Some West African villages gradually developed into towns and cities. Ancient cities in West Africa were not as large as modern cities, but some had thousands of residents. Why did villages grow into cities in West Africa? Two important reasons were the growth of ironworking and the expansion of trade.
What triggered the growth of cities in West Africa?
How did iron technology led to the growth of population and cities in West Africa? Iron blades allowed them to clear more land for farming, grow more food, live more places, and feed more people.
Why did people in West Africa choose to live in villages?
Extended families formed villages to help control flooding rivers, to farm the land, to mine for iron or gold, or for protection.
Why did some villages become trading sites and eventually grow into larger towns and cities?
Possible answer: Villages located along rivers or other trade routes became trading sites. By taxing trade, villages became wealthy. Wealth led to an increase in population, and villages often grew into towns and cities.
How did kingdoms develop in West Africa?
How did the Kingdoms of West Africa develop and prosper? The were created by men who became wealthy because of the gold-salt trade. They were extremely cunning, extremely lucky, or both. Their wealth gave them power turning them and their descendants into powerful lords of land and people.
What are the problems in West Africa?
However, other forms of political violence and new threats have emerged such as election related violence, longstanding ethno-national conflict, drug trafficking, maritime piracy, and extremism. Other stresses include youth inclusion, migration, the rapid development of extractive industries, and land management.
Is urbanization in West Africa good?
Africa is rapidly urbanizing. Its rate of urbanization soared from 15% in 1960 to 40% in 2010, and is projected to reach 60% by 2050, according to the UN-Habitat, The State of African Cities. This isn’t necessarily bad news. Urbanization is often linked to economic prosperity.
Is West Africa overpopulated?
In sum, Africa is not overpopulated, but it does have high population growth rates in comparison to other continents, and that growth is straining urban infrastructures and producing environmental problems that are compounded by climate change.
What country in Africa has the most successful economy?
List of African countries by GDP (nominal)
| Rank | Country | Nominal GDP ($ billions) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nigeria | 466.88 |
| 2 | Egypt | 374.89 |
| 3 | South Africa | 317.19 |
| EAC | 220.640 |
How do West Africans make a living?
Most of the people make their living in subsistence agriculture. Medicine, food, and goods have been in a short supply. Many people have died due to the lack of these items during and after the civil war.
What was the source of great Zimbabwe’s wealth?
Great Zimbabwe was a center for trading, and its wealth was mostly acquired thanks to the trade of ivory, and more importantly, gold. Some estimates indicate that more than 20 million ounces of gold were extracted from the ground.
What impact did trade have on West Africa?
Over time, the slave trade became even more important to the West African economy. Kings traded slaves for valuable good, such as horses from the Middle East and textiles and weapons from Europe. The transSaharan slave trade contributed to the power of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai.
Why did African cities grow wealthy and powerful?
In Western Africa, three kingdoms became wealthy beyond belief by controlling important stops along the trans-Saharan trade routes. The major commodities exchanged in this lucrative network were gold and salt. … The Swahili city-states supplied and connected African raw materials to the rest of the Indian Ocean world.
What were the 3 kingdoms of West Africa?
This activity will introduce you to three of the great kingdoms of West Africa between the 9th and 16th centuries CE. They are the kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay.
What were the three great kingdoms of West Africa?
In this collection, we examine the big three of the Ghana Empire, Mali Empire, and Songhai Empire as well as the lucrative trade connections they made with West and North Africa.
How did West Africa get so wealthy?
The king of Ghana spread his power through trade. Gold, ivory, and slaves were bartered for salt from the Arabs. Horses, cloth, swords and books were bartered from North Africans and Europeans. Ghana achieved much of its wealth by trading with the Arabs.