Trans-Sharan Trade Research Paper

1. Long-distance commerce acted as a motor of change in pre-modern world history by altering consumption and daily life. Essential food and useful tools such as salt were traded from the Sahara desert all the way to West Africa and salt was used as a food preserver. Some incenses essential to religious ceremonies were traded across the world because there was a huge demand for them. Trade diminished economic self-sufficiency by creating a reliance on traded goods and encouraged people to specialize and trade a particular skill. Trade motivated the creation of a state due to the wealth accumulated from controlling and taxing trade. Trade posed the problem of if the government or private

Trans-Saharan slave trade - A smaller slave trade along the Sand Roads; slaves were taken during raids on independent states and clans.

In the Arabian peninsula, Islam had started. After Muhammad died, the Muslim community embarked on a series of military conquests that extended their control over much of Eurasia and north Africa. Muslim merchants also became a prominent figure in trade during this time. The Islamic empire extended to the Arabian Peninsula and many areas around it. These places were central in the Mediterranean sea, Indian Ocean, and silk road trade routes. The Muslim merchants became a very big part of trade because of their location at the center of many trade routes from Eurasia to Africa. They were also a prominent part of trade because the camel saddle started to be used frequently in 600 CE. Camels were more equipped to walk through the desert, and so the ability to control them made the Muslims a major part of silk road trade. In addition to this, the Muslim agricultural revolution occurred around 600 CE. This caused more crops like cotton to be cultivated and traded, causing a greater income and virtually more trade between Africa and Eurasia. In the Indian Ocean basin, the Gupta empire had declined and there was no centralized rule in India. However, there were still major trading cities and new technologies caused trade to increase. An example of the new technologies would be the dhows and junks that were used at around 800 CE.

Any animal besides a camel would die unless constant supplies were bought for it and if it were able to have frequents rest to not die from constant fatigue. A camel was the perfect animal to be used on both trade routes, and most commonly used was the Bactrian camel. The reason that camels were able to survive both trade routes was due to the fact that they had humps to store fat which would be broken down into water and energy for the camel, the camel’s urine would be heavily concentrated to conserve water, and the camels hairs & eyelashes had helped protect it from blowing sands. This made camels especially useful in regions such as the Sahara or the Gobi

West Africa has experienced migration, because of the cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups it contains, and because of the minerals, and goods it can produce. Around the ninth century C.E., in the trans- Saharan route, slave trade became popular. These slaves were used by the Arabs for military service, administration, domestic service, and concubinage. Extensive trade in the region led to urbanization, as well as the introduction of Islam. Muslim Berbers contributed to the expansion of Islam, by controlling the trade routes in Africa, and becoming conduits for economic activities, by the tenth century. During the mid-11th century, cities like Gao and Timbuktu had Muslim scholars traveling the routes, because of the intrusion of the Almoravids, and this resulted in turning these cities into hotspots for study and trade. The eleventh century brought the acceptance of the Islamic culture, and led to conversion of the elites, so they can have legal, political, administrative, cultural, and economic benefits. The Islamic culture did not disrupt indigenous African shamanist and animist beliefs, it united ethnic groups, and led to the development of Islamic states throughout Africa. (Africa, 3000 B.C.-A.D. 1500 / West African Trade /

3. Pastoral and nomadic groups contributed a crucial factor in developing and maintaining these trade route businesses.

Camels were significant to trade in Afro-Eurasia, and many technologies surrounded them to make trade even more efficient. The practice of caravanseri and the use of saddles helped achieve these goals. Maritime trade was also less difficult with the creations of the astrolabe and compass as well as new additions to large ships.

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.

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.

The village economy was particularly interesting, and Olaudah's descriptions are very revealing. His people needed guns because other villages had them. The guns were brought to Africa by the Europeans, who used them to trade. (That the Europeans both supplied and fulfilled this need bears mention.) Olaudah states that he had never seen a European; his people traded with wandering merchants who acted as middlemen. These middlemen traded guns for potash, which they probably used in trade again elsewhere. Later in his life Olaudah also saw iron pots, crossbows, and European cutlasses among African people. This clearly illustrates the trade that developed between coastal tribes and Europeans, and the existence of middlemen who worked along established trade routes.

Changes in political and cultural traditions during the post-classical period occurred in Africa because of intensive Islamic contact. When Arab conquerors introduced the Islamic faith into northern Africa, they expanded the region of commerce. Muslim merchants established trading centers for copper, iron, salts, and cotton textiles. The newly established trade affected traditional social and religious beliefs. After 1000 C.E., the kin-based social structure experienced difficult challenges. Increased conflict between peoples led to the creation of military forces for both offensive and defensive use. This led to the formation of chiefdoms exhibiting more formal structures of governing such as in the kingdoms of Kongo, Ghana, and Mali. Because most traders were Muslim, many African societies converted to Islam to improve their relations with the

Similarly both trade routes had access to salt. Nevertheless, the Trans-Saharan trade route also was able to obtain gold, ivory, metal ware, textiles, pepper, dates, beads, and leather. Consequently the quantity of goods led to an increase in wealth for Ghana. The Trans-Saharan trade route was able to exchange their luxury goods for pottery, glassware, and textiles from Persia, India, and China. Additionally during the 900’s the kings converted to Islam causing wealthy merchants to also convert. On the other hand, overland trade on the Silk Road produced silk, spices, and precious stones. Meanwhile sea-lanes on the Silk Road were capable of carrying bulkier items such as steel, stone, coral, and building materials. Because China was the only country that had cultivators and weavers with an outstanding knowledge of developing techniques, they were able to produce high-quality silk fabrics in classical

Trade and conquest both had their impacts, but looking closer one impact was more significant than the other. Trade was a way for people to obtain goods they didn’t have or couldn’t make by giving away an item they had a surplus amount of. Trade, in my opinion, didn’t have much of an impact as conquest. Trade was only small development, whereas conquest was the process of gaining territory by the use of subjugation and military forces. Early civilizations developed from conquest because without conquest the same civilization would own the same territory. There were multiple early civilizations, and if they had never conquest for more land, other civilizations would overrule them and take their territory. Further spread of civilization happened directly through conquest, the spread of how much land they had and could acquire was due to conquest and military forces. Because conflict and conquest exists, they realized they had to defend their civilization and build military forces to keep enemies out.

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

The Crusades and the Mongol invasions greatly affected the trade in the Islamic world, but the Mongols were more open to the idea of trade than the Crusaders. There were many ways the Crusades affected trade. For example, by increasing the demand for Middle Eastern products. This was cause for more production in the Middle East. Also, the Crusades increased the use of money in the Islamic world, and the need for it. Lastly, the Crusades created many new inventions to do with weaponry and war because of trade. This allowed for better chances on the battlefield, and all the new inventions caused the economy to grow because people bought more things as they were now available.