Lesson video

Hello and welcome to today's history lesson.

My name is Mr. Merritt and I'll be guiding you through today's lesson.

So, let's get started.

Today's lesson is looking at gold and the West African economy, and by the end of today's lesson we'll be able to explain why gold was so important to the West African economy.

In order to do that, we need to use some key terms. And our key terms for today are Islam, elite, mine, and trade.

Islam is the religion of Muslim people.

The elite are the group of people who hold power.

A mine is an excavation in the earth to extract minerals.

And trade means the exchange of goods.

So now that we're comfortable with those, let's get going with the lesson.

Today's lesson will comprise of three separate learning cycles, and our first learning cycle is the goldfields of West Africa.

So, let's get going with that.

So there were several goldfields used by the great empires of Western Africa during the mediaeval period.

We've looked at the Ghana Empire and we've looked at the Mali Empire, and we can see on the screen there the location of two of the main goldfields that we've got there.

So control of the Bambuk goldfields, which we can see is just off the southwest, allowed the Ghana Empire to become known as the land of gold.

So really, really rich goldfield there.

And the additional discovery of the Bure goldfields, which is just down to the south there, meant that the richest person the world has ever known was Mansa Musa.

He led the Mali Empire.

So he became fabulously wealthy, significantly more wealthy than any of the richest men alive today, like way, way more wealthy.

And they estimated two thirds of the gold in circulation in Europe during the mediaeval period originated from these two goldfields, yet no one in Europe knew precisely where they were, which just added to the mystery of the West African empires.

And that was deliberate.

The Malians and the Ghanaians, they didn't let outsiders actually travel to the goldfields.

They didn't want them to know exactly where the goldfields were, and the reason being is that potentially that could have meant that those outsiders could have traded directly with the people who lived in the goldfields.

So they could have bypassed the Ghanaian and the Malian empires altogether, and that was just unacceptable.

So as a result of that, outsiders were kept away from those goldfields.

Now, much of the gold dug out from these goldfields came from panning for gold in loose earth or in dried riverbeds.

And on the screen there, you can see an example of what we mean by panning for gold.

You quite literally get yourself a pan or a sieve, you scoop up some earth and some water, and then you shake out the water and the bigger bits of mud and dirt.

And then hopefully what you're left with is either nuggets or flecks of gold dust as well.

That's the ideal situation there.

Shallow mines were dug in these goldfields as well, but they were no more than a few metres deep.

So there weren't these great big large mines that go hundreds of metres underground.

They were just a few metres deep.

And as a result of that, there were thousands of the shallow mines dug all across the goldfields.

Now, unlike city residents, goldfield miners at this time often did not convert to Islam.

Most likely they felt that the local spirits of their animistic religions had brought them great wealth, so there's absolutely no need to look elsewhere for spiritual help.

Animistic religions also view blacksmiths and other metalworkers as powerful magic users.

And that might will be another reason why the influential people of the goldfields resisted conversion to Islam or any other religion, the reason being is that they wanted to keep their respective positions in their communities.

Now, let's have a quick check for understanding now.

So what nickname was given to the Ghana Empire? Was it the land of the rising sun, was it the land of gold, or was it the land of milk and honey? So make your choice now.

Okay, if you chose b, the land of gold, then congratulations, that is indeed correct.

Let's have another check for understanding now though.

So this statement here, is it true or false? Gold miners were poor and not respected in their communities.

True or false? Okay, if you chose false, then congratulations.

That is indeed correct.

But why was it false? Let's justify our answer now.

So is it false because wealthy miners rejected local animistic beliefs and converted to Islam like the city elites? Or is it false because wealthy miners kept to the animistic beliefs that gave them importance and respect? So make your justification choice now.

Okay, if you chose b, then very well done.

That is indeed the reason why it is false to say that gold miners were poor and not respected.

Right, let's go for our first task then.

So I've got a paragraph here with some gaps in it.

What I would like you to do is to complete the paragraph by inserting the correct words into the gaps.

Now, to add to the difficulty level just a little bit, the words that you need, the missing words are down at the bottom of the screen there, but there are also some additional words that do not fit anywhere.

So they're distractors.

You need to pick out the correct word and put it into the correct place.

So pause the video whilst you do that and I'll see you once you're finished.

Okay, welcome back.

Hopefully you got on okay with that task there.

So here is how the paragraph should read.

Most of the gold that came from West Africa in the mediaeval period was traded by the Ghana and Mali empires.

These empires use the Bambuk and Bure goldfields.

Miners there would pan for gold dust in loose earth or dig shallow mine shafts.

The miners kept their animistic beliefs rather than change their religion to Islam.

So hopefully your paragraph reads the same as mine.

Let's move on now to our second learning cycle for today, which is control of the gold trade.

Now, although the Ghana Empire was known as the land of gold, the goldfields of West Africa never actually came under direct Ghanaian control.

And likewise, the Mali Empire only had a very loose element of control over both the Bambuk and the Bure goldfields.

Instead, both the Ghana and Mali empires were content to control the goldfields through trade.

Now, what I mean by that is, is that the people who lived in the goldfields, they had crazy amounts of gold, so they were incredibly wealthy in that respect, but they lacked other resources which they desperately needed.

And specifically they lacked salt, and humans, I think all animals, need salt in order to survive.

Our body needs to have that inside of it.

So as a result of that, both Ghana and Mali could trade salt, which they could access in the Sahara Desert through mines there, and they could exchange that with the gold that was being mined in the Bure and Bambuk goldfields.

Now, both Ghana and Mali were strong empires because they sat between the gold and the salt mines, and the price of salt was very, very high when it was sold at the goldfields.

It was so high that salt was quite literally worth its weight in gold.

A small speck of gold would be be worth the same as a small speck of salt.

So there was never enough salt down in the goldfield area, and as a result of that, the price of salt was always high.

So likewise, both the Ghanaian and the Malian emperors used to keep golden nuggets to themselves and just for the local people to trade in gold dust, and their purpose for that was to make sure that gold retained its value.

So there wasn't enough of it and people valued it highly.

It was the same situation for salt down in those southern goldfields as well.

There was never enough salt around that the people needed.

So as a result, they were willing to pay what we would consider to be extortionate amounts of money for salt.

But it wasn't extortion for them.

They had lots of gold, they didn't have salt, and that's what they desperately needed, so they were happy to trade the gold for the salt.

So trade was at the heart of the Mali Empire, and efforts were made by the Malian elite to maximise the profits that could be made from it.

A tax was placed on any trader that entered Mali territory.

So you paid for the privilege of being able to enter Malian territory, but then you had to pay double that tax in order to leave Malian territory as well.

Which sounds like a scam, but actually most traders were very happy with that arrangement because the Malian Empire was a very, very safe place to be.

As a trader, one of your constant risks was that bandits or somebody else could just rob you of all of your goods, in which case potentially your whole livelihood could be lost.

That didn't happen in Mali because it was such a safe empire.

And the reason being is that the Malian elite paid for a large army to guard the trade routes so that traders would be more willing to do business with them.

And the empire also prevented traders or any foreigners from seeing exactly where the goldfields were.

And that was to stop anyone from trying to trade directly with the gold miners.

And the Malian elite naturally wanted to guarantee that any gold leaving West Africa, it went directly through them.

Not only that, the Malian elite also used to pay local farmers who lived alongside trade routes.

They used to pay them for them to sell some of their food to the traders as well.

So the traders had a fairly safe source of food and water once they were inside the Malian territory, and they also had safety from bandits or robbers as well.

Let's have a check for understanding now then.

So how did the Ghana and Mali empires control the West African goldfields? Did they invade them and force them to give them their gold? Did they trade with them for things that they needed? Or did they just have no control over them whatsoever? So make your choice now.

Okay, if you chose b, then congratulations.

That is indeed correct.

Let's have another check for understanding though.

Is this a true or false statement: traders from North Africa traded directly with the gold miners of the Bambuk and Bure regions.

Is that true or is that false? All right, if you chose false, then very well done.

That is indeed false.

But let's justify why that is a false statement now.

Is it false because the Malian elite prevented any foreigners from knowing where the goldfields were located? Or is it false because traders from North Africa were not interested in trading anything for gold? So choose a or b now.

Okay, if you chose a then very well done.

That is indeed correct.

Let's go for our next task today then.

So I've got an interpretation from Izzy up on the screen, and all I want you to do is just think to yourself once you've read it, do you agree with it? And there's no right or wrong answer, it's just an interpretation, somebody's opinion.

I'm asking you to think about whether you agree with it or not, and more specifically, I want you to justify why you agree with it or disagree with it.

So explain your opinion about Izzy's interpretation.

So Izzy says, "The Mali Empire was greedy.

There was no need to tax traders just to enter their lands, and double the tax just to leave! There would have been more traders if they didn't have to pay this unnecessary tax." So I think to yourself, do you agree with that interpretation or not? Again, it doesn't matter if you do or don't.

There's no right or wrong answer.

What's key is you are able to justify why you think that.

So explain what your opinion is.

Pause the video whilst you do this and I'll see you once you've finished.

Okay, welcome back.

Hopefully you got on okay with that task.

So let's see what an answer could look like.

So your answer may have said something along the lines of: I disagree with Izzy's interpretation.

Although it looked like the Mali Empire was being greedy by taxing people to enter and exit their lands, this money was put to good use.

The Mali paid for a large army to protect traders that came to their lands.

So without this tax, there would not have been the money available to pay for this protection, which could have meant that traders would not have been safe in Mali lands.

This would've resulted in less trade.

So you can see there, I've explained that I disagree with this interpretation, but I've also gone on to really thoroughly explain why I disagree.

So hopefully your answer is similar in that respect.

Right, let's move on now then to our third and final learning cycle for today, which is looking at the riches of Mali.

So the elite of mediaeval Europe drove demand for West African gold.

Rulers needed gold to mint coins to pay their armies and the elite members of European society needed gold to demonstrate their wealth and power.

There's an example on the screen there as well.

So early books were known as manuscript.

They're not quite books as we know them today, they were called manuscripts.

And some of the richer and more expensive manuscripts, they had gold leaf.

And you can see that around that letter there as well.

That is gold leaf, that is pure gold.

And I believe that the bells in the fool's cap are also made of gold leaf there as well.

And realistically, that gold would've come from the West African goldfields as well.

Gold from West Africa was also used in jewellery, clothing, illustrations of books, as we can see on the screen there, just to name a few examples.

Now, the Malian elites also used gold to demonstrate their own power and wealth as well.

They were no different to European elite in that respect.

What was different though is that their gold was similarly used for decoration, but there was so much more of it in Mali compared to mediaeval Europe.

So the amount of gold that they could use in this way was much, much greater.

And as an example, the Mansa carried a golden bow along with a golden quiver full of golden arrows, and that's a demonstration of his power and naturally his wealth as well.

They were symbols of his authority.

Mansa Musa, the most famous of the Malian emperors, had 500 enslaved people who he dressed in very expensive clothes and they all carried staffs of pure gold, so big old golden sticks when he went on his famous pilgrimage to Mecca.

It's just a ridiculous display of wealth.

Even the dogs of the Malian elite wore collars made of gold, just to give you an idea about how much wealth was in this empire.

Now, quick check for understanding here.

What did the Mansa carry as symbols of his authority? Was it a golden bow and arrows, was it a golden crown and sceptre, or was it a golden sword and shield? Make your choice now.

Okay, if you chose a, a golden bow and set of arrows, then congratulations, that is indeed correct.

Now, the riches of Mali were displayed in other ways as well.

Mansa Musa peacefully gained control of the powerful trading city of Timbuktu in 1324 and he immediately began using his wealth to improve it.

And the Sankore mosque, which we can see in the screen in front of us here, it was a centre of Islamic religion and learning that was improved upon by Mansa Musa.

And the Djinguereber mosque was also built just three years later in 1327.

The architect of the great Djinguereber mosque was paid the equivalent of 1.

5 million pounds today to design the site.

So just an incredible sum of money for the architect.

These sites held hundreds of thousands of books, more than anywhere else in all of Africa, which increased the wealth of knowledge held by the Malian Empire.

So there is an old Mali saying as well, that "salt comes from the north, gold comes from the south, but the word of God and the treasures of wisdom are only to be found in Timbuktu." So that gives you an idea of what Mali values.

They value salt, they value gold, but they also value their religion and they value their wisdom, value their knowledge as well.

So those are the real key jewels in the crown of the Malian Empire.

Right, let's have a quick check.

So I'd like you to complete the sentence, the Malian Empire was rich in gold and.

Was it a, animals, b, knowledge, or c, silver? Make your choice now.

Okay, if you chose b, then very well done.

The Malian Empire was rich in gold and knowledge.

What are we to think, though? What do we actually mean when we say that it was rich in knowledge? Just take some time to discuss with the person round you.

What do we think we mean by rich in knowledge? Okay, welcome back.

So rich in knowledge essentially means that you know a lot.

So if you are rich in anything, you've got a lot of something.

If you're rich in knowledge, it means you've got a lot of knowledge, you've got a lot of wisdom.

You understand how the world works and what is going on here, and that's what the Malian Empire valued as well.

Right, let's go for Task C now then.

So, this here is a really, really famous source.

It's part of what's known as the Catalan Atlas, which is a famous map which was made in Spain in 1375, and it was one of the best maps of its day for a number of reasons.

But we are gonna focus mainly here on the artwork and obviously just one specific part of the Catalan Atlas which shows us Mansa Musa and Mali.

And down at the bottom there we can see Mansa Musa and he is welcoming a trader.

So the man who drew the map never actually went to the Malian Empire.

So he never went there.

What he did do though was read the accounts of people who did.

So he was informed secondhand about what the emperor of Mali was like.

What I want us to think about, first of all, is I want us to think about two things that this source can tell us about the Mali Empire.

So look at the source, think about what I've just told you about it, pause the video whilst you do this and I'll see you in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

Hopefully you got on okay with that task.

Let's think about two things that this source can tell us about the Mali Empire.

So you could have said that Mansa Musa has been drawn as very, very large, which suggests that the person creating the map thought that he and the Mali Empire were important.

He made them stand out, so therefore they must have been very, very important.

You can also say that gold was important to Mali, as Mansa Musa is holding gold and is decorated in gold.

And realistically, the gold that is under the Catalan Atlas probably came from the Malian Empire as well.

Now, one last task for us today.

I want you to explain why gold was important to each of the following groups of people.

So why was gold important to the Malian elites, to Malian scholars, to Western European elites, and to miners in the Bure goldfields? And all I'd like you to do for each group, just write one sentence about why gold is important to them.

Pause the video whilst you're doing this and I'll see you once you're finished.

Okay, welcome back.

Hopefully you did okay with that task.

Let's go through and think about what you could have written.

So you could have said, gold was important to Malian elites because it made them wealthy and made their empire well respected and important.

Could have gone on to say that gold was important to Malian scholars because it allowed them to purchase books and build mosques to house them in.

Could have said that gold was important to Western European elites because they used it to make coins, for decoration, and to show off their wealth and power.

And then finally you could have said that gold was important to miners in the Bure goldfields because mining it gave them a respected position in the Mali Empire.

Right, let's summarise the lesson now then.

So, empires in the Sahel could make a large profit from trading the gold found in the Bambuk and Bure goldfields.

Goldfield miners, respected positions in their communities, often did not convert to Islam.

The Ghana and Mali empires indirectly controlled the goldfields through trade and efforts were made by the Malian elite to maximise the profits.

Both the Malian elites and the elites of mediaeval Europe used gold to demonstrate their power and wealth, like Mansa Musa, who frequently displayed his wealth from gold.

And the Malian Empire used its wealth from the gold trade to improve its levels of knowledge and understanding.

Thank you very much for joining me today.

Hopefully you enjoyed yourself, hopefully you've learnt something, and hopefully I'll see you again next time.

Bye-bye.