Moroccan Invasion Destroys Songhai Empire, Destabilizes West Africa

The Moroccan Sa'adian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur invaded the Songhai Empire and destroyed it at the Battle of Tondibi in 1591. The collapse of the last great Sahelian empire shattered the political order of West Africa, creating warfare, instability, and displacement that slave traders and their African collaborators systematically exploited to capture and sell millions of people over the following century. Historians regard the Songhai collapse as a major accelerant of the Atlantic slave trade's expansion.