Trans-Saharan Trade

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The Economic Virtues of the Trans-Saharan Trade
Through out history, trade has been an integral part of the economy of civilizations. This is especially true in Western Africa. Trade shaped the economic landscape of West Africa. However, there is one particular trade that affected West Africa the most. That trade was the trans-Saharan trade. The trans-Saharan trade lasted from the 8th century to the late 17th century and spanned from the Mediterranean to Sub-Saharan Africa. trans-Saharan trade vastly improved the economy of the region of West Africa by providing the economic necessities to construct great empires, open new trade routes, and by spreading innovative ideas throughout West Africa.
With the trans-Saharan trade came West Africa’s most exceptional …show more content…

An example of this is the Ghana Empire. The Ghana Empire had a plethora of gold but greatly lacked salt which was valued for its health benefits. In order to obtain salt, the Ghana Empire traded its gold for salt from Arab merchants through the trans-Saharan trade (The Trans-Saharan Gold Trade). As a result of this, kingdoms in West Africa were able to grow to astonishing economic heights. The ability to trade two resources that both sides valued allowed for a constant increase in wealth and improved economy of West Africa. Another example of an empire benefiting from the trans-Saharan trade was the Mali Empire. Similarly, to the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire also had large amounts of gold and traded for salt. However, instead of primarily trading with Arab merchants like the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire traded with Egypt. Egypt had a surplus of salt but was lacking in

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