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West African Empires

Total questions: 52

Worksheet time: 27mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Who was Mansa Musa?

a)

First Emperor of Songhai

b)

Moroccan Muslim Traveler

c)

A Ruler of Mali

d)

Griot

2.
West African empires were in a perfect spot to trade because they were in between 2 important natural resources:
a)
silver and diamonds
b)
silver and gold
c)
gold and rice
d)
gold and salt
3.

The Muslim leader of Mali who supported education, spread Islam, and made a famous pilgrimage to Mecca was

a)

Sundiata

b)

Mansa Musa

c)

Askia the Great

d)

Sunni Ali

4.
What is the name of the huge desert that covers northern Africa?
a)
Sahara
b)
Arabian
c)
Gobi
d)
Kalahari
5.
The kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, & Songhai prospered primarily due to their 
a)
exchanges with Indian ports
b)
direct access to the Arabian Sea
c)
control of trade routes
d)
abundance of diamonds
6.
Which is the correct order, according to time and size?
a)
Mali, Songhai, Ghana
b)
Songhai, Mali, Ghana
c)
Ghana, Songhai, Mali
d)
Ghana, Mali, Songhai
7.
The river that was considered life to West Africa was 
a)
Nile
b)
Niger
c)
Congo
d)
Tigris
8.
The most important West African city, for trade and education, was
a)
Timbuktu
b)
Cairo
c)
Gao
d)
Rome
9.
What is a griot?
a)
pilgrimage to Mecca
b)
group of traders that travel together
c)
storytellers who pass down oral history
d)
exchanging of goods without direct contact
10.
What is a caravan?
a)
pilgrimage to Mecca
b)
group of traders that travel together
c)
storytellers who pass down oral history
d)
exchanging of goods without direct contact
11.
Which two products were the most valuable trade items for the kingdoms of West Africa?
a)
gold and grain
b)
cotton and kola nuts
c)
gold and salt
d)
salt and cattle
12.

What was a method of trade that was used in ancient Ghana?

a)

Silent Barter

b)

Forced Trade

c)

Slave Trade

13.

Which is not a way Ghana's rulers acquired huge amounts of gold?

a)

Hiring Bandits to rob the traders.

b)

Trading gold and salt.

c)

Controlling the gold mines.

d)

Taxing the people

e)

Taxing traders that traded in Ghana

14.

During the salt and gold trade, which part of Western Africa did the salt come from?

a)

The northern part

b)

The southern part

c)

On the east coast

d)

In the mountains

15.

Which animal was most valuable for traders along the Trans-Saharan Trade routes?

a)

Horse

b)

Camel

c)

Dog

d)

Oxen

16.

Which of the following is not a reason that salt was so valuable?

a)

Preserved food

b)

Restored the PH balance in humans (needed to survive)

c)

Could improve crop growth by fertilizing the soil

d)

Flavored food

17.

Slaves were traded along the __________

a)

Columbian Exchange

b)

Triangular Trade

c)

Silk Road

d)

Orient Express

18.

Which European nation set up trading posts along the coast of West Africa in the 1400s?

a)

Portugal

b)

Spain

c)

England

d)

France

19.

Why did the Spanish and Portuguese need large numbers of slaves in the New World?

a)

To hunt for furs

b)

Build forts in along the coast

c)

To work the sugar plantations

d)

To build a large fleet of ships for exploration

20.

What part of Africa did most of the enslaved people come from?

a)

Coast of East Africa

b)

North Africa

c)

Tip of South Africa

d)

Coast of West Africa

21.
Sunni Ali was a great warrior that built a powerful army to break away from Mali and form which West African empire?
a)
Songhai
b)
Ghana
c)
Egypt 
d)
Mali
22.
What brought Islam to West Africa?
a)
War
b)
Trade
c)
Emporers
d)
Crusades
23.
What were the two main rivers in West Africa?
a)
Niger and Nile
b)
Nile and Senegal
c)
Niger and Senegal
d)
Senegal and Zambezi
24.
If you lived in the forests south of Ghana, in Wangara, then you would need to trade for what resource?
a)
Gold
b)
Salt
c)
Copper
d)
Leather
25.
Why did the Wangarans trade silently?
a)
They had no spoken language
b)
To have power over those with whom they traded
c)
Because they disliked other traders
d)
To keep their gold mines' locations secret.
26.
How did Ghana profit from outsiders?
a)
Capturing slaves
b)
Finding gold mines
c)
Taxing trade
d)
Selling fish
27.
The rulers of Ghana taxed their citizens and banned common people from owning 
a)
gold
b)
gold dust
c)
gold nuggets
d)
dinosaurs
28.

Which of these was NOT a cause of Ghana's decline?

a)

Overgrazing

b)

Disease

c)

Invasions

d)

Internal Rebellion

29.

Who was the first Mali leader to take the title of Mansa?

a)

Musa

b)

Sunni Ali

c)

Sundiata

d)

Timbuktu

30.

Storytellers in West Africa were called:

a)

Griots

b)

Kentes

c)

Sahels

d)

Proverbs

31.

What technological achievement was Ghana known for?

a)

Pyramids

b)

Iron Work

c)

Farming equipment

d)

The Internet

32.

The Songhai Empire replaced which empire?

a)

Timbuktu

b)

Gao

c)

Kumbi

d)

Mali

33.

What is the 2nd largest Continent

a)

North America

b)

Africa

c)

Australia

d)

Asia

34.

The largest hot desert is__

a)

Namib

b)

Nevada

c)

Sahara

d)

Kalahari

35.

The biggest, hottest desert in the world is the

a)

Sahara Desert

b)

Savannah Desert

c)

Hot Desert

d)

Dry Desert

36.

A grassy plain with few trees is a

a)

desert

b)

grassland

c)

rainforest

d)

savanna

37.

The belief that spirits can be found in nature.

a)

animism

b)

realism

c)

spiritualism

d)

atheism

38.

Group of people that originally lived in West Africa.

a)

Griots

b)

Bantu

c)

Ghana

d)

Swahili

39.

The Sahara desert was a _____ millions of years ago.

a)

stream

b)

river

c)

lake

d)

reservoir

40.

The second great empire in West Africa.

a)

Ghana

b)

Songhai

c)

Roman

d)

Mali

41.

Which group consistently attacked Ghana? This was in part responsible for its fall.

a)

Almoravid

b)

Roman

c)

Songhai

d)

Egypt

42.

He is known as The Lion King.

a)

Mansa Musa

b)

Tunka Manin

c)

Sundiata Keita

d)

Simba

43.

His image was the first of an African ruler to appear in the most famous European map.

a)

Sundiata Keita

b)

Askia the Great

c)

Tunka Manin

d)

Mansa Musa

44.

Which religion took hold of West Africa.

a)

Christianity

b)

Animism

c)

Judaism

d)

Islam

45.

Who is considered to be the richest person in history?

a)

Bill Gates

b)

Elon Musk

c)

Mansa Musa

d)

Tunka Manin

46.

What is the name of the trade that sent manufactured goods from Europe to Africa, slaves from Africa to the Americas, and raw material from the Americas to Europe?

a)

New World Slave Trade

b)

Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

c)

Carnival Cruise Trade

d)

Tremendous Trade

47.

When Sundiata was a child, he was_______.

a)

big and strong

b)

arrogant

c)

wise and athletic

d)

sickly

48.

When Sundiata's father, the king died ____________.

a)

Sundiata became king

b)

Dankaran became king

c)

Sundiata was killed

d)

Dankaran was killed

49.

He unified and strengthened Songhai.

a)

Mansa Musa

b)

Askia the Great

c)

Sundiata Keita

d)

Sunni Ali

50.

Powerful leader of Songhai, went blind and was removed from power by his son.

a)

Abu Bakr

b)

Alexander the Great

c)

Askia the Great

d)

Sunni Ali

51.

Mansa Musa's image appeared on ____________ after his hajj to Mecca.

a)

Google Maps

b)

Catalan Atlas

c)

Globes

d)

Facebook

52.

Which European country began the slave trade to the New World?

a)

England

b)

Spain

c)

Portugal

d)

France

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