The amount of trade made Mali the center of development.
Step-by-step explanation:
Mali had the curse of the developed nation that had the resources and did not have other sense of business.
This often leaves the nation ripe for exploitation and that is exactly what had happened to Mali.
They had been at the center of a burgeoning trade and thus became the prize in the eye of the many who had been fighting for its control in Africa and from outside of Africa.
This meant that Mali was never to be in peace completely.