- Trans-Saharan Trade Routes: Ancient trade routes connected sub-
- Saharan West Africa to the Mediterranean coast. Among the.
- commodities carried southward were silk, cotton, horses, and salt.
- Among those carried northward were gold, ivory, pepper, and slaves.
How did people travel on the trans-Saharan trade route?
Caravans were groups of traders traveling together, which often protected them from desert raiders. These technologies made this route far safer and easier to travel, and thus trans-Saharan trade flourished, carrying salt, gold, slaves, and cowrie shells, the last of which were used as currency.
Where did the trans-Saharan trade go through?
Trans-Saharan trade, conducted across the Sahara Desert , was a web of commercial interactions between the Arab world (North Africa and the Persian Gulf) and sub-Saharan Africa. The main objects of this trade were gold and salt; gold was in abundance in the western part of Africa, but scarce in North Africa.
What direction did the major African trade routes run?
The major trade routes moved goods across the Sahara Desert between Western/Central Africa and the port trade centers along the Mediterranean Sea . One important trade route went from Timbuktu across the Sahara to Sijilmasa.
What was the Trans-Saharan caravan trade route?
One went through Takedda, Agades, Bilma, and Tibesti to Cairo . The other ran through Takedda, Ghat, Fezzan, and Aujila to Cairo. Also called the Gao or Mecca Road, this second route was the preferred route and was also used by West African Muslims on pilgrimages to Mecca.
What factors gave rise to the trans-Saharan trade?
Existence of local trade in the region provided a base for the trade . Demand for West African goods such as gold, slaves and Kolanuts in the North. Demand for West African goods such as gold, slaves and Kolanuts in the North. Existence of rich merchants in the region who were willing to invest in the trade.
What religion spread the trans-Saharan trade routes?
With the increased volume of trans-Saharan trade in the Islamic period, new cultural influences began to spread in Western Africa. The most important of them was a new religion, Islam , which was adopted in the states belonging to the sphere of the caravan trade by the end of the eleventh century.
What two main routes were used on the trans-Saharan trade network?
The western routes were the Walata Road, from the Sénégal River, and the Taghaza Trail , from the Niger River, which had their northern termini at the great trading center of Sijilmasa, situated in Morocco just north of the desert.
Why was salt so valuable in the trans-Saharan trade?
Salt was a highly valued commodity not only because it was unobtainable in the sub-Saharan region but because it was constantly consumed and supply never quite met the total demand . There was also the problem that such a bulky item cost more to transport in significant quantities, which only added to its high price.
Which two commodities seem most important to the trans-Saharan trade?
The two most important trade items of the trans-Saharan trade network. Gold was mined on the West African Coast and traded for salt from the Sahara Desert. A network of trading cities across the Sahara Desert that connected west Africa with north Africa, the Mediterranean region, and the Middle East.
Why did African trade routes shifted east?
Why did the African trade routes shift to the east several times? ... it spread by conquest and through trade . What was the chief means of social and political organization in African stateless societies?
What event helped spread Islam in Africa?
Geographical Spread. Islam spread from the Middle East to take hold across North Africa during the second half of the 7th century CE when the Umayyad Caliphate (661-750 CE) of Damascus conquered that area by military force.
What two other cities could Traders reach by land routes that led from Kilwa?
Kilwa, an island located off the coast of East Africa in modern-day southern Tanzania, was the most southern of the major Swahili Coast trading cities that dominated goods coming into and out of Africa from and to Arabia, Persia, and India .
Why was travel across the Sahara difficult?
Travel across the Sahara was challenging because the journey was long and travelers could lose their way or be unable to find water . ... A Muslim historian and traveler who crossed the Sahara with his trade caravan.
How were Arabian camels introduced to the Sahara?
The animal most frequently associated with the Sahara, camels were first introduced to the Sahara around 200 AD as part of trade caravans from the Arabian Peninsula . Unlike the horses it replaced, the camel is perfectly suited to the Sahara’s harsh climate.
What was the biggest problem for camel caravans?
The biggest problem, of course, was water . A person needs a minimum of one litre of water a day in the desert under optimum conditions but this would barely achieve survival. The typical consumption is 4.5 litres a day.
