Trace medieval West African empires — Ghana c. 300-1200 CE, Mali c. 1235-1670 CE (Sundiata + Mansa Musa 1324 hajj + Timbuktu Sankore complex), Songhai c. 1464-1591 CE (Sunni Ali + Askia Muhammad I) — refusing the 'tribal/primitive' Orientalist framing absolutely
Exercise
Difficulty 4
~12 min
hist.g7.f.ex_21
Claim Evidence Warrant
Prompt
Apply G7-Fall Math proportional-reasoning cross-curricular: if Mansa Musa's 1324 hajj caused 10-25% Cairo gold-price deflation that took 12 YEARS to recover, what does this imply about (a) the volume of gold he distributed, and (b) the size of his caravan? Cite al-'Umari 1342 contemporary account.
How it's presented
mode
text
Answer criteria
type
claim evidence warrant rubric
rubric
Quantitative analysis applying proportional-reasoning (15 pts); caravan size 60,000+ persons + 12,000 enslaved attendants in silk with gold-bars + 100 camels with 300 lbs gold-dust noted (15 pts); 'richest person in recorded history' framing justified (10 pts); al-'Umari 1342 citation (5 pts). Total 45 pts.
Hints
- Cross-curricular with G7-Fall math.
- Caravan size 60,000+ persons + estimated ~5,000+ kg of gold-dust + 12,000 4-pound gold-bars = ~73,000+ kg gold.
Misconceptions to watch
- Stopping at the qualitative claim without quantitative analysis
Used in lessons