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Kings and Queens of West Africa
A survey of the historical regions and kingdoms of West Africa including biographies of Mansa Musa, Emperor of Mali (c. 1280-1337); Osei Tutu, King of Asante (c. 1660-1717); and Ndate Yalla Mbodj, Queen of Walo (c. 1810-1860).
63 pages, Library Binding
First published September 28, 2000
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March 7, 2021
Africa has deserts, snowy mountains, lush forests, dry savannas, and majestic rivers. 800 million people live on this continent with 53 countries and 25% of the 6,000 languages on earth are spoken here.
West Africa was a crossroads for trade, and kingdoms and empires based largely on commerce rose in the region. East Africa was molded by the great variety of its peoples. Central Africa was transformed by the migration of the Bantu population from the northwest. Large movements of population changed the course of Southern Africa's history.
West Africa's wealth came from agriculture and mining, which gave rise to trade through the region and with Central and North Africa. Mansa Musa (1280-1337), emperor of Mali, established trade and cultural relations with the Islamic world. Osei Tutu (1660-1717) of Asante (Ghana) used commercial ties with the Europeans to expand his territories. Queen Ndate Yalla Mbodj (1810-1860) of Walo (in Senegal) tried to protect the trade and independence of her kingdom from a French takeover.
By the mid-eleventh century, the rulers, many of the educated people, and the traders had become Muslims. They were followers of Islam, the religion brought by the Prophet Muhammad.
In the forest regions of southern West Africa, large kingdoms arose in the fourteenth century. Shortly after, Europeans arrived and built forts on the Atlantic Coast, many of them on the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana), to control the gold and slave trades. The Europeans provided weapons to local rulers, who fought each other to expand their territories. They sold prisoners of war to the European merchants. The prisoners were then shipped to the Americas as slaves.
The slave trade and slavery were abolished by 1848. The last African kingdoms disappeared as the colonial powers - France, Great Britain and Portugal-took control.
Hombori Cliffs in Mali.
Traditional region of worshipping many gods. Es Saheli build mosques in Gao Jennae, and Timbuktu for Mansa Musa. They remained cool even when the temperature reached 110 degrees. Education was important to Mansa Musa.
Osei Tutu, King of Asante:
Asante people had 7 names for boys and 7 names for girls, one for each day of the week. Kofi Tutu had an affair with a married princess in another larger kingdom and was outcasted by his own family until he became the heir of the throne (the throne is passed down by a sister's son or daughter). He was given the title of Nana Osei Tutu. His goal was to unify his small nation. First, he reorganized the army. The Asante warriors used spears, sqorrds, bows, arrows and elite fighters had rifles boght from traders who settled on the Atlantic Coast south of Asante. They wore protective helmets made of hard crocodile skin. He sold captured prisoners to Europeans for more weapons. Osei tutu controlled his allies by force, but he wanted to earn the loyalty of his new subjects in a peaceful way. Anokye danced in elegant clothing and presented the golden stool which represented the unity, the soul, the wealth and the power of the Asante nation. He planted a kuma tree at the new capital to represent the power of the ruler. Asante created a constitution and unified his kingdom by an annual celebration honoring the nation's dead kings and ancestors. Hee drained the swamps, built canals. Today Ghana is governed by an elected president, but they still celebrate the Odwira festival.
In Europe, was captives were often killed Africans thought it was kinder to make them slaves. During the Middle Ages, Africa was a crossroads of trade. The region known as Sahel-south of the Sahara and north of the African forests. Cowrie shells, used as money, were imported from the Maldive islands off the coast of India. Weights were a symbol of the state's wealth and power.
The country Ghana which gained independence in 1957 was never part of the empire of Ghana, which spread over parts of Senegal, Mali, and Mauritania.
In parts of Africa, drums carry messages across long distances. A specific drumbeat is played as a signal for an occasion, and everyone knows what the beat means. A beat may call the people to a meeting or announce a visitor to the village.
The traditional instrument, the kora, made from a gourd. Senegal's independence from France in 1960.
Ndate Yalla Mbodj, Queen of walo:
Many of the enslaved men were prisoners of war, but the women and children were often victims of kidnapping. The hunt of men, women, and children was so decastating that in 1673, the population of Walo, led by a Muslim priest, revolted against the slave trade. the people overthrew the king who had helped the French in their slave-dealing activities. When France rushed the Walo revolt, they burned the villages and shipped thousands of them to America as slaves. In 1848, two years after Ndate Yalla became queen, France abolished slavery. Although the French were no longer looking for slaves, they will wanted to control Walo.
To trade in the region, the French were made to pay tribute-annual fees or taxes-to the rulers of the various kingdoms.
The tax on African cattle led to war btw Ndate Yalla's people and the French. She asked for help from the Moors, fierce nomads who had invaded the kingdom many times. After 6 months, the French defeated Walo. They burned 70 villages, killed dozens of people, and took thousands of cattle. Walo became a French territory. Ndate Yalla and her family took refuge in Kayor. From Kayor, the queen's army continued to harass the french troops for years. French made a treaty with Ndate to allow her to live in her kingdom if her people stopped fighting the French which she accepted with hopes that her son would win back the throne. Walo was the first kingdom south of the sahara to be conquered by France. France went on to conquer the whole country of Senegaland fifteen other countries.
Traditions and modern life complement each other. A traditional griot, or storyteller, captivates his young audience. He tells stories about famous kings and queens.
West Africa was a crossroads for trade, and kingdoms and empires based largely on commerce rose in the region. East Africa was molded by the great variety of its peoples. Central Africa was transformed by the migration of the Bantu population from the northwest. Large movements of population changed the course of Southern Africa's history.
West Africa's wealth came from agriculture and mining, which gave rise to trade through the region and with Central and North Africa. Mansa Musa (1280-1337), emperor of Mali, established trade and cultural relations with the Islamic world. Osei Tutu (1660-1717) of Asante (Ghana) used commercial ties with the Europeans to expand his territories. Queen Ndate Yalla Mbodj (1810-1860) of Walo (in Senegal) tried to protect the trade and independence of her kingdom from a French takeover.
By the mid-eleventh century, the rulers, many of the educated people, and the traders had become Muslims. They were followers of Islam, the religion brought by the Prophet Muhammad.
In the forest regions of southern West Africa, large kingdoms arose in the fourteenth century. Shortly after, Europeans arrived and built forts on the Atlantic Coast, many of them on the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana), to control the gold and slave trades. The Europeans provided weapons to local rulers, who fought each other to expand their territories. They sold prisoners of war to the European merchants. The prisoners were then shipped to the Americas as slaves.
The slave trade and slavery were abolished by 1848. The last African kingdoms disappeared as the colonial powers - France, Great Britain and Portugal-took control.
Hombori Cliffs in Mali.
Traditional region of worshipping many gods. Es Saheli build mosques in Gao Jennae, and Timbuktu for Mansa Musa. They remained cool even when the temperature reached 110 degrees. Education was important to Mansa Musa.
Osei Tutu, King of Asante:
Asante people had 7 names for boys and 7 names for girls, one for each day of the week. Kofi Tutu had an affair with a married princess in another larger kingdom and was outcasted by his own family until he became the heir of the throne (the throne is passed down by a sister's son or daughter). He was given the title of Nana Osei Tutu. His goal was to unify his small nation. First, he reorganized the army. The Asante warriors used spears, sqorrds, bows, arrows and elite fighters had rifles boght from traders who settled on the Atlantic Coast south of Asante. They wore protective helmets made of hard crocodile skin. He sold captured prisoners to Europeans for more weapons. Osei tutu controlled his allies by force, but he wanted to earn the loyalty of his new subjects in a peaceful way. Anokye danced in elegant clothing and presented the golden stool which represented the unity, the soul, the wealth and the power of the Asante nation. He planted a kuma tree at the new capital to represent the power of the ruler. Asante created a constitution and unified his kingdom by an annual celebration honoring the nation's dead kings and ancestors. Hee drained the swamps, built canals. Today Ghana is governed by an elected president, but they still celebrate the Odwira festival.
In Europe, was captives were often killed Africans thought it was kinder to make them slaves. During the Middle Ages, Africa was a crossroads of trade. The region known as Sahel-south of the Sahara and north of the African forests. Cowrie shells, used as money, were imported from the Maldive islands off the coast of India. Weights were a symbol of the state's wealth and power.
The country Ghana which gained independence in 1957 was never part of the empire of Ghana, which spread over parts of Senegal, Mali, and Mauritania.
In parts of Africa, drums carry messages across long distances. A specific drumbeat is played as a signal for an occasion, and everyone knows what the beat means. A beat may call the people to a meeting or announce a visitor to the village.
The traditional instrument, the kora, made from a gourd. Senegal's independence from France in 1960.
Ndate Yalla Mbodj, Queen of walo:
Many of the enslaved men were prisoners of war, but the women and children were often victims of kidnapping. The hunt of men, women, and children was so decastating that in 1673, the population of Walo, led by a Muslim priest, revolted against the slave trade. the people overthrew the king who had helped the French in their slave-dealing activities. When France rushed the Walo revolt, they burned the villages and shipped thousands of them to America as slaves. In 1848, two years after Ndate Yalla became queen, France abolished slavery. Although the French were no longer looking for slaves, they will wanted to control Walo.
To trade in the region, the French were made to pay tribute-annual fees or taxes-to the rulers of the various kingdoms.
The tax on African cattle led to war btw Ndate Yalla's people and the French. She asked for help from the Moors, fierce nomads who had invaded the kingdom many times. After 6 months, the French defeated Walo. They burned 70 villages, killed dozens of people, and took thousands of cattle. Walo became a French territory. Ndate Yalla and her family took refuge in Kayor. From Kayor, the queen's army continued to harass the french troops for years. French made a treaty with Ndate to allow her to live in her kingdom if her people stopped fighting the French which she accepted with hopes that her son would win back the throne. Walo was the first kingdom south of the sahara to be conquered by France. France went on to conquer the whole country of Senegaland fifteen other countries.
Traditions and modern life complement each other. A traditional griot, or storyteller, captivates his young audience. He tells stories about famous kings and queens.
July 5, 2020
nonfiction. clear, mostly linear and simple reading- some historical facts that helped me with research.Probably more useful for a school project.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews