1. Geography affects all of our lives. The three West African empires are a good example of this. Explain and show how geography(environment) affected these empires. Think about their
location, environments and resources. Provide specific examples to support your point. Your
answer should be no less than five sentences.

The geography affected the West African empires in that people settled to the south of the Sahara desert where it was more fertile. There were gold mines and salt mines in the area that gave them leverage in trade.

Explanation:

The three great empires of West Africa were Ancient Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. These societies flourish from 700 AD to 1600 AD. Their power and influence was largely based on their ability to trade. Trade was vital to these societies and they had to traverse the Sahara desert on camels to do so with North Africans who had trade relationships with the Middle and Far East, as well as Europe. In Ancient West Africa people began to settle south of the Sahara, where the land was more fertile. Villages and towns traded for items they could not produce themselves. The empires had access to gold and this gave them power in trade as well. Mali also had access to the Taghaza, an important salt-mine that also gave them leverage in trade.

question - in 1827, john walker, a druggist in a small english town, tipped a splint with sulphur, chlorate of potash, and sulphid of antimony, and rubbed it on sandpaper, and it burst into flame. the druggist had discovered the first friction-chemical match, the kind we use to-day. it is called friction-chemical because it is made by mixing certain chemicals together and rubbing them. although walker's match did not require the bottle of acid, nevertheless it was not a good one. it could be lighted only by hard rubbing, and it sputtered and threw fire in all directions. in a few years, however, phosphorus was substituted on the tip for antimony, and the change worked wonders. the match could now be lighted with very little rubbing, and it was no longer necessary to have sandpaper upon which to rub it. it would ignite when rubbed on any dry surface, and there was no longer any sputtering. this was the phosphorus match, the match with which we are so familiar. according the paragraph what was the benefit of the new phosphorus match? it burst into flame when rubbed on sandpaper. it was made by mixing chemicals. it could be ignited on any dry surface. it threw fire in all directions.

answer - matches required natural chemicals