African Trade routes
By Trey Leatherman
Trading
<--- Mosque of DijennéMali And Songhai were two major empires during the 1000s - 1700s. They participated in a time of trade in northern and middle Africa. These two empires were very different when it come to style, culture and leading styles, but one thing they have in common, is trading. Both Mali and Songhai empires traded in a major city, Timbuktu ("Tim-buck-two") . This was a rich city within the Mali empire boarders. Citizens of both empires traveled to Timbuktu, and traded salt and gold and other popular goods on the market. One thing in particular that made Timbuktu so rich was the fact that they taxed any non natives who came to trade. Also one of the most popular schools in Africa at this time, was the University of Timbuktu. The campus was filled with small mosques, big libraries diversely filled with books, and most importantly, the great Islamic church/mosque of Dijenné. This drew a lot of people towards Timbuktu. Songhai traded spices, ivory, gold, and cotton for goods such as salt, cloth, weapons, horses and more. Mali had a huge surplus of gold due to its location. They had access to gold mines, trade routes, and a ton of resources. Since Timbuktu was a great place for trading these goods, this made them very wealthy. They were also sitting on top of a "golden mountain" the Inca left behind. And since Mali had such a surplus of gold, they were able to buy whatever they wanted, which they could then sell for even more to people who couldn't travel to Timbuktu, making them even more rich.
Trade Routes
Map of trade routes near Songhai around the years 1000s - 1800s ---->
How was trading possible anyways? They didn't have cars or highways. Well that's when trade routes come into play. Trade routes were formed throughout Africa, weaving through mountains, curving around swamps, and leading around jungles. This was for a purpose. These trade routes ran through valleys, around mountains and plateaus, through major cities etc. But why? Well it's obviously easier to go through a mountain rather than over it, but back in these times tunnel technology hadn't been invented yet, so they had to go with the next best thing, going around. Africans built these routes where they did so that it was easier to travel. This allowed more people to travel, which brought more income to more places. Everyone wins! But it gets better, why did they build them to run through major cities? Well just imagine you have been traveling for days, you have been carrying your goods to trade when you reach Timbuktu, you are carrying your portable home (tent, ti-pi, etc.), what are you probably going to want? Probably nice warm food, water, and a cozy bed to sleep in that night. The cities act as a checkpoint, traders would stay the night, fill up on food and water, then head to the next city. Now the trader(s) have a reload on supplies and the city has earned money for there hospitality, once again everyone wins! This created a healthy economy slowly on the rise.
How was trading possible anyways? They didn't have cars or highways. Well that's when trade routes come into play. Trade routes were formed throughout Africa, weaving through mountains, curving around swamps, and leading around jungles. This was for a purpose. These trade routes ran through valleys, around mountains and plateaus, through major cities etc. But why? Well it's obviously easier to go through a mountain rather than over it, but back in these times tunnel technology hadn't been invented yet, so they had to go with the next best thing, going around. Africans built these routes where they did so that it was easier to travel. This allowed more people to travel, which brought more income to more places. Everyone wins! But it gets better, why did they build them to run through major cities? Well just imagine you have been traveling for days, you have been carrying your goods to trade when you reach Timbuktu, you are carrying your portable home (tent, ti-pi, etc.), what are you probably going to want? Probably nice warm food, water, and a cozy bed to sleep in that night. The cities act as a checkpoint, traders would stay the night, fill up on food and water, then head to the next city. Now the trader(s) have a reload on supplies and the city has earned money for there hospitality, once again everyone wins! This created a healthy economy slowly on the rise.
Supply and Demand
Market in Timbuktu ----->
There was a big demand for items like salt, weapons, herbs, spices, and more in the many markets spread across Africa. So these markets had to meet these demands. Take Timbuktu for example, the Mali emperor, Mansa Musa, had a huge supply of gold, salt, and other items such as herbs and spices. So Mansa Musa could send caravans of camels to Timbuktu and trade for whatever the Mali empire desired. Then whoever Mansa Musa traded with would take the spices, salt, or any other things they traded Mansa Musa for, and took it back to where that person lived, and sell it at a market farther away form Timbuktu, and sell it for more. Because if there was a Walmart right across the street, with your favorite cereal for $16, and a Costco 30 miles away with your favorite cereal for only $8, even though Costco sold it for less, you would probably rather go across the street and pay that extra money. So if that person that traveled to Timbuktu, bought 1 bag of spices for 8 gold coins, traveled back to his village and sold it for 16 gold coins (not accurate currency just and example), he made a profit of 8 gold coins, so next time he will take his pouch of 16 coins this time (since he takes 8 coins + the profit of the last journey) buys 2 bags of spices for 16 coins and comes back and sells each bag 16 coins each, he now earned 16 coins in profit, and so on and so forth. This is because the demand of something rare is greater in a place where it is scarce where as it is cheaper where it is more common.
There was a big demand for items like salt, weapons, herbs, spices, and more in the many markets spread across Africa. So these markets had to meet these demands. Take Timbuktu for example, the Mali emperor, Mansa Musa, had a huge supply of gold, salt, and other items such as herbs and spices. So Mansa Musa could send caravans of camels to Timbuktu and trade for whatever the Mali empire desired. Then whoever Mansa Musa traded with would take the spices, salt, or any other things they traded Mansa Musa for, and took it back to where that person lived, and sell it at a market farther away form Timbuktu, and sell it for more. Because if there was a Walmart right across the street, with your favorite cereal for $16, and a Costco 30 miles away with your favorite cereal for only $8, even though Costco sold it for less, you would probably rather go across the street and pay that extra money. So if that person that traveled to Timbuktu, bought 1 bag of spices for 8 gold coins, traveled back to his village and sold it for 16 gold coins (not accurate currency just and example), he made a profit of 8 gold coins, so next time he will take his pouch of 16 coins this time (since he takes 8 coins + the profit of the last journey) buys 2 bags of spices for 16 coins and comes back and sells each bag 16 coins each, he now earned 16 coins in profit, and so on and so forth. This is because the demand of something rare is greater in a place where it is scarce where as it is cheaper where it is more common.
Cultural Diffusion
Modern day Islamic Group Praying ----->
Cultural Diffusion happens when someone that believes in religion spreads their believe as they travel. So if a man in Africa is Islamic, he might try to spread Islam while he travels, this is often how major religions come to be. Cultural Diffusion can also be more or less effective depending on the person spreading it. For example, there are two Islamic men, one is Mansa Musa, Emperor of the Mali empire, and the other is Issac, a pheasant from Lomé. They both travel across Africa and spread Islamic religion, who do you think will be more successful, the pheasant nobody knows from a place not many people have heard about, of the king who's tales of wealth, wisdom, and greatness has been spread everywhere and everyone knows he comes from the great empire of Mali? Probably Mansa Musa, sorry Issac. So people with a "name" or people who are known and loved by many have a better chance at spreading religion rather than commoners. Evidence of this is coincidentally, proven by Mansa Musa, as he spread one of the most common religions in Africa today, Islam.Sources
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Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “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, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1 Oct. 2000, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/gold/hd_gold.htm.
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