Question

Please help? The king of Ghana is said to have kept gold nuggets for himself while allowing gold dust to be traded. What does this story tell you about the impact of the gold trade on Africa's social order?

The social order depended on gold dust as a way of determining social status.
The social order of Ghana was just as hierarchical as the social order in medieval Europe.
The social order of the Ghana Empire was more democratic than in medieval Europe.
The social order in the Ghana Empire was more like Arab Islamic states than European ones.

Answer 1

European social order has always been tied to land. If you are a duke, baron, count, knight or whatever there is land that goes with the title. Much of the time the land and title was inherited. That's why arranging marriages was a thing with the upper classes. You get a shot at more inheritances by getting into more families.
African society treated land differently. All the land belonged to the king, but it was not sold or transferred to anyone else. So nobody inherited land. Having land was not a way to show of your wealth.
So other things, like gold and slaves, where the symbols of wealth. Nobody owed allegiance because of land to anyone but the king. Not much hierarchy as a result.

Any society that allows someone to tell you what gold you can keep and what they can take is not democratic.

Answer 2

soo do you think it would be B? @wwhitlock

Answer 3

no, sorry if I was too vague. I'd go for the gold!