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Africarans-Saharan Trade connected West Africa with the Mediterranean world and several communities such as the Asante were involved. It began during prehistoric times, peaking around the 8th century up to the early 17th century (Wright 13). During this era, the Sahara had a relatively more sustainable environment that allowed the movement of people and commodities. The Berbers who understood the terrain guided large caravans of camels. They also offered protection from other nomads which allowed trading in goods such as salt, gold, and slaves. This trade led to the emergence and development of western Sudanese polities such as the Asante of Ghana, whose rulers grew into wealthy elites.
The Asante Empire existed from around the early 18th century until the middle of the 20th century in modern-day Ghana. It was situated at the border between South Sudan communities involved in trade and those at the Atlantic Coast (Inikori 60). The area commonly known as Western Sudan comprises a broad stretch of the savanna between the expansive Sahara Desert to the North and the South’s tropical rainforest (Austen 18). Other medieval empires such as Mali and Songhai controlled this region. The contact with the Islamic world was important in the intensification of trading networks that had existed earlier. They intensified their trading interconnections by introducing new commodities for exchange. While Africans got salt to flavor their foods, the Arabs obtained gold and slaves. The trade specialization led to more dependency and less self-sufficiency, which enlarged the market for the exchange of goods.
The Trans-Saharan exchange led to the emergence and development of social cadres. It provided a way to rise on the social ladder since people gained power and status through ownership of money and land. Furthermore, the Portuguese sold captives to entrepreneurs in Asante who used them to clear lands for farming (Inikori 60). Additionally, through the introduction of taxes, massive wealth was accumulated, which encouraged the Asante Empire’s emergence (Austen 24). The need to protect traders and trading routes led to the training of warriors to help expand the territory by invading neighboring states. In addition, since going to war required iron weaponry and maintenance of garrisons for soldiers, the incoming riches were important.
During the trade, the focus was on slavery because of the immense demand from Europe and Asia. The slaves were taken from the South of the Sahara Desert and shipped to North Africa, where they were distributed to other parts. The Asante Empire was actively involved in this trade and used crude methods such as kidnappings, warfare, and raids. The warfare enabled them to take over their weak neighboring societies, allowing for their expansion and growth. Tribes were forced to supply slaves compelling families to sell their children as captives (Hayes 59). Stronger states such as the Asante sold hostages for firearms, which made them even stronger (Shumway 24). During that period, people engaged in warfare with crude weapons. However, when some empires gained access to advanced firearms, they easily overpowered their weaker counterparts who still relied on traditional weapons. Therefore, the weaker groups were overpowered while the powerful and strategic ones grew socially, economically, and politically.
The Trans-Saharan Trade played an important role in the emergence and prosperity of the Asante Empire and other Western Sudanese states. Its strategic location between two important trade items, salt in the North and gold in the East, allowed it to connect business partners from both ends. The incorporation of slavery evolved the trade’s nature towards further prosperity as the rulers made more wealth by selling captives. The wealth and the firearms acquired from the trade facilitated further growth and expansion of the Sudanese polities.
Works Cited
Austen, Ralph A. Trans-Saharan Africa in World History. Oxford UP, 2010.
Hayes, Floyd Windom, editor. A Turbulent Voyage: Readings in African American Studies. Rowman & Littlefield, 2000.
Inikori, Joseph E. Africa and the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Carolina Academic P, 2000.
Shumway, Rebecca. The Fante and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Vol. 52, Boydell & Brewer, 2014.
Wright, John. The Trans-Saharan Slave Trade. Vol. 2, Routledge, 2007.
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