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  • Essay / History of the development of trade in Africa

    Commerce has been called the center of the world due to the high demand for goods. Now, for your information, this will be the unbiased view. Now, in my world history class, I learned a lot of things, so before coming across any cited guidance, I would like to inform in this essay what I know so far. I know that there are many kingdoms that started in Africa and started a trading empire not only with Africa itself but with the entire world. Trade is necessary because goods are produced in many parts of the world. Speaking of goods, Africa is known for its gold before 1500 BC. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay A gold mine was located near the three empires of 1500 BC called the Kingdom of Ghana, the Kingdom of Mali as well as the Songhai Kingdom. It is a coincidence that the kingdoms are located so close to this wonderful mine. Today this place is labeled as Mali. If you didn't know that Mali is a country. The climate in Africa is weird; the vegetation near the Tropic of Cancer is largely deserted; The Sahara Desert occupies the majority of this part of Africa. Yet if you travel just a bit south, near the equator, it's very tropical and has a jungle texture. However, between these two vegetation zones there is a strip of grassland, and then this grassland zone wraps around the rainforest zone and occupies the rest of southern Africa. “The Kingdom of Ghana was the first commercial empire in West Africa, appearing as early as 500 AD; located in the grassland zone of West Africa. In the state of Ghana, many people were farmers living in villages and lived together under a local ruler; thus bringing about the kingdom. The active roles played in running the kingdom led to their immense wealth. (Spielvogel, 2014) Not only was there gold, but there was also a high demand for salt. salt? why salt? well because it was so long ago and not much technology had been created yet at the time. now, since there was no refrigerator to keep their food cold, salt kept their meat fresh. "It's like a bag of jerky you see at the grocery store, it has a high amount of sodium to keep it for about 2 years." (Mcdonald, 2018) it was called the salt and gold trade. They traded between the west and the north. Commerce has brought vast changes to the world. It all started in the center of the world. the routes to reach the locations were located throughout the territory of the kingdom. each route led to a different location. So not only did the Ghana Empire control gold and salt, but it also controlled the trade routes that passed through its territory. Many Berber trade routes crossed the Sahara Desert leading to the Mediterranean Sea and Europe. Other trade routes ran to the Middle Eastern Peninsula, located just across the Red Sea. Muslim merchants were more likely to travel on Berber trade routes from the northern part of Africa. “These Muslim merchants brought metal products, textiles, horses and salt to Ghana in exchange for gold. Not only did salt preserve food, it also improved its taste. The climate being very hot, people often sweated. It's like working out while being in the sun all day. When the human body is in action or at high temperature, it tends to leakcertain bodily fluids; also known as sweat. In our sweat there is salt, we also cry salt water. It is bad for us to drink salt water, but we need a small amount of salt from time to time. So, because these Africans were out in the sun all day working or doing their daily chores, they were sweating and losing some of their sodium levels. Today, other Ghanaian exports have been exported outside of Africa, near the Mediterranean and beyond. These goods included ivory and skins. Now you may be wondering how long they have been moving these items in bulk from one place to another. Many years ago there was no car to take you places. Well, let me introduce you to the two-humped animal biologically called the camel. Or as the people of their time called it “the desert fleets”. This crucial factor has been used for the majority of transportation. The camel was the chosen one among the many walking animals. For what? Well, unlike any other four-legged animal, the camel was much more reliable in surviving in the scorching heat of the Sahara Desert. The camel would survive for a long time without food or water. It seems surreal, it's a true fact. Camels can drink a very large amount of water and this will get them through the entire journey; This water was stored in the humps on their backs. Up to 100 camels would be loaded with goods and supplies for the journey. The camels were accompanied by guards in case of attackers along the way” (Spielvogel, 2014). I will make a brief connection with trade during the time of the Muslim prophet Muhammad, the traveler's food consisted of dates and water. The date would keep your sugar intake down and last you a long time. The date was chosen because if you cooked meat it would spoil along the way, so they had to take food that would last more than a month. Now, when trading on the trade routes, they were sometimes overrun by bandits hiding and waiting to attack travelers. They would steal the goods and I imagine they would make a profit by selling them elsewhere. The life of crime began a long time ago. These trade routes traveled in Arabia were linked to the Silk Road. “These merchants often grew rich through trade, as did the king through taxes imposed on goods entering or leaving the kingdom. The eighth and ninth centuries were reached and trade was carried on by Muslim merchants. These Muslim merchants ensured that trade routes reached more distant places like Southwest Asia simply by purchasing goods from local traders, using iron, copper, and other items. The sale of these items to the Berbers allowed these goods to reach different destinations across the desert. Due to war and other conflicts, the Kingdom of Ghana weakened and collapsed during the 1100s. A new trade route developed in its place called the Kingdom of Mali. it was established by Sundiata Keita in the mid-1200s. The founder of this kingdom united the people of Ghana and Mali, leading to a stronger government and an expansion from the Atlantic coast to the trading city called Timbuktu . This city also derived its wealth from the gold and salt trade. Although many Malians were farmers and lived in villages, they were empowered by local leaders but were governed by a Mansa "king" named Musa. Musa was a rich king and followed the religion of Islam. (Spielvogel,..