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 ANCIENT
AFRICA AND
THE KINGDOMS
OF GHANA, MALI, AND SONGHAY
Welcome world history students! Investigate, view, and
enjoy the links on this page that will support what you are
learning in class this week.
Miss Froehlich
RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS
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ATTENTION HISTORY TEACHERS. I have
included many lesson plans and instructional
activities for the kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay
that you may find on the main menu page. Although
most of the lessons correlate to the Virginia SOLs
"exploration", the major historical themes are
universal.
Click  |
Journals
from Caravan Travelers
Read some interesting journals by our caravan travelers through
the dangerous desert of Africa as they make their way to the
trading center. Great job, students!
| It
has been a week traveling in medieval Africa through the
Sub-Saharan desert. The people here rely on camels
for everything. Also, I have seen these camels
bite, spit, and kick. They are really
stubborn. These camels provide milk and
meat. They are well adapted to the desert and can
go days without water. People here trade all over
Africa with Arabia, China, and India.
Unfortunately, a lot of people die in the sizzling
heat. We travel in an entourage, or group.
There are other dangers like disease, too.
The
accountants check the entourage of merchant trade
goods. These merchants bring back what they trade
to their country. I am glad I am not on the Silk
Road. I heard it smells like death. I am
traveling because I am a scholar going to study in
Timbuktu.
The
food on the trip is not good. It the same thing
each day. I look for new things to bring with
me. I like the spices people are trading. I
hope I live longer here in the heat. Wish me good
luck.
Gustavo |
More Journals
| I
am a leader of a merchant trading caravan. I am
carrying gold through the desert in medieval
Africa. Our caravans depart from Koumbi Saleh and
take the western rout through Awdoghast. From Awdoghast
our caravans split up ant go two routes along the
Senegal and Niger Rivers. These camels are very
important to our travel through the desert. These
animals provide transportation, milk, wool, hides and
meat. Their eyelashes protect them from the sun
and their ability to close their nostrils protects them
from the sand storms. They can drink up to
twenty.-five gallons of water and go several days
without food. That, however, is all of the praise
for them. They are also ill-tempered, bite, spit,
kick, run away, or refuse to move. Sometimes we
need the cameleer to get them moving. Once the
caravans have gathered everything we left. Life
has been harsh. I tasted sand from the
storm. It will take forty days to get to our
destination. I will let you know what happens.
Rogelio
|
My
entourage of merchants, slaves, body guards,
ambassadors, poets and musicions are on a trade route
through Awdoghast. We see the bones of dead people
who could not live under these harsh conditions.
We are now resting for tomorrow.
Day
32
Some
of the phenomenal qualities of traveling by camel is
that they provide transportation for our caravan of
traders. They also produce milk, wool, hides and
meat to live off of. They can drink 25-gallons fo
water and go without food for 4-days.
Day
33
Today
also learned that camels can be ill-tempered. They
bit you because they are rude. They can spit on
you which is disgusting. They can kick you so you
may be handicapped. Since camels may refuse to
move, we hired a full-time cameleer to get these camels
moving and get us along.
Day
34
As
a merchant, I trade and bring back goods like
silk. If I silent barter to trade, we reach and
agreement. There is a strict accounting of goods
for tax purposes.
Day
35
our
entourage travels through the Saharan desert sand.
We clock 2.6 miles per hour, which is as slow as a
snail. We do stop to pray on this schedule.
Day
36
Today
we were greeted by many reptiles in the desert.
One scorpion tried to sting us. Our next visitor
was a snake. We were so scared that we moved five
miles away.
Day
37
We
are moving at night using the stars to guide us.
We did stop for awhile and slept while guards patrolled
the area. Then, we moved until we reached the
borders of Ghana. When we were near the gates, we
know we were safe. Our journey has ended.
Mikia |
| Morning:
Ghana, 3:14 PM - Today, as a cameleer, I have a
lot to do. Never mind that part. I got a
telegram, sayng that all I have to do is calm down these
camels for the caravan. Pretty easy, right?
Turns out, I was wrong. As I scan the scene as I
arrive, I almost fainted on the spot. There were
100 camels! Did I mention that they were all
hyper? They called many other cameleers before me
but none of them succeeded. However, my skills
stunned everyone. They were a sorry looking bunch
as I taught them how to tame these beasts.
Everyone but the ambassador understood. He was
always off in his own thoughts most of the time.
Still, I have a bad feeling about all of this.
There is dust as far as the eye can see. I feel
light headed because there hasn't been much water.
We have been traveling for months now. The trade route
smells like lmanure. All of out food tastes like
mole. All you can hear is blowing wind. But,
I can relax now because we reached our
destination. Traders pull out the gold and salt
and porcelain that they traded. I was so excited
about seeing all of the new items that I slapped a camel
that then kicked and spit on me. The dangers of
the trip and the sandstorms were rough but I am truly
grateful that I made it home.
Brennan |
| Day
One: Today I set out on a long journey to trade
for the things my people do not have at home.
First, I needed a cameleer for my trip. I found
one that wanted ten pounds of salt. I hired him
because he was the cheapest cameleer I could find.
I am traveling with many friends on this journey as a
caravan group.
Day
Two: As we started through the Awdoghast route, my
nose felt an explosion of the stench of camel that
blended into the air. I was sweating so much that
I felt as if I was in a shower. Then, the camels
started acting stubborn and went wild. We decided
to make camp for the day.
Day
16: A few days after the camel incident we were
back on track but then, something terrible
happened. We were hit by a sandstorm so we took
cover. After this disaster ended, it took us
several minutes to pick up our stuff that was scattered
all over the place. We didn't come for fun on this
trip but to trade for the cloth and water we needed.
End
of Journey: We a a couple of hours away from
getting home. We traded for a ton of
merchandise. It was a good trip for our people.
LUIS |
So
far we have traveled 21 days to get from Arabia to Sahel.
We're alreasy about half way there. Because of my
position as a rear guard, I cannot stop to rest, drink,
or eat unless every single body guard before me is here
and on duty. Luckily, I am only the second rear
body guard in my row. The caravan is organized in
a simple way. Body guards surround everyone.
There are ambassadors, then scholars, then poets, and
musicians in the line. Leading the line are the
merchants, then slaves. There are guards in the
front of the caravan with our leader. Often,
people go blind from the sand storm or have heat stroke
from the sun. Nothing like this has happened to me
but I have had to endure the pain of the loss of
friends. Once my greatest friend and fellow guard,
Xanthian, fell ill with a strange, unknown
sickness. He constantly coughed up blood and
vomit. To this day, I can still smell the putrid
stench. Days pass and my copper studded sandals
were ruined. I looked like a pig after it rolls in
the mud. Last night we were attacked by thieves.
They had seen our fire and then merchandise. When
their eyes made contact with the wondrous, rare spices,
they darted into out camp. That was their mistake
because our guards took care of them on the spot.
One dodged the dagger I threw and headed for our
camels. But our leader stepped out of the shadows
and went into action. The thief went down and we
were safe. Now, we just had to complete this
journey.
HANNAH |
MORE COMING SOON...
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