Before the Iron Age, African societies were organized around the family units and gold ownership was used to determine the society with the most power. Slave trade which began in the late 1400s is what disrupted the societal structures of Africans as the Europeans invaded the West African Coast drawing Africans from their continent to be sold as slaves in Europe. The Kingdom of Aksum pursued trade and empire. Even with the disintegration of the Roman Empire and the decline in trade, Aksum's trade increased during 1000s (Munro-Hay, 1991). The kingdom's export of ivory, brass, and slaves brought prosperity. Some people garnered massive wealth and became cosmopolitan. The kingdom's port city which was the Red Sea bustled with many activities. Its cattle breeding and agriculture flourished and the kingdom extended its rule to the Nubia, Yemen and Northern Ethiopia.
The Kingdom of Ghana is believed to have existed between 900- 1300. This kingdom marked the emergence of several empires in West Africa that involved an extensive commercial trade (Mair, 1977). The introduction of camel brought about a revolution in trade and largely enabled the transportation of ivory, gold and salt resources to the north of Africa and some parts of Europe for exchange with manufactured goods. This is proof that trade in the West African region is ancient. It is worth noting that that the Ghana Kingdom during this period was farther north than what is presently known as Ghana. The kingdom was largely known as the land of gold, a description which supports the gold trade in the region (Mair, 1977). The development of Ghana into a powerful and centralized kingdom was enabled by the gold trade. The people in this kingdom had their own means of extracting gold.
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Religious movement shaped the structures of the African societies. Following the death of Prophet Muhammad, Islam religion quickly spread in the North of Africa bringing not just a unifying faith but a legal and political structure as well. Only those who had converted to Islam were allowed to participate in the trade or rule the kingdoms. Due to the spread of Islam in West Africa, Mali replaced Ghana as the leading state in West Africa. The conversion of Sundiata's rule to Islam played a significant role in government and administration.
References
Mair, L. P. (1977). African kingdoms (p. 124). Clarendon Press.
Munro-Hay, S. C. (1991). Aksum: an African civilisation of late antiquity . Edinburgh University Press.
