Trade Patterns Of Both Mali and East African Territories
Gretchen Lund
Trans-Saharan Trade
-the arrival of the camel quickened trade and communication across the Sahara Desert
-with the camels it took 70-90 days for a caravan to cross the Sahara
Mali
-Mali benefitted greatly from the trans-Saharan trade and became a large commercial center
-Mali controlled and taxed almost all trade passing through West Africa
-large bands of caravans linked Mali to North Africa
-capital of Niani attracted merchants seeking to enter the gold trade
-markets cities along the common trails became prosperous as well
-Mali rulers honored Islam and provided for Muslim merchants from the north
-the ruling being Muslim attracted trade with the predominately Muslim north, which is most likely the reason for converting to Islam in the first place
-the arrival of the camel quickened trade and communication across the Sahara Desert
-with the camels it took 70-90 days for a caravan to cross the Sahara
Mali
-Mali benefitted greatly from the trans-Saharan trade and became a large commercial center
-Mali controlled and taxed almost all trade passing through West Africa
-large bands of caravans linked Mali to North Africa
-capital of Niani attracted merchants seeking to enter the gold trade
-markets cities along the common trails became prosperous as well
-Mali rulers honored Islam and provided for Muslim merchants from the north
-the ruling being Muslim attracted trade with the predominately Muslim north, which is most likely the reason for converting to Islam in the first place
Indian Ocean Trade
-merchant mariners sailed the sea-lanes of the Indian Ocean -Indian and Persian sailors had visited the east African coasts as well as Hellenistic and Roman mariners en route through the Red Sea -established colonies on the island of Madagascar -early visitors had limited trade because the east African populations consisted of mostly hunters, gatherers, and fishing people -the Bantu people introduced agriculture, cattle herding, and iron metallurgy -the coast dwellers supplemented their agricultural production with ocean fishing and maritime trade Swahili -"Swahili" means coasters, referring to those that engages with trade along the east African coast -dominated the east African coastal trade -attracted increasing attention form Islamic merchants -from interior regions they acquired gold, slaves, ivory, and exotic local products -traded for pottery, glass, and textiles -trade had brought great wealth to east costal Africa -controlling and taxing trade within their jurisdictions -port cities were very prosperous, and became powerful city-states governed by a king who supervised trade |
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Kilwa
-was one of the largest and busiest city-states on the east African coast
-relied mostly on fishing and engaged in a limited amount of trade
-imported pottery, stoneware, cotton, silk textiles, perfumes, pearls, and a large amount of Chinese porcelain
-began to rely more on agriculture
-exported gold, slaves, and ivory from the inner regions
-the villagers on the interior did not enjoy the sumptuous lifestyles of the Swahili elite
Zimbabwe
-the most known of the coastal kingdoms
-was an increasingly complex and well-organized society that consistently invested in expensive construction projects
-Great Zimbabwe was a city of stone towers, palaces, and public buildings, that served as the capital of the kingdom
-Kings residing in Great Zimbabwe controlled and taxed the trade between the interior and coastal regions
-organized the flow if gold, ivory, slaves, and local products from sources of supply to the coast
-their control over these products enabled them to forge alliances with local leaders and to profit from commercial transactions
-was one of the largest and busiest city-states on the east African coast
-relied mostly on fishing and engaged in a limited amount of trade
-imported pottery, stoneware, cotton, silk textiles, perfumes, pearls, and a large amount of Chinese porcelain
-began to rely more on agriculture
-exported gold, slaves, and ivory from the inner regions
-the villagers on the interior did not enjoy the sumptuous lifestyles of the Swahili elite
Zimbabwe
-the most known of the coastal kingdoms
-was an increasingly complex and well-organized society that consistently invested in expensive construction projects
-Great Zimbabwe was a city of stone towers, palaces, and public buildings, that served as the capital of the kingdom
-Kings residing in Great Zimbabwe controlled and taxed the trade between the interior and coastal regions
-organized the flow if gold, ivory, slaves, and local products from sources of supply to the coast
-their control over these products enabled them to forge alliances with local leaders and to profit from commercial transactions
College Board Themes
Expansion and Interaction of Economic Systems: The development of trade through the Sahara desert and east African coastal expanded the many different economies and has allowed Africa to grow as commercial trade center.
Expansion: The trade coming in and out of the east African coast has allowed new empires to develop and form into powerful city-states.
Expansion: The trade coming in and out of the east African coast has allowed new empires to develop and form into powerful city-states.