Kingdoms of Africa
Ghana, Mali & Songhai
Kingdom of Ghana
The kingdom of Ghana was located about 400 miles north west of modern day Ghana. The goverment consisted of a king and his council of elders. Economically speaking, Ghana was set. They had trade as their #1 income because they owned the trade routes and the majority of the gold in the trade market. Ghana prospered for many years, but around 1230 CE, the empire had started to fall the kingdom of Mali was right there to catch it.
Kingdom of Mali
The kingdom of Mali started out as one of the districts in the Ghana kingdom. After Ghanas collapse, Mali took over and started to dominate more land around the Ghanas previous empire. The goverment, just as Ghana had, consisted of a King. King sundiata was his name and after the collapse, he made sure the economy would be stable by bringing up trade with the neighboring kingdoms and expanding the empire to be able to control parts of the gold and salt mines. The mines, trade routes and heavy trade were the reason for the continue of a wealthy economy. Mali collapsed in the late 1400's.
Kingdom of Songhai
The Kingdom of Songhai was a lot like Mali in that they were just a district that prospered and took over the whole kingdom. Songhai overthrew the kingdom of Mali and created their own rules and government. The government was based on a king and his council of elders, and the economy was much like that of Ghana and Mali except they took a large part in the continuation of the slave trade. The collapse of Songhai happened in the late 1500's.