History Term 1

Unit 1: Trade across the Sahara Desert

Key words
oases – places in the desert where there is water
Berbers – a tribe living in North Africa
commodity – good or products bought and sold in trade
minting – making coins to be used as money out of a metal, like gold
CE – stands for Common Era, replaces the initials AD to mark the years since
the birth of Christ
major – important; main
concubine – a woman living with a man but has lower status than his wife or
wives
gateway – a place that allows other places to be reached
dynasty – a line of hereditary rulers of a country (people from the same family)
dominance – power and influence over others
missionaries – people sent to foreign countries to promote the religion of their
home country
flourishing – developing quickly and successfully
literate – able to read and write
caravan – group of people like traders traveling together across the desert
Islamic – describing something as belonging to the religion of Islam
pastoralist – nomads raising livestock, moving the herd in search of graze and
water
trans-Sahara – crossing the Sahara desert to travel between the north coast of
Arica and areas below the Sahara desert
Islam – religion of the Muslims, sacred book is the Qur’an
arab trader – identified by their common language, most Arabs became
Muslims after the rise of Islam. They became wealthy form dealing in the
exchange of slaves and merchandise. As they went they spread Islam and
gained power over local peoples
military invasion – armed forces sent in to conquer a country
political control – holding power in the government
muslim trading centre – settlement developed by wealthy Muslim Arabs along
the trade route where people gather to trade. Mosques were built for worship
and universities for study
Mansa – a title meaning “king of kings” or “emperor”
1. What were the means of transport when trade started in North and
West Africa between the 8th and 16th centurury? Because much of North
and West Africa is in the Sahara Desert, Dromedary camels were used.
2. Why were camels chosen as a means of transport? Because their
bodies have adapted to the hot, dry and sandy conditions found in
deserts
3. Dromedary camels were suitable for desert transport because they?
- double row of eyelashes and can close their nostrils, helps to stop
sand from getting into their eyes and noses in sandstorms
- conserve water by changing their body temperature during the day,
helps them to stay cool and to save water by not sweating
- drink big amounts of water quickly (100liter in 10min)
- humps that store fat, which they change into water and energy when
food and water are not available
- thick coats protecting them from the heat radiated from desert sand
- long legs that keep their bodies away from hot desert sand
- pads under their feet that widen when they step on the ground,
prevents them from sinking into the sand
- thick lips that help them to eat coarse and thorny desert plants
4. How did people use camels for trading transport? they were fattened
months before they were assembled into caravans. This made them
suitable for travelling long distances because they could live off the fat
they had stored in their bodies. Berbers knew the desert, they guided
the caravans, they hired runners who searched for oases where they
could get water for the camels.
5. Before trade started in the Sahara Desert, the Tuareg who lived there
were mainly pastoralists. Trade started between the Tuareg and the
Berbers. The main commodity of this trade was salt, it was in great
demand. When camels became more available, the Berbers began
crossing the Sahara Desert. This was the beginning of trans-Saharan
trade routes.
6. Name the two main trade routes?
- The Morocco-West African trade route: 1st gold-salt trade
- The Mali-Tunisia-Egypt trade route: 2nd gold-salt trade
7. Explain goods traded in the trans-Saharan trade?
- muslim traders brought in luxury goods like salt,
 - textiles, silk, beads, ceramics, ornamental weapons and utensils and
this was traded for gold, ivory, ostrich feathers, woods (ebony) and
kola nuts
- they also brought their religion, Islam, which spread along the trade
routes
- nomads living in the Sahara traded salt, meat and their knowledge as
guides for cloth, gold, cereal and slaves
8. Why did Arab and Berber princes buy slaves? To use them as servants,
concubines, soldiers, and agricultural labourers
9. Why was African ivory so popular? Because it is softer than ivory from
Indian elephants, easier to carve
10.What role did the nomads play during the trans-Saharan trade? They
traded their knowledge as guides, salt and meat for cloth, gold, cereal
and slaves
11.What was the reason for the decline of the gold-salt trade? Europeans
settled on both continents, their plantation farms (for sugar and
tobacco) needed cheap and reliable labour. This was the start of the
trans-Atlantic slave trade, with slaves from West Africa becoming the
main commodity instead of gold.
12.How did Islam spread across North Africa? Between 7th and 9th
centuries, as more Arab traders came to North Africa, they built Muslim
trading centres and mosques along the trans-Saharan trade route, which
strengthen Islam and gave them political control of North Africa.
North Africa became Arabic as well as Islamic, many African people
began to convert to Islam.
13.Why did many African people convert to Islam?
- Muslim missionaries influenced thousands of Berbers to accept Islam
- Saharan Africans converted to Islam to protect themselves against
being sold into slavery
- Some leaders converted to Islam to gain political support from the
Arabs and to make commercial relationships easier
14.How did Islam spread to across West Africa? Arab traders were
interested in gold, they opened trade routes into West Africa. As the
Arabs helped kingdoms like Ghana and Songhai, the influence of Islam
began to spread. By the 14th century the Muslims ruled most of the
powerful states in West Africa
15.Name reasons why Islam was accepted in West Africa?
 - Islamic education was brought to the area and people became
literate in Arabic
- Trade with Arabs led to wealth and developments of empires
- Places along the trade routes became centres of Islamic learning,
civilisation and administrative practices
16.Name examples of leaders that helped to establish Islam in West
Africa?
 In Ghana, the king hired Muslim interpreters and treasurers
 In Mali, Mansa Musa converted to Islam, he allowed Islam to rule
over Mali
 In Songhai, the Dia Dynasty accepted Islam