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Trade in 14th Century Africa
editTrans-Saharan Trade
editOverview
editThe 12th through the 16th centuries were known as the “golden age” of trade, when West African gold was in high demand.[1] This led to an increase in the need and use for trade routes.[1] Before, during, and after the 14th century, the Trans-Saharan trade routes were used for trade, travel, and scholarship.[1]
Much of what scholars know of the Trans-Saharan trade routes comes from the historical writings of Muslim scholars such as Ibn Battuta and Leo Africanus who both crossed the Sahara Desert in the 14th and 15th centuries.[1] These literary narratives combined with archaeological data provide much insight into 14th century trade.[2]
Geography
edit
Throughout the 14th century, much of African trade revolved around the Trans-Saharan trade routes.[3] Geographically, the Sahara Desert extends over 3.6 million square miles and is the second largest desert on the planet behind Antarctica.[4] While the Sahara Desert was often viewed as a barrier between the African countries, it actually linked them together rather than separated them.[1]
Empires
editWhile trade along the Trans-Sahara trade route was common in the 14th century, it was highly dependent on the powerful African Empires, such as the Mali Empire, Kingdom of Kongo, Benin Kingdom, Hausa City-states, Great Zimbabwe, Ethiopian Empire, Kilwa Sultanat, and the Ajuran Sultanate[5].
Muslim Influence
editIbn Battuta
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In 1352-1353, Ibn Battuta embarked on a pilgrimage from Morocco to the Mali empire.[2] Throughout his travels described many aspects of the Trans-Saharan trade routes that he encountered on his journey to Mali. He passed through Morocco and the surrounding cities, and much of the Niger Bend. During his travels, Battuta chronicled everything he saw.[1] The trade routes from Sijilmasa to Walata passed through the salt mines of Taghaza.[1] The town of Takedda in the Niger Bend was a center for copper mining and trade in Egyptian goods, like cloth.[1] The routes from Morocco to Egypt were large distribution centers for gold.[1]
In his memoirs, Battuta also described the dangers of the trade routes. It took months for merchants to cross the Sahara Desert, and they faced challenges from natural disasters to caravans losing their way.[2] Travelers who ventured too far away from their caravans and got lost often died from the elements.[1] If scouts died or strayed away from their groups, the caravans would get lost in the desert and wonder aimlessly.[1] Even worse, natural disasters, such as sand storms or fluctuating temperatures, often forced merchants to abandon their goods in order to save their own lives, yet causing them to lose everything.[1] In his memoir, Battuta described the Sahara as a “desert haunted by demons.”[2]
Mansa Musa
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By the end of the 10th century, Islam had spread to many of the Northern and Western African empires.[1] By the 14th century, empires such as Ghana and Mali, had strong ties with the Muslim world, and many of their most prominent leaders practiced the Muslim faith.[1] Mali’s most famous ruler, Mansa Musa, traveled across the Trans-Saharan trade routes on his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1325.[3] Because Islam became so prominent in North and West Africa, many of the trade routes and caravan networks were controlled by Muslim nations.[1] In the 14th century, prominent trade and travel routes had been firmly established.[1]
Trade Goods
editDuring the 14th century, and later the 15th century, the primary trading goods along the Trans-Saharan trade routes were gold, salt, precious metals like copper and iron, ivory, spices, materials like skins, cloth, and leather, and slaves.[6][1]
Trade Routes
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Trade among the Sahara Desert was highly influenced by the prominent Western empires and the local people living along the trade routes.[1] In the 10th-15th centuries the major empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay influenced many of the trade practices.[3][1] These powerful empires would extend their hand of power over African trade by directing trade routes through the major cities and taxing the traveling merchants and their goods[1]. Through the power of the empires, many of the trade routes were secured and the merchant profession became a prosperous one.[1] When traveling, traders could travel individually or in groups, or they could attach themselves to an annual caravan.
[1] Along the trade routes, local or residential tribes would establish and maintain resting posts for the traveling merchants.[1] The scouts often used these trading posts to guide the caravans through the trade routes.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Graziano, Krätli, (2011). The Trans-Saharan Book Trade : Manuscript Culture, Arabic Literacy and Intellectual History in Muslim Africa. Leiden: Brill NV. pp. 1–20. ISBN 9789004187429.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d Davidson, Basil (1974). The African Past: Chronicles from Antiquity to Modern Times. New York: Little, Brown and Company, Inc. p. 80. ISBN 0316174246.
- ^ a b c Americas, Author: Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the. "The Trans-Saharan Gold Trade (Seventh–Fourteenth Centuries) | Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art". The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Retrieved 2017-10-18.
{{cite web}}:|first=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "9 Interesting Sahara Desert Facts - Conservation Institute". www.conservationinstitute.org. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
- ^ Americas, Author: Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the. "The Trans-Saharan Gold Trade (Seventh–Fourteenth Centuries) | Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art". The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Retrieved 2017-10-18.
{{cite web}}:|first=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Murphy, Jefferson (1972). History of African Civilization. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company. p. 92. ISBN 0-690-38194-8.
Peer Review
edita. Citations were good, you might consider finding some new sources so you don't rely on 6 so much. b. The second sentence of the third paragraph could be phrased more clearly to show the control of the trade passed to Mali. Try to combine the second and third sentences to make the facts about it more natural. There were some grammar issues throughout, but nothing too major. The first few sentences of the final paragraph reads a bit conclusion like, you might change that. c. Add section titles and the name of the article. I would also rearrange things so its strictly chronological or you focus on one region at a time. d. You might add maps of trade routes, a picture of Ibn, picture of the Mali Empire, pictures of caravans. Overall, just work on the formatting and maybe diversifying your sources and you should be in a good spot. -Joshua
a) Like Joshua said, your citations were good but i think they heavy relied on one source, making the article seem kinda unbalanced in terms of sourcing. You might want to cite from more sources to back up your content. b) In the paragraph of Ibn Battuta, when you mentioned people dying from the elements, i think its okay because it references harsh weather conditions, but i feel like its not that straight forward and simple and maybe simpler grammar could be used there. Sentence structure was okay, just check punctuation errors like in the 2nd paragraph under the overview, i think commas could be used there so it doesn't seem like its just dragging out. c) On the paragraphing, i think they were adequate sized paragraphs, just suggesting for the Trade Goods and Empires headings whether you could add more information about it. ~Jeremy
a. Try to add more citations like Joshua mentioned. b. Your writing looks pretty good! I personally wouldn't be too concerned. c & d. I like the images in your page. Looks wonderful! I think your formatting looks great, but I would go ahead and follow what Joshua said to make it better. Good job!! Fubzygirl (talk) 23:54, 27 November 2017 (UTC)