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=Africa=

Geography-
Africa is a big place, in fact, it is the second largest continent on earth. There are 53 countries in Africa,it has a large river, which is The Nile River and has the third largest desert in the world which is The Sahara Desert. West Africa is made up of four main regions. The first main region is > > > >
 * 1) The Sahara: The Sahara is the world's hottest desert, and the third largest desert in the world.[[image:http://secondglobe.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Sahara.jpg width="239" height="172"]]
 * 2) The Sahel: The Sahel divides the desert from wetter areas. The Sahel covers from west to east Africa.[[image:http://www.dongurewitzphotography.com/africa/images/07.jpg width="241" height="163"]]
 * 1) Savannah: Much of Africa is covered by grasslands which is called the Savannah.The Savannah is an open grassland with scattered trees.
 * 1) Rain Forest:The Rain Forest is a forest that has rainfall, and tall trees to provide homes for many different animals.

=Trade= The civilizations that was in ancient West Africa were all based on trade. People had to cross through the Sahara desert to trade. For a long time, West Africans had traveled into the desert for trading goods. Early travelers could only make short trips.

Culture
West African culture is very different from other culture. Africa is divided into a large group of different cultures. Every African country is a mix of tribes each with their own language and culture.



=Empire of Ghana= Ghana was a kingdom in Africa, located south of the Sahara desert. The empire grew rich from trading in gold and salt. The empire of Ghana in West Africa, grew rich and powerful through its control of trade routes.

Expansion of the Empire Ghana's kings used their money from taxes to build a powerful army. Ghana's kings didn't think that they could rule all the territory they conquered by themselves.

Invasion A Muslim group called the Almoravid attacked Ghana in the 1060s.The people of Ghana fought hard against the Almoravid army.

Overgrazing The Almoravids moved into Ghana, they brought groups of animals with them. The animals ate all the grass in many ways, leaving the soil behind. The winds then blew the soil and the land was worthless for farming.

Empire of Mali
Mali was an empire that was located along the upper of the Niger River. Mali grew lots of crops. Mali's location on the upper Niger River allowed the people to control the trade on the river.

THE FALL OF MALI The cause of the fall of the Mali empire was because some of the Mali's leadership were not strong and their poor leadership weakend the empire

Mansa Musa
Mansa Musa was the tenth ruler of the Mali Empire. Mali was a West African empire which became the largest and richest empire of Africa under Mansa Musa controled. He is mostly remembered for his journey to Mecca. In 1325 he set out with 60,000 carrier, 80 camels carrying about 310 pounds of gold each, and 12,000 slaves wearing Persian silk.

Empire of Songhai
The Songhai Build an Empire. That rival was the Songhai kingdom. From their capital at Gao, the Songhai participated in the same trade that had made Ghana and Mali so rich. By the 1300s the Songhai had become rich and powerful enough to draw the attention of Mali's rulers. Mansa Musa sent his army to conquer the Songhai and make their lands part of his empire.

The Birth of the Empire. Songhai did not remain part of Mali's empire for long. As Mali's government grew weaker, the people of Songhai rose up against it and regained their freedom. Even before they were conquered by Mali, the leaders of the Songhai had become Muslims.



Askia the Great
Askia the Great became ruler of Songhai when he was nearly 50 years old. He ruler for about 35 years. When he got to his 80's he went blind. His son forced him to leave the empire and was send to a island were he lived there for 9 years until one of his son came back for him and took him to to the capital were he died.

Artistic Traditions
Music and Dance Like their music and dance, many West African crafts have been handed down for generations. In many West Africa societies, music and dance were as important as the visual arts. Dance has long been a central part of African society. Many West African cultures used dance to celebrate specific events or ceremonies.

Masks People wore these masks during rituals as they danced around fires. The way firelight reflected off the masks made them look fierce and lifelike.

Page Created by: Javier B.Adriana R.