When the European traders arrived to West Africa, three empires were ruling the region with powerful Monarchies, the kingdoms of Mali, Benin and Kongo; being the Kingdom of Mali the most powerful and extended, The Mali Empire as it was also known possessed exuberant wealth represented in great amounts of gold. The Mali Empire flourished between 1240 to 1645 in the region of South West Africa and it was the largest established in Africa. This empire not only exploited gold, but also copper, salt and ivory.
