As one of the most recognizable and powerful Islamic rulers of their time, Mansa Musa aided in the spread of Islam and the strengthening of trade ties to other foreign nations including Egypt and of course the Islamic Empire in the Middle East and even as far as India. In the 1460s yet another group came from the same area,  the Songhai Empire. These were the warriors who conquered Timbuktu, their empire lasted until the 1590s. These empires ruled in the areas of modern day Mali, Ghana, Guinea, Senegal, Niger, and parts of Mauritania and Algeria. In the 1880s European interest began to grow in the West African territories. France, Belgium, Germany, and Great Britain were major players in the scramble for Africa. Throughout the 1880s those nations would lay claim to many territories including most of West Africa accepting the nations of Liberia and Ethiopia.

Though the West Africans had many inventions, the ones we are going to talk about in this museum are the ones that we dubbed the most important. Every one of these inventions had some effect on the world as we know it today. Some may be more known than others but the use of each one was consequential to the growth of the ancient West African Empires.