Introduction

The history of Western and Sudanese Africa owes its celebrity to the constitution of great empires between the 10^th and the 19^th centuries^. Those are mainly Ghana, Mali, Songhai, and the Mossi Kingdom They had a quite elaborate political organisation, a prosperous economy based on agriculture, animal breeding, fishing and exchanges. Moreover, they had developed a cultural, religious and artistic remarkable civilisation.

What is in this block?

There are 4 sections in this block:

Section 1: Ghana 

Section 2: Mali

Section 3: Songhai

Section 4: Mossi Kingdom

Estimated study time

We think that you will need 7 or 8 hours to achieve all the activities, which are proposed to you in this block.

Learning objectives

By the end of this block, you should be able to:

• analyse the political organisation of those States 
• discuss the outstanding  economic facts of those States
• describe the social, religious and artistic life of those States.

How will I assess my learning in this block?

This block includes 4 activities. They are designed to help you to evaluate your progress in the study of the contents of the block. After having studied each section, do the activities, which are proposed to you. Then compare your answers with those proposed at the end of the block. If you have difficulties in finding the answers, revise the section.