Trade Routes

History

Mansa Abu Bakar II,

king of the ancient kingdom of Mali in West Africa.

Mansa Abu Bakar II, king of the ancient kingdom of Mali in West Africa. Mansa Abu Bakar was an educated man, who was curious to know  what was behind the Atlantic Ocean. In 1311, he sent some of his men with enough provisions to last them years on 200 ships to explore the limits of the ocean. He ordered them to not return until they find what is behind the Atlantic ocean. 

It is said that only one ship returned and when asked what happened, the captain responded “We traveled for a long time and there appeared in the open sea a river with a powerful current. The other ships went on ahead but when they reached that place, they did not return and no more was seen of them. As for me, I went about it once and did not enter the river”. 

So, king Abu Bakari II decided to assemble even more ships, two thousands to be exact; he equipped them with food, water, livestock, gold, and other provisions, left the throne to his brother Mansa Musa, and went to explore himself. 

They apparently never returned, so the question is: did they ever reach the Americas? 

Native Africans / Native Americans

Looking at evidence that modern historians, archaeologists, and researchers are now bringing to light, the answer appears to be yes! The evidence and sources I found to support include:

  1. According to Leo Weiner in his book entitled Africa and the Discovery of America, Columbus reported in his journal that the Native Americans confirmed “black skinned people had come from the south-east in boats, trading in gold-tipped spears.” It appears the native Americans described the spearheads as “guanin”, which means “gold” in the Mandinka language – a language of the Mali Empire.
  2. Columbus also reported seeing mosque-like buildings when he arrived in America. In fact, the people from the Kingdom of Mali were Muslims, so they may have built mosques while there.
  3. African skeletons were discovered in America and studies show that the skeletons are from the 13th century and most likely related to Mansa Abu Bakr’s voyage.
  4. The Garifuna people: I came across an episode from the New York Botanical Garden (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZvb3RIwk-E), where they invited a group of people known as Garinagu. In explaining how they came about, they mentioned the fusion of Africans from the kingdom of Mali with native Americans.