-
700
Ghana Empire
Present-day Mali was a part of the Ghana Empire( 700-1240).The Ghana Empire is a complex empire base on trade. This great empire declined in the 11th century. Before the Muslim started the war, the Ghana empire traded with the Middle East, then there was a “holy war” between the empires and the Muslims, the Empire lost. Then, a disastrous desertification happened. The people from the Ghana Empire started to leave their country. Empire Ghana became vassals of the Mali Empire in 1240. -
1230
Mali Empire
Mali Empire started as a small kingdom at the upper reaches of Niger River. This small kingdom developed as an empire because of the decline of Empire Ghana. Mali Empire was the biggest empire in West Africa and the tradition, laws, language affect the African culture deeply. The people of Mali respect farmers because farmers provide food to the whole country. The main religion of Mali is Islam, and Islamic culture is an important part of Mali culture. -
1400
Portuguese arrive in Africa
In the 1400s, the Portuguese became the first Europeans to arrive along the Northwest Coast of Africa. They were primarily in search for fabrics, spices, and gold which are located in South Asia. They ended up on the coast of Africa where they traded gold, ivory, and pepper. Slave trade began by local chiefs bringing in over 175,000 Africans from the interior. Magnitude of the slave trade began to grow increasingly. The Portuguese controlled a large part of trade for more than 200 years. -
1448
Portuguese Expeditions
Portuguese Expeditions to the Western Coast of Africa began in the 1400s. The expeditions were sponsored by Prince Henry of Portugal. The Portuguese landed in Cape verde, which is an island off the coast of Africa, in 1448. They set up many trading networks along the coast of Cape Verde. In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias created the cape of good hope at the southern tip of Africa. -
1460
Impacts of the Europeans
The Europeans arrival began in 1460 in Sierra Leone. They found large urban cities within West Africa that was much like Europe. This included many elaborate dynasties and agricultural systems. Most African Cities were more hygienic than the Portuguese expected. They shared many religious beliefs with the africans that included: magic, supernatural, and protective amulets. -
Swedish Colonization
The area was largely controlled by Sweden and Denmark in 1736. The area was highly segregated as were the countries that colonized them. The lower half of the land was full of resources that the countries wanted! Because of that, they put all of their citizens there so they could send all of the gold, food, and slaves back to the country they were from. The area was controlled by them until around the 1900s due to French Influence. -
Liberia gains independence
Liberia became an independent country on July 26th, 1847 when Joseph Roberts declared it an independent colony, before that it was owned by the American Colonization Society. The colony became an independent country when it became a home where African Americans would flee to escape slavery. Roberts then, became a leader in the colony and decided that Libera needed its own independence. To this day, Libera still deals with conflict from African American and the colonized peoples descendants. -
French Colonization
The French had colonized most of the land in the entire content of Africa by 1913, because of the French Form of government the leader of the cities and groups were appointed by the French. This was based on how much loyalty they had to France. This changed when the French came because they could take the men from the villages and force them to fight. 270,000 French Soldiers during World War I were from Africa. Even though, they had success in battle they were still treated poorly by generals. -
Senegal's Independence
Senegal became a country soon after World War II when they demanded independence from France. At the beginning Senegal was called the Mali Federation because it was a part of the French Sudan. However, six days after the Federation came about, the Federation broke up because of political issues. This lead to Senegal gaining their independence from France on April 4th, 1960 under the guidance of Léopold Sédar Senghor who later turned out to be Senegal's first president. -
Mano River
On October 3,1973 the Mano River which lies between Sierra Leone and Liberia was established. This river is almost 90 miles long and flows South. Sierra Leone’s president, Siaka Stevens, started this process and the Mano River Declaration was created. This served as an economic federation between the two countries and in 1980 Guinea also joined in on this. The Mano River Bridge was created in 1976 and it greatly cut down the distance from Freetown and Monrovia.
