Sub-Saharan Trade Contributed to the Greatness of Songhai Empire

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How the Sub-Saharan Trade Contributed to the Greatness of the Songhai Empire
The Songhai Empire is one of the major Empires in Africa. The rise of the Songhai Empire was as a result of the fall of the Mali Empire (Lang, 48). Just like any other empire, the Songhai Empire had its share of success until it eventually collapsed. The Sub-Saharan trade was one of the contributing factors to the success of the Songhai Empire. It expanded the empire’s reach to the outside world. Further, this trade was also the reason why the Songhai was invaded, just like the “fairly extensive cross-channel trade probably brought the growing prosperity of southeast England” to Caesar’s attention (Parsons, 43). The purpose of this paper is to explore the Songhai Empire, and specifically, to examine how the Sub-Saharan trade influenced the success of the empire.
The Origin and History of the Songhai Empire
The Songhai Empire rose at a time when the Mali Empire had started to weaken in the 15th century. Before that, the Songhai was a state that comprised of four different groups which settled there at different times. The first group to arrive during the 9th century was the Sorko, who were skilled fishermen (Lang, 48). The Sorko occupied the banks of River Niger because it gave them access to the water where they could practice their fishing activities. The second group was referred to as Gow, who were skilled hunters. They also settled along the Niger River and hunted animals that lived in the river, such as hippopotamuses. The third group to settle in the Songhai area was the Do. This group comprised of farmers who focused on crop farming in the plains of the Niger. The fourth group, which came later on in the 10th century, was the Songhai. This group settled in the area and dominated the other three groups. They were expert horse riders and soon enough, the four groups started speaking the same language and referred themselves as the Songhai people(Lang, 48). The Songhai people had different skill sets which allowed them to be self-sufficient.
As the Songhai people flourished from their exchange of fishing, hunting and farming produce, they drew the attention of the Mali Empire. The Songhai state had gained prominence, thanks to the growth of its capital, Gao. Gao had become a center for trade and as a result, it became valuable, especially to the powerful Mali Empire. During the 14th Century, Mali’s Emperor Mansa Musa conquered the Songhai people and Songhai became a Mali province, although it had its own kings (Amoah-Boampong, 1). The incorporation of the Songhai into the Mali Empire further made Gao a prosperous trade center. Cloth manufacturing, jewelry, and leather production became the main economic activities in Gao. Of course, the Songhai people were not content with being subjects of the Mali Empire and they wanted to break away from their ruler. So, when the Mali Empire started to weaken, some of the Songhai leaders took this chance to re-establish their independence.
The independence of Songhai from the Mali Empire marked the beginning of the rise of the Songhai Empire. A very powerful local leader, known as Sunni Ali, took over and sought ...