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Comparing Sonni Ali And West African Societies

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Comparing Sonni Ali And West African Societies
In 1492, West African societies are currently under Songhai rule, but Sonni Ali is dying and Askia Mohammed is going into rule gaining everything left from Sonni Ali, including Timbuktu. Timbuktu was the trading and cultural center for the Mali. Askia Mohammed is focused predominantly on expansion of the empire through strengthening Muslim ties and reforming government, banking, and education. European societies discussed in these sections include Spain, Portugal, France, and England. Spain, Portugal, France, and England are all under monarchs as their form of government in 1492, which is heavily influenced by religion, which at this time was collectively Catholicism in the European societies. The collective goal in Portugal, Spain, France, …show more content…
West African societies are currently reforming their government somewhat similar to Portugal who is returning to the Catholicism with a monarchy being restored, while the Americas do not seem to have a recorded government. The Americas do however have shamans and sachems, which are appointed leaders one for religion and the other designated to choosing leaders. Education plays a role in both the West African and European societies; West Africa is reforming theirs and European societies are depending on theirs to further their exploration, such as the caravel and soon to be astrolabe. It seems that the West African and European societies due to their similarities in development stages have similar qualities, such as their focus on exploration and education, and organized religion and government. Whereas, the Americas societies seem to be in a premature stage of development and are focused still on survival through agriculture, hunting, and gathering resulting in a less definitive government and

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