

Stateless Society

• There are many stateless societies around here.

• A stateless society is a people of one lineage or family who trace their descent back to one person.

• This is different from a stateless nation, which is a people who share the same culture and nationalistic identity.

• An example is the Igbo.

Economy

• The economies in this area struggle quite a bit.

• A big reason is political instability that leads to civil wars.

• Sierra Leone, for example, while having a lot of diamonds, does not have a developed infrastructure.

• There was also a UN ban on the sale of Sierra Leone diamonds due to the warring and corrupt governments.

Culture

• Ashanti

• The Ashanti are known for their intricate kente cloth

• And their stools

• Some tribes, such as the Igbo, also made masks.

• The Benin were known for the terra cotta:

• And their bronzes