Africa Before European Arrival
People of the early African kingdoms were able to create successful trade routes with Europe and Asia, become very wealthy from conquering and gaining land, and were able to have a strong central government. All of this was done before the Europeans had reached Africa. Trade flourished on the East African coast, especially when trading was established with India and Arabia. African kingdoms were prosperous, because of their success with not only trading but also with their ability to conquer land. A governmental structure is key to allowing any kingdom to thrive, and the African people were able to achieve this.
Once Africa got involved with the major trading centers, trade improved and they were able …show more content…

An Egyptian official was astounded by how generous Mansa Musa was, being that he gave every single person in Egypt a piece of gold (Document 4). This document’s point of view of Mansa Musa is in a positive aspect, because the Egyptian official was most likely given gold as well. “…there was no person, officer of the court, or holder of any office of the Sultanate who did not receive a sum of gold from him.” Therefore the official had nothing that would hurt the ego of Mansa Musa, because this generous leader too gifted the official.
A kingdom is unsuccessful without a strong centralized government. Most of the African kingdoms included this, hence why almost all of the kingdoms were so prosperous. Within the Ghana government, the king is the supreme ruler. Then there is the governor who sits below the king, and after there are the ministers, which are seated around the king (Document 2). The main focus of the whole government council is the king, who is the decision maker and who decides the tough settlements. Also, the Ghana government collects taxes and makes sure that there is justice when needed (Document 3). Benin’s government has a different form then the government of Ghana. In Benin, the Oba, or ruler, is always surrounded by an entourage. Wherever the Oba goes, so does this group, which can be compared to the President of the United States and to