Week 4:

Socio-Economic Structure of the Ancient Songhai Empire

The ancient Songhai Empire was the largest and its economic structure was similar to the old Ghana and Mali great empires. The economy was structured around agriculture, trade, gold, art, craft and education. The empire had a very stable economy which attracted many people to the empire, especially the cities of Gao, Djenne and Timbuktu.

Agriculture was the primary means through which the people of the empire lived and survived. To sustain life, food is very necessary and farming was a major key economic booster. Since the empire was located along the Niger River Bend, the silt soil was fertile for farming. The empire had a large number of peasant farmers but for large-scale farming, slaves were used to working on farms, thus increasing crop yields such as rice, millet, etc.

Fishing and hunting were also major occupations in the empire because apart from the large Niger River, having creeks, ponds and lakes made fishing easier and possible. The Niger River was for large-scale fishing, while the smaller bodies.... View More