Sub Saharan Long Distance Trade Analysis

The Sub-Saharan long distance commodity and slave trade as well as the syncretic interweaving of Islamic culture and traditional African culture accounts for Africa’s major influence as a superpower. Traders from all over the world were drawn to Africa’s riches in gold, ivory, and human beings. The fact that Africa was rich in resources posed influence in itself. Considering that a great number of the visiting traders were Muslims and they begin to intermarry and form relationships – economic and political alliances were formed and the adaptation of Islam was wide spread. This migration of humans in and out of Africa illustrates the African Diaspora at work before the Atlantic Slave trade. Several scholars argue that the long distance trade and the spread of Islam harmed Africa rather than promoted its growth. Others exclaim that Africa was never a super power in the first place. Explicitly witnessed in D.T. Niane’s Sundiata, is the manifestation and investigation of Africa’s power. The Sub-Saharan long distance trade and Islam caused an expansion in the population of Africa – and that in turn inspired a heavier weight materialistic value, intellectual development, and literacy improvement.
In efforts to efficiently organize Mali, he founded the country on the basis of productivity and richness in agriculture. Considering that location is important for structure, he established the Malian empire’s capital at Niani. Niani was located near the upper Niger river. The trans-Sahara caravan was a route from the Middle East & Far west, Europe, North Africa, to the Sub-Saharan region of Africa. That Sub-saharan region included but was not limited to: Mali, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Algeria, and Nigeria. The long distance trade was chiefly orchestrated by the Wangara people along the Niger River from Timbuktu to Senegal. It was mostly used by agriculturalist, herdsmen, hunter soldiers, and herdsmen. The trading of gold, salt, copper, and humans by African traders in exchange for cowry shells, cotton cloth, and Chinese porcelain from visitors was very prominent. Trader contacts increased by 800-1500 people due to a growing international trade network. As stated in the introduction paragraph, the trading of those goods, animals, and humans caused more people to migrate in and out of Africa. This was the main link that led to the spread of Islam. The most compelling evidence of this is the fact that the Arabian traders that settled along the coast of the Nile River and were one responsible factor of the spread of Islam by intermarrying within the local population. Similarly, the Muslim merchants could trade with people in many different areas because Arabia was at a crossroads location. Islam was also adopted by the kings and their royal families. Islam was mainly accepted by rulers because it promoted economic and social growth, which in turn made for a better equipped nation. Seeing that west Africa was made up of stateless societies, authority was also organized around ancestral reverence or other obligations. Because Sundiata was the son of a great