Europeans In Africa Research Paper

The empire was rich in gold and became a leading force in the trans-Saharan trade. The economy of Ancient Ghana received their wealth and power from the mines, the use of iron weapons, decimating neighboring villages, and farming along the river( ). The prosperity of the empire is mainly due to the role they played in the trans-Saharan trade, the empire traded with Muslim countries of the Middles east ( ). Gold and salt were the central bases of revenue, gold being extremely important to Ghana causing the empire to develop quickly. The trading activities that constituted the backbone of Ghana’s economy were the sale of gold, kola nuts, and ivory to cities along the Mediterranean, in exchange for salt ( ).

Africa has had a long and tumultuous road of colonization and decolonization the rush to colonize Africa started in the 17th century with the discovery of the vast amounts of gold, diamonds, and rubber with colonization hitting a fever pitch during World War I. However, the repercussions of colonization have left deep wounds that still remain unhealed in the 21st century. Early on, European nations such as Britain, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany and Belgium scrambled for territories. Countries wanted land so they could harvest the resources, increase trade, and gain power. The European colonization of Africa brought racism, civil unrest, and insatiable greed; all of which have had lasting impacts on Africa.

People of the early African kingdoms were able to create successful trade routes with Europe and Asia, become very wealthy from conquering and gaining land, and were able to have a strong central government. All of this was done before the Europeans had reached Africa. Trade flourished on the East African coast, especially when trading was established with India and Arabia. African kingdoms were prosperous, because of their success with not only trading but also with their ability to conquer land. A governmental structure is key to allowing any kingdom to thrive, and the African people were able to achieve this.

Europe was out to conquer the world and become the most powerful continent in the world. With the how advance Europe was compared they were able to conquer Africa .The determination of powerful European countries to conquer Africa was exploration, profit, and means

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.

The second Empire that was more extensive was Mali in West Africa. They were dominating in the 13th and 14th century. This empire was one of the largest trading posts in the world, which had roots in the gold of West Africa. Mali Empire flourished because of the trade above all else. This empire contained three immense gold mines within its borders unlike the Ghana Empire, which was only a transit point for gold. The taxed every single once of gold, cotton and salt that entered its borders. Mali was the source of almost half the old world’s gold exported from mines in Bambuk, Boure and Galam. The gold nuggets were the exclusive property of the mansa, and were illegal to trade within his borders. All gold was immediately handed over to the imperial treasury in return for an equal value of gold dust. The gold dust had been weighted and bagged for use at least since the reign of the Ghana Empire. The next great unit of exchange in this empire was salt. Salt was as valuable, if

Regional trade in early africa was important because it laid a basis in many ways for a high class society. The unique sources of africa allowed people to trade with each other for things they need but couldn't make themselves. People in africa sold Ivory, Gold, iron, and salt which were all valued very high by traders. The iron allowed the Africans to make tools allowing them to make a surplus of crops. This made traders want to come back so that they can get more of the resources not near them that they can sell for a profit. But there was one negative too traders coming so often Ghana decided to jail some of the traders. This affected many other

Trade was a big deal in Africa, and the location of many of the cities made it easy

Amidst the thriving chaos of the Industrial Revolution and subsequent to the politically volatile French Revolution, Europe in the 1800s was an ever-changing realm of new systems, machines, methods of transportation, ideas, and leaders. Those leaders faced a plethora of challenges both internally and externally, as both their subjects and other countries were angry with them for various reasons. One of the problems these rulers faced was the matter of imperial power on other continents. So, the more relevant European leaders met at the Berlin Conference to decide what each country was allowed to colonize. In doing so, the rulers they legalized the Scramble for Africa, therefore allowing colonization

Around the year 1897 Edward Morel noticed something that would change the way the modern world viewed the colonization of Africa and the supposed “humanitarian” work there forever (Hochschild 1). Morel worked for an English shipping company that was responsible for cargo going between the Congo Free State and Belgium. What Morel noticed was that ships from Africa were filled with rich, exotic goods like rubber and ivory, but the ships headed to Africa from Belgium were filled with military members and various firearms and ammunition (Hochschild 2). Morel made the conclusion that the cause of this odd “trade” between Europe and Africa was slave labor. European colonization of Africa was a slow, arduous process resulting in the deaths of

In West Africa, the savanna provided a long distance trade site before the use of Atlantic slave trade. Its surplus of gold makes Africa rich and rivaling with Europe's power

The Byzantine Empire needed the metal to create an economy and many products. The route kept on expanding to be a more traditional trade route of the Silk Road between Europe and the Middle East. The camel caravans and oases were the primary modes of transportation to make it possible for the buyer and seller to communicate about the product and slave. The camels were perfectly suited to the travel through the Sahara from moving for extended periods of time and carrying heavy packages. The transportation also helped cultural exchange between Africans and Arabs. The Trans-Saharan trading enriched the African kingdoms beyond what would have been possible without it.

In the African continent, they developed an economic relationship with the European nation. There was clear signs that European needed connections. Prior to their relationship, african rulers had established trade links with the Mediterranean world, Western Asia, and Indian Ocean region. The expansion provided Europeans goods that included, cloth, iron, copper, jewelry, beads, and more. In exchange, Europeans return with textiles, carving, spices. The main trade however was

Every single piece of solid gold in Ancient Ghana was owned by the king. Gold dust though could be used by the traders for trading. With the trading of gold dust, it would boost the demand for it and the price would go up, the king believed. Although people traded in the cities, silent bartering also took place. One merchant would leave example 1 pound of gold and another merchant would take that and leave behind one pound of salt. A system of trade that surprisingly worked.

On the other side of the world, trade significantly influenced the course of history in West Africa (A). All the wealth made through trade was used to build larger kingdoms and empires and to protect their trade interests, these kingdoms built strong armies. Kingdoms that desired more control of the trade also developed strong armies to expand their kingdoms and protect them from their competition. Long distance trade helped the local economy and also supported internal trade because