Trans-Saharan Trade Route History

Intercontinental relation occurs between two or more continents, while intracontinental occurs within a ______.

People who lived north and south of the Sahara Desert had a long history of irregular contact before developing the Trans-Saharan ______ route.

The Trans-Saharan caravan trade began regularly beginning in the fourth century as an expanded version of the pre-existing intra- and ______ trade among peoples of various regions in Africa.

The spread of Islam in tropical Africa further strengthened the relationship with the peoples of North ______.

The Arabs traded with societies in North and East ______.

Two important trade routes connected west and west-central Africa with north-central and north-west ______.

The other route crossed the central Sahara and connected North Africa with the kingdom of Kanem. A sub-branch linked West Africa and ______.

The Trans-Saharan trade network played a key role in the movement of people, materials, and ______.

The important traded items of the Trans-Saharan trade were gold from the regions of West Africa and salt mined in northwest Africa. In addition, enslaved people became important trade goods after the emergence of the Arabs in the 7th century AD. The Trans-Saharan trade contributed to developing robust economic and political systems on both sides of the Sahara. For example, the great West African empires of Ghana, Mali, and ______ became powerful because they could control the trans-Saharan trade route.

The trade facilitated the spread of Islam and Islamization in West and West-Central Africa. Due to the accessibility of the East African coast, there was widespread interaction between it and the people from the outside world. The early contacts were mainly with Arabs, Greeks, Persians, Romans, Chinese, Indians, Spain, and ______.

What is Europe's perception of Africa? Europeans created an image of Africa that was the perverse opposite of Europe's. By comparison with and in contrast to this image, Europe's general superiority would be self-evident. Europe's idea of itself was thus predicated on its image of Africa. Since the mid-fifteenth century, the turn of global events brought Africa closer to the rest of the world. Europeans, especially Portugal and Spain, were determined to dominate international trade. To this end, both countries sponsored ______.

The exploration and subsequent contact with European powers enormously contributed to the ever-changing African economy, culture, language, politics, and environment. The outcome of Afro-European contact during the exploration era was the opening of the ______.