Image courtesy Lenny Flank
Who was the richest person in the history of the world? Is it a contemporary of ours like Bezos? How about Rockefeller? Or, maybe Stalin? All of these are wrong. Most likely, it was Mansa Musa, who led the West African Empire of Mali. Mansa Musa was so rich that when his 100-camel caravan spent a little of its gold in Alexandria, it caused runaway inflation.
Before Mansa Musa's travels, his kingdom was unheard of outside West Africa. In fact, Arabs and Persians didn’t even believe it was possible for Africans to create a nation like it. Racism was strong. However, after his travels, Mansa’s empire became so famous throughout the region that Europeans created fables about the fanciful gold-laden kingdom. And, to some extent, it lived up to the hype.
Mali centered around Timbuktu. It was a prospering economic center. The city was filled with architectural feats and was home to a renowned university that persists to this day. Mansa attracted scholars, scientists, and experts from around the world to make their mark on the kingdom, and the kingdom flourished.
Fast forward 700 years and we can see that the movie Black Panther doesn't only tell a tale of a rich sub-Saharan African nation. It reminisces 1300 West Africa (although Wakanda was supposedly written to be in East Africa). The best parallel between Black Panther and Mansa Musa comes from the UN scene when the jaws of world leaders bounce in laughter and then drop in awe when they realize what Wakanda has to offer humanity. Mansa Musa must have received a similar reaction from Alexandrians. The important question is who will elicit a similar response in the future?