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Western Sudan refers to a region in West Africa extending from the Atlantic Ocean across to Lake Chad’s basin. Historians consider it an area of prominent empires, with Mali, Ghana, and Songhai being the best known. The two empires were mainly characterized by establishing critical political and economic centers, such as Kumbi Saleh in Ghana and Gao in Songhai. Thus, the trade routes acted as major contributors to the rise of the Ghana and Songhai kingdoms, making them dominant. This paper aims at discussing how long-distance trade is related to the economies of Ghana and Songhai territories.
Ghana carried out large-scale trade with other African regions via the inland routes to the North and Nigeria by sea. The country had established an effective system to facilitate gold exchange, which was then transported to North Africa to obtain cloth and salt in return. The trade had an insurgent effect on the empire’s providence and community in general. The long-distance trade was highly impacted by Arabic involvement.
The development of trans-Saharan commerce in the seventh century magnified the trading networks, making the kingdom thrive. The strategic territory location allowed for collecting the taxes, both import and export, leading to an enormous wealth acquisition (Boahen 121). With the view of economic organization, other essential forms of trade were the state and slavery institutions. To protect their commodities from the attacks by bandits, a military group was used to ensure traders’ safety, earning taxes in return. Thus, the extensive merchandising with other regions guaranteed the dominance of the Ghana economy.
Songhai Empire was also another major economy in the West African region. Songhai’s significant economic driving factors included mining, fishing, trading, and farming (Boahen 127). The trading markets provided food for the empire, while the long-distance trade nourished the economy. The external trade in the Sahel and internal riverine trade along the Niger were sources of Songhai’s wealth. Trading by sea was realized later in the 1400s.
With camels providing transportation, the tribes of Berber ensured a continuous supply of provisions. Although the salt-gold exchange was the center of the overland dealings, the empire also dealt in ivory, ostrich feathers, and slaves in exchange for horses, camels, and cloth. It was well known to have utilized the passages of Agades, Fezzan, and Gao even though other ways were employed. The Songhai managed to monopolize the Saharan trade, which brought more goods into the empire. Owning Timbuktu’s port made evident growth in the economy as it was an important trade port (Boahen 131). Therefore, the wide variety of goods and strategic location contributed to Songhai’s economic development.
In conclusion, wide varieties of goods were merchandized among the different empires of western Sudan and were centered upon the control of the trans-Saharan trade of gold and salt. The primary commodity, gold, was the most sold by both the African rulers and the traders from Europe. Apart from the common trade of gold and rock salt, other commodities were also exchanged in the region, including acquired ivory, African slaves, cloths from the north, and ostrich feathers. The Songhai and Ghana kingdoms were strategically established with the primary objective to amass great wealth through taxation. Camels and horses were mostly used to facilitate the trade on land by acting as the primary means of transporting both the traders and the goods.
Work Cited
Boahen, Adu. “The Sudanese States and Empires.” A Turbulent Voyage: Readings in African American Studies, edited by Floyd W. Hayes, Collegiate P, 1992, pp. 111−139.
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