What were the major trade routes in West Africa?
In Western Africa the major trade centers were cities such as Timbuktu, Gao, Agadez, Sijilmasas, and Djenne. Along the coast of North Africa sea port cities developed such as Marrakesh, Tunis, and Cairo. The port city of Adulis on the Red Sea was also an important trade center.
What trade routes crossed Africa?
To transport goods from outside and within other parts of Africa, trade routes developed. These trade routes spread all over Africa and traders became very important in all African societies throughout time. The main trade route across Africa was the Trans-Saharan Trade Route.
Why would traders cross the desert in large groups?
Traders moved their goods across the Sahara in large groups called caravans. Camels were the main mode of transportation and were used to carry goods and people. The camel was the most important part of the caravan. Without the camel, trade across the Sahara would have been impossible.
Which of the following was a major port city of North Africa?
Casablanca, is the chief seaport of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean near Rabat. Casablanca is one of the leading commercial cities of North Africa. It is home to the largest artificial harbour in the world: most of the foreign trade of Morocco passes through the city.
What was the first trade route?
The first extensive trade routes are up and down the great rivers which become the backbones of early civilizations – the Nile, the Tigris and Euphrates, the Indus and the Yellow River. As boats become sturdier, coastal trade extends human contact and promotes wealth.
What factors helped the trade system flourish in West Africa?
What factors helped the trade system flourish in West Africa? Gold, positioning of the major cities provided a good location between trade routes and also allowed trade over seas.
How did trade develop in West Africa?
A profitable trade had developed by which West Africans exported gold, cotton cloth, metal ornaments, and leather goods north across the trans-Saharan trade routes, in exchange for copper, horses, salt, textiles, and beads. Later, ivory, slaves, and kola nuts were also traded.
Why did European traders want African gold?
The purpose of the exploration: to expand European geographic knowledge, to find the source of prized African gold, and to locate a possible sea route to valuable Asian spices. In 1441, for the first time, Portuguese sailors obtained gold dust from traders on the western coast of Africa.
Who controlled the trade routes in Africa?
By 800 Ghana was firmly in control of West Africa’s trade routes. Nearly all trade between northern and southern Africa passed through Ghana. With so many trespassing through their lands, Ghana’s rulers looked for ways to make money from them.
Why is Timbuktu poor today?
After a shift in trading routes, particularly after the visit by Mansa Musa around 1325, Timbuktu flourished from the trade in salt, gold, ivory, and slaves. It became part of the Mali Empire early in the 14th century. … Presently, Timbuktu is impoverished and suffers from desertification.
What are large groups of camels used to transport goods called?
A camel train or caravan is a series of camels carrying passengers and goods on a regular or semi-regular service between points.
How many trade routes were there across the Sahara desert what was their significance?
– there were 7 north-south trade routes and 2 east-west routes. These put the people in Sub-Saharan Africa in touch with an expanding number of cultures and trading patterns. by the end of the 8th century, the trans-Saharan trade had become famous throughout Europe and Asia.
What are Africa’s four climates?
The climate of Africa is a range of climates such as the equatorial climate, the tropical wet and dry climate, the tropical monsoon climate, the semi-arid climate (semi-desert and steppe), the desert climate (hyper-arid and arid), and the subtropical highland climate.
How many ports are in Africa?
Africa covers about 6% of the earth’s total surface. With 38 of its 54 states either coastal or insular in nature, Africa has over a hundred port facilities, a few of which handle 6% of the worldwide water-borne cargo traffic and about 3% of the world’s container traffic.
Which one of these cities was a major trading center in western Africa?
Timbuktu, French Tombouctou, city in the western African country of Mali, historically important as a trading post on the trans-Saharan caravan route and as a centre of Islamic culture (c. 1400–1600). It is located on the southern edge of the Sahara, about 8 miles (13 km) north of the Niger River.