Materials

• Paper crown for the king
• Trade items:
  –    rock salt
  –    gold nuggets (rocks spray-painted gold)
  –    nuts
  –    pieces of cloth (rags will do)
  –    books
  –    shells

Instructional Activities

1. Review previous sessions on Mali.
   
   
2. Share the following information:
   The West African Empire of Mali was one of the richest and most powerful empires. At this time, Mali was an important trade center that lay across the trade routes between the Sahara Desert where salt was the important resource and West Africa where the gold mines were found. People came to Mali to trade in the marketplaces. People from Eastern Africa, Northern Africa, and regions in the south also had to pass through Mali to trade. At this time, the West African Empire of Mali was run by a king, like many other empires in Africa (pharaoh in Egypt). The king of Mali controlled the trade in West Africa and put a tax on things that were sold or traded within the country of Mali. This is how the Empire of Mali became so wealthy and powerful. Mali had marketplaces like the agoras in ancient Greece. Many items were traded in these marketplaces. West African people from the deserts in the north carried salt, copper, cloth, books, shells, and pearls to these marketplaces to trade. Traders from the south brought gold, nuts, ivory, and slaves to trade. The people from Mali traded their own gold and products, and managed the trade between other countries. This is why Mali became an important trade center. People went to the marketplaces in Mali to trade things they had for items they needed or to sell things for money. Merchants often traded gold for salt. For the people of the desert, salt was an important natural resource. People used salt for their health and to preserve foods. Without salt, people would grow sick and die, especially when the climate was hot. Salt was also used as money for trading in Mali.
   
   
3. Trade activity
   • Choose a student to be the king of Mali. The king’s job will be to tax people that come to the marketplace in Mali.
   • Divide the rest of the students into three groups.
   1)   People from the desert in the north (carrying rock salt, cloth, books, and shells)
   2)   People from the south (carrying gold nuggets and nuts)
   3)   People from Mali in the marketplace (had gold nuggets)
   • Set up a marketplace in the classroom, and conduct a brief bartering/trading role-playing session.
   • When the people pass through the marketplace, they may use salt rocks, gold nuggets, or coins to pay taxes to the king.
   
   
4. Follow up with a discussion, and ask what problems students encountered.
   
   
5. Have students add and illustrate page 5 in their Mali fact booklets on Government and Trade.