Final answer:
Ghana's strategy for controlling trade routes involved having a well-trained army, the knowledge of crafting iron weapons, and deriving wealth from heavily taxed commodities like gold and copper.
Step-by-step explanation:
Three components of Ghana's strategy for controlling the trade route include:
- Ghana's kings had a well-trained army. A strong military was necessary for maintaining peace and control along the trade routes, ensuring that trade could be conducted safely and the empire could collect taxes on goods.
- Ghana knew how to make weapons from iron, which would have been crucial for equipping its army and exerting military control over the trade routes.
- Ghanaian wealth derived from commodities like gold and copper, which implies that the control over the production and taxation of these commodities was central to Ghana’s ability to dominate the trade routes. Levying duties on goods such as copper was a means to control and benefit from the trade passing through its empire.
Contrary to the claim that Ghana's king allowed people to travel the trade routes freely without paying taxes, the kingdom profited from the imposition of taxes on commodities including copper. It is important to distinguish between the historical kingdom of Ghana and the modern nation-state of Ghana.