African Trade Changes

One of the most prominent effects of the cross cultural interaction was the Afro Eurasian Trade Network which helped increase revenue. The trade routes that were part of this network were the Mediterranean Sea Maritime Trade Route, Indian Ocean Maritime Trade Route, Eurasian Silk Road and the Trans-Saharan Trade Routes. The increase in trade resulted in the emergence of major cities such as Timbuktu, Jenne, Mogadishu, Mombasa and other Swahili city states. Another reason for the flourish of trade was the invention of new technologies such as caravans for traveling and the trading of luxury goods such as silk, cotton and porcelain. The dawn of new kingdoms such as Mali, Songhay and Sudan contributed to this effect as well. The spread of Islam resulted in

“No nation was ever ruined by trade.” This quote was said by Benjamin Franklin in the late 1700s. These words are so simple, and it seems like anyone could have said them. However, this quote has a bigger meaning in that throughout world history, trade has been so important to so many countries and it has led to many empires successes. It has occurred for a very long time, and it has progressed dramatically. Trade has changed a lot, but some parts of trade stayed the same over a long periods of time. In the era between 300 CE and 1450 CE, trade between Eurasia and Africa changed because the empires and kingdoms in power were replaced and their control over trade differed;

In a way it was a precursor to the oncoming storm of the slave trade and its global impact. However it is evident through the letters of Afonso, in this moment, that although Africans were collaborating with the Portuguese in trade that they did not want them to kidnap their nobleman or weakening its currency. Furthermore, the trade relations of the Atlantic Age specifically with the Portuegeuse and the Kongo help us understand the expansion of commercial exchange between West Central Africa and Europeans and give us a glimpse at the long-term and widespread impact it would have in

Assess the Impact of European commercial activities in the Atlantic Islands and West Africa from 1415 to 1600.

The Atlantic Slave Trade was a part of African history that had made one of it's biggest impact on Africa's relation with the world and more importantly on the inner workings of the country itself due to its large-scale involvement of many of the people in the continent. Although the slave trade was so long ago the impact can still be seen in Africa's social workings within the people, its economy in the local and global market, and within the political landscape of the countries.

Africa was a region that was effected negatively by trade. Slavery first started to become a popular idea when in the 1500s, Portuguese and European traders started going into Africa and purchasing slaves to come work on their plantations. Ironically slavery was started by African rulers trading slaves for resources such as metalwork,

trade between Africa, Europe, and North America. By trading rum, money and goods were brought

If there was ever an important period historians, and people could put a finger on, this would be it. This is the important period where the world’s countries, kingdoms, and dynasties established trade routes. This is the period where countries were made and countries were destroyed because of the importance of trade and the importance of building a fundamental, religious, and economical way of life. This paper will discuss the goals and functions of trades, and traders, and a historical analysis of world trade. This paper will also get into world trade patterns, of The Americas, Sub-Saharan Africa, The Indian Ocean, The Silk routes, China and The South China Sea, Europe and The Mediterranean, and The Atlantic Exploration.

Even though these aspects describe the ways that change occurred with trade between Afro-Eurasia, one important part did stay the same. North Africa was consistent and always a key part of trade between the continents of Europe, Africa, and Asia. In 300, North Africa was the only area that traded with the Mediterranean. In the time of the gold-salt trade, European venders and Islamic merchants arrived in North Africa. North African merchants still traded even when Europeans started to shift the balance of trade to the Americas starting from the mid-1400s. This is how trade systems between Africa and Europe stayed the same between the years 300-1450.

Europeans began to export slaves out of Africa and eventually into the Americas through Triangular trade. This put Africa on the map economically, but this economy began to disrupt their society. Different tribes began to start wars over obtaining slaves to trade for European goods. Eventually slave trade also led to a decrease in population in Africa, which caused a loss in potential for growth and as a result weakened African civilizations. Many regions were left dominated by females because of the demand for male slaves. This disrupted the previous traditional African family structure. The Europeans also took it upon themselves to impose Christianity on the Africans, who formerly practiced many different religions based on their

Trade was one aspect of the advancement of African Kingdoms before the arrival of Europeans. Trade notably developed due to the location of Aksum, a kingdom in Eastern Africa. Aksum was elongated from the Red Sea to the mountains, in which is present day Ethiopia.

Between the fifteenth and the nineteenth century the fur trade and slave trade connected the global commerce, and played a significant role in world history. Each of them transformed the destiny of North American and African society. Politically, economically and culturally, North Americans were dying slowly in seemingly more peaceful fur trade, and Africans were immediately hit by the wreaked havoc of slave trade.

Trading started when Portuguese were quite interested in the some of the mineral deposits that were found in Africa at the time. The trading of slaves raised with the discovery of the New World. The most common things to be traded were cotton, tobacco and sugar plantations that were in the Americas. The slaves from Africa weren’t necessary needed the Americans just wanted them so they didn’t have to do the hard work. The slaves from Africa mostly worked on the plantations and harvesting mainly cotton, tobacco and sugar cane to then trade with Britain. All of this happened until 1865 when the 13th amendment was put into the constitution stating the abolishment of slavery in the US. The slave trade had a lot of effect on Africa, hundreds of thousand men and women were taken from the prime of their lives and were taken from their families, it harmed the economies and the society and made Africa an easy target to be colonised by

”European ships brought manufactured goods to Africa, trading them for people. They carried Africans across the Atlantic to the Americas where they were sold into slavery (The Atlantic Slave Trade).” Europeans fueled trade by selling African slaves in exchange for sugar, coffee, and tobacco, impacting economies in both, Europe and the Americas. Further, another triangular network between the English colonies, West Indies, and Africa, led to the trade of numerous commodities including slaves, rum, sugar and molasses. From an economic standpoint, the increased demand for African slaves became integral to trade between the three nations fueling the growth of various trade networks.

Africa’s share in the world market is marginal. Its percentage in a global exports market is 2.4 percent. Africa is imaginably the only continent that tends to be examined and judged as a single entity. That approach fails to do justice to great differences between countries in terms of their histories and present situations (UNCTAD 2014). The intra-African trade contribution in aggregate trade performance is the lowest compared to other regions. Intra-African trade accounted for about 10 percent of Africa’s total trade in 2009 as compared to 22 percent for Latin America and 50 percent for Asia (UNCTAD/ALDC/AFRICA/2009). The enormous opportunities for cross-border trades in Africa are massive that creates employment; unlocking the trade potential, catalyse investment and foster growth in Africa.