The peoples of West Africa had a rich and varied history and culture long before European slaver traders arrived. They had a wide variety of political arrangements including kingdoms, city-states and other organisations, each with their own languages and culture. The empire of Songhai and the kingdoms of Mali, Benin and Kongo were large and powerful with monarchs heading complex political structures governing hundreds of thousands of subjects. In other areas, political systems were smaller and weaker, relying on agreements between people at village level. As in 16th century war-torn Europe, the balance of power between political states and groups was constantly changing.
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