Atlantic voyage of the predecessor of Mansa Musa facts for kids

In 1324, while visiting Cairo during his hajj (a religious pilgrimage), Mansa Musa, the ruler of the Mali Empire, shared an amazing story. He told an Egyptian official that he became king because the ruler before him had sailed off into the Atlantic Ocean and never came back.

This story was written down by an Arab historian named al-Umari. It has made many people wonder if explorers from Africa might have reached the Americas before Christopher Columbus. Many people mistakenly think the king who sailed was named Mansa Abu Bakr II. However, historians believe this is a misunderstanding. The voyage is thought to have been made by Mansa Muhammad ibn Qu.

We don't know the exact date of this voyage. It is believed to have happened in or just before 1312, which is when Musa likely became king. No clear proof of what happened to the ships has ever been found.

Musa's Account

Mansa Musa stayed in Cairo for three months in 1324 while on his way to Mecca for his hajj. While there, he became friends with a local governor named Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Amir Hajib. Ibn Amir Hajib later wrote down what he learned about Mali from his talks with Musa.

In one conversation, Ibn Amir Hajib asked Musa how he became king. Musa replied:

We belong to a house which hands on the kingship by inheritance. The king who was my predecessor did not believe that it was impossible to discover the furthest limit of the Atlantic Ocean and wished vehemently to do so. So he equipped 200 ships filled with men and the same number equipped with gold, water, and provisions enough to last them for years, and said to the man deputed to lead them: "Do not return until you reach the end of it or your provisions and water give out." They departed and a long time passed before anyone came back. Then one ship returned and we asked the captain what news they brought. He said: "Yes, O Sultan, we traveled for a long time until there appeared in the open sea [as it were] a river with a powerful current. Mine was the last of those ships. The [other] ships went on ahead but when they reached that place they did not return and no more was seen of them and we do not know what became of them. As for me, I went about at once and did not enter that river." But the sultan disbelieved him. Then that sultan got ready 2,000 ships, 1,000 for himself and the men whom he took with him and 1,000 for water and provisions. He left me to deputize for him and embarked on the Atlantic Ocean with his men. That was the last we saw of him and all those who were with him, and so I became king in my own right.

Al-Umari’s record of this talk is the only story we have about this voyage. Other historians from that time and West African oral traditions do not mention it. Still, historians generally believe Musa's account is true.

Who Was Musa's Predecessor?

There has been some confusion about the identity of the king who sailed. Al-Umari’s record of Musa’s story does not give the king's name. It only says he was Musa’s predecessor (the king before him).

According to another Arab historian, Ibn Khaldun, who wrote many years later, Musa’s predecessor was Muhammad ibn Qu. Because of this, many historians believe Mansa Muhammad was the one who sailed.

Many sources call the king in question Abu Bakr II. However, including a Mansa Abu Bakr II in the list of Malian rulers is a mistake. This idea came from a wrong translation of Ibn Khaldun’s text by a European historian in the 1800s. In the original Arabic text, Abu Bakr is only mentioned as an ancestor of Musa, not as a ruler. The Abu Bakr mentioned was a brother of Sunjata, who founded the Mali Empire, and he never ruled himself. Another person named Abu Bakr did rule as mansa, but he was king before Sakura, not before Musa.

Some historians have also suggested that the voyage should be linked to Mansa Qu. He was the father and predecessor of Muhammad ibn Qu, according to Ibn Khaldun.

Legacy

Mansa Musa himself seemed to think his predecessor's plan was not practical. The main point he seemed to be making to Ibn Amir Hajib was that the failed voyage led to him becoming king. It has also been thought that the lack of information about the voyage in oral traditions means people saw it as a king abandoning his duties.

In modern times, the voyage has become more celebrated. The Malian historian Gaoussou Diawara has said that the mansa should be seen as an example for today's leaders. He showed a ruler who valued science and discovery more than just holding onto power.

See also

In Spanish: Abubakari II para niños