Types of trade

 Local trade
 Regional trade
 International trade

Local trade

 This is the exchange of goods at the village level within a geographical region.
 It includes neighbouring villages; one village could produce baskets and exchange them
for pots from another village.

Origin of Local trade

1. Climatic and environment conditions. These affect the distribution of various kinds of
animals and plants. Situations arise where peoples requirements are not found in the
locality
2. Uneven distribution of natural resources. No regions have all the natural resources they
require
3. Specialization, some skills were preserving for a few people, like iron-working, pottery
and cloth- making. The people who didn’t have such skills acquired what they could not
produce through trade.
4. Surplus production. There was also need for local demand; people exchanged the excess
of what they had in plenty with what they needed from other communities.

Development
 Local trade developed in order to satisfy the need of goods that were not available in a
village and production of surplus goods made it necessary to sell what was not required
to the neighbouring villages, as continuous supply and demand of goods led to further
development of trade.
 Peaceful co-existence of neighbouring communities also contributed to development of
trade.
 Regional and international trade further encouraged the development
Organisation
 It was organised between individuals, families, clans and alter communities which
exchanged trade goods like grains, pots, iron implements, skins and livestock.
 It was organised along a common clan or tribal border on a regular basis such as weekly
or fortnightly
 Trade routes facilitated the easy movements of trade
 It was conducted mainly using the barter method
Characteristics of local trade

1. It was carried out within a small area

2. The range of goods was limited to availability

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 3. The numbers of traders were few
4. It was the basis of regional and international trade
5. It was done by small- scale trade

Impact of Local Trade

 It promoted good relations between the communities involved.

 There was interaction between communities leading to the adoption of new cultural
practices
 There was intermarriage
 Development of trading centres which grew into towns
 There was availability of goods and materials
 Early industries were established to produce items of trade
 Chiefdoms emerge as a result of levies and tributes paid to traders
 It provided a base for regional and international trade.

Regional trade

- It’s the exchange of goods conducted between two or more geographical regions.
Examples of Regional trade
i. Trans-Saharan trade
ii. Long- distance trade

Characteristics of Regional trade

i. It takes place within a larger geographical region .e.g between two parts of the
continent,
ii. It involves exchange of a large variety of goods
iii. It involves traders who act as middlemen between the buyers of goods and the
producers.
iv. It has established markets but goods were not sold on specific market days.

The trans-Saharan trade

 Trans-Saharan means across the Sahara.
 It derived its name from crossing of the Saharan desert by traders.
 It was conducted between North Africa and West Africa.

Origin
- It’s not clear when this trade started, merchants were travelling on horse drawn chariots
between north and West Africa.

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 -Due to increased aridity, the volume of trade decreased, but with the introduction of the
camel from Asia the trade was revived.
- The Arabic originally settled in parts of North Africa and from there they started moving
south, first as traders and later as settlers.
Development
The growth and development of the Trans-Saharan Trade can be attributed to the following
factors:

i. Availability of pack animals: The camel which was used as a means of transport made it
easier to travel and conduct trade across the hot and hostile desert as the camel could
withstand extremely harsh conditions.
ii. The availability of trade commodities like, gold, ivory, slaves, leather, kola-nuts, pepper
and gum were readily available in the West Africa. Similarly the commodities such as
salt, horses, weapons, iron tools, cloth, silk, beads, cowries shells, glass ware and dries
fruit.
iii. Strong kingdom. There were strong kingdoms like Ghana, Mali and Songhai. The rulers
ensured that the trade prospered and that trade routes were secure.
iv. The tuaregs. They served as guides to the caravans as they were conversant with the
desert routs. They guarded the caravans against hostile desert communities who sought to
rob them; they acted as middlemen and maintained oases through providing food stuffs.
v. Existence of Wealthy merchants. They financed the caravans as an investment that
hoped would bring those profits.
vi. Oases. This lead to growth of trans-Saharan trade through refreshment and replenishing
supplies.
vii. Islam. As Islam spread through the region, it served to unify the traders as brothers and
sisters.

Organization
- Wealthy merchants in the North African financed the caravans.
- It was done where merchants gathered commodities and commits them to their
employees who would organise caravans and they would commit their merchandise as
loans to their traders who would then organise caravans.
- The traders would collect commodities that were in demand in West African such as
horses and weapons. The trader’s would team up with other traders to form a caravan.
- The caravans would be made up of several hundreds of people.
- The traders would engage the services of the tuaregs or Berbers guides, also known as
takshifs who would guide the caravans to the locations with the highest demand at the
time.
- During their trips, the traders would engage local agents who would serve as
intermediaries.

The West African kingdoms who were involved in the Trans-Saharan trade.

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 ✓ Ghana kingdom.
✓ Mali kingdom.
✓ Songhai kingdom
There were two types of trade routes used namely,
i. the main or primary routes and
ii. the secondary routes.

The main or primary routes

a. The western route. It began at fez in morocco and went through Sijilmasa, then Taghaza,
Timbukutu, Audaghast and ended in the Niger belt.
b. The central route. This route began in Tunis through Ghat, Agades, Kano and ended
within the Hausa state.
c. The eastern route. This route started from Tripoli then went through Murzuk ,Bilma and
finally ended at Njimi in Karnem Bornu.

The secondary routes

i. From Sijilmasa to Agades through Tuat.

ii. From Walata to Takedda passing through Timbuktu and Gao
iii. From Cairo joining the Eastern Route in Murzuk

Goods obtained from Western Sudan during the Trans-Saharan trade

i. Gold- the main trade item. Mined at Wangara, upper Niger and Bornu
ii. Slaves- obtained from raiding villages in western Sudan
iii. Ivory- was obtained mainly from Cote d’ Ivoire.
iv. Kola nuts- obtained from Kano region of present day Nigeria.

Goods obtained from North Africa

i. Salt- mined from Taghaza, Bilma and Ghadames
ii. Horses: were obtained mainly from Tripoli
iii. Glassware, beads, mirrors
iv. Firearms
v. Daggers
vi. Cowrie shells

Participants of the Trans-Saharan trade

The main participants who took part in the trade were:
 The Berbers from North Africa
 The Tuaregs from the Sahara
 The Western Sudan rulers
 The western Sudan Traders.
Roles of Tuaregs
i. They acted as guides to the Caravans.
ii. They provided security to the Caravans against hostile desert communities
iii. They maintained the Oases and assisted traders to get foodstuffs.
iv. They served as interpreters between traders

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 v. They occasionally served as middlemen.

Difficulties encountered by traders

 The journey was long and tiring, sometimes the caravan traders ran out of supplies for
themselves and animals
 The caravans encountered insecurity in the desert like robbers and terrorisms which
were hostile
 The routes in the desert changed frequently, the caravans would occasionally get lost
 The desert climate was harsh with very high temperatures during the day and very low at
night
 There was a language barrier between the traders and the desert communities
 Blinding sand storms hampered the progress of the caravan
 The caravans were always in danger of attack by various desert creatures such as
scorpions and snakes
 The takshifs would turn against the traders and attack and rob them
 There was rivalry among traders over the monopoly and control of trade and trade
routes
 Traders were attacked by desert animals such as snakes and scorpions.

NB: the Trans-saharan trade started to decline in the 15th Century AD

Factors that lead to decline of the trans-Saharan trade

 The gold and salt fields got exhausted reducing supply

 Fall of empires like Songhai caused political instability and insecurity in the region
 External invasion by morocco cost destruction of some commercial centres like Gao and
Timbukutu
 The rise and growth of trans-Atlantic trade rendered trans-Saharan trade unpopular
 European trading activities along West African coast undermine the trade
 Abolition of slave trade from the 1840s denied the traders a main trade` item’
 The tuaregs changed their roles as guides and became robbers of the caravans
 The desert condition like sand storms and desert insects.

Impact of Trans-Saharan Trade

Positive impacts

 Creating links- The trade provided an important link between western Sudan and North
Africa
 Urbanization- It stimulated the growth of small settlement which later grew into big
ancient towns
 Social classes- It created a new social class in western Sudan
 Spread of Islam- The trade brought about islamisation of people in West Africa
 Introduction of new types of goods- New types of goods were introduced to the people
of West Africa

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  Islamic education- They built schools and university were Arabic literature and
philosophy were taught. E.g university of Timbuktu

Negative impacts

 Increased warfare: acquisition of weapons increased warfare in the region. This led to
loss of lives and destruction of properties
 Slavery and slave trade: slave raids caused insecurity and fear to many families. Slaves
also suffered misery
 Destruction of wildlife: trade items were ivory, hides and skins and ostrich feathers. The
acquisition of these items led to destruction of wildlife.

C) International trade
- It refers to trade between countries outside geographical regions.
- It can also be define as trade which involves travel across seas and oceans.

The trans-Atlantic trade

- It also referred to as triangular trade, because it was conducted between Africa,
America and Europe across the Atlantic Ocean
Origins of Trans-Saharan trade
- It began in 15th century as a result of Portuguese and Spanish exploration. At first
Portuguese took slave to Europe, where they worked as domestic servants.
- In the 16th c. with the discovery and colonization of America, slaves were exported there
from West Africa by European merchants.
- Europeans in Portugal, Spain, Holland, France and Britain started plantation of sugar,
tobacco and cotton in the lands. This created an urgent need for cheap labour as
indigenous red Indians were unwilling and unfit to work in the plantation.
- The solution to labour problem was found in Africa.

Major European nations that took part in the Trans-Atlantic trade

 Portugal
 Spain
 Holland
 England
 France
Why African slave were more preferred than other races

 The supply of African slave was high

 They were cheaper to acquire
 They were stronger than the European and Red Indian labourers
 They were regarded as immune to tropical diseases
 Their complexion prevented them from escaping them easily

Development of Trans-Atlantic trade

- This was influenced by the activities of Portuguese as they were to sail to West Africa
and established trade links.
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 - They captured a few Africans slave whom they took to Europe to work as domestic
servants.
- They were shipped to Hispaniola in 1510. The successes of their experiment lead to more
slaves being shipped directly to America from Africa
Factors for the development of trans-Atlantic trade

i. Existence of trade links: European nations hand links with West Africa.
ii. Taste for European Goods: African chiefs had developed a taste for European goods
such as glass, clothes, rum and fir –arms
iii. Availability of firearms: The introduction of fire-arms in West Africa made it easier to
raid communities for slaves and to conduct wars of conquest in order to capture slaves.
iv. Demands for slaves and colonies and industries: The establishment of mines and
plantations and in new lands increased the demand for slaves. The increased demand of
raw materials by European industries resulted in an increased in demand for slaves in
America.
v. There was competition and rivalry among European nations to control the trade
vi. The trade was lucrative and profitable to the merchants.
vii. Improvement on Ship-building Technology: Ship – building technology improved with
building of larger ships with a greater capacity for such as slaves.

Organization of the Trans- Atlantic trade

- It was conducted between three continents that are Africa, America and Europe; it
involved Portugal, Spain, Holland, Britain and France.
- From Africa, slaves were shipped to plantations in the Caribbean and the America while
raw materials including gold, pepper, ivory, hides, gum, bees wax, rice and ginger were
sent to Europe.
- From plantations in America and Caribbean, raw materials such as sugar, tobacco and
cotton were sent to factories in Europe for processing.
- The slaves were the main commodity that were shipped from the West African coast
and destined for plantations in America and Caribbean.
- Cheap manufactured goods were shipped from European ports to middlemen on the West
African coast.
- The middlemen held the merchandise in trust and used it to trade with the slaves captors.
This lead to growth of the West African ports
ports in West African coast that developed during the Trans-Atlantic trade.
 Lagos.
 Whydah.
 Accra.
 Elmina.
 Badagi.
 Srekondi.
 Winneba.
 Gorée.
 Dakar.

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 - When European traders arrived in the West Africa, agents of the local kings collected
fees from them after which they were entertained.
Trade items in the Trans-Atlantic trade
From West Africa
Gold
Hides
Ivory
Guns
PepperBees wax
From America
Sugar
Tobacco

From Europe
Cotton
Cloth glassware
Iron ware
Firearms
liqour

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The main European ports
 Liverpool
 Glasgow
 Nantes
 Bordeaux
 Amsterdam
Methods used to acquired slaves
i. They were sold by rulers such as chiefs and kings to the slave traders
ii. The prisoners of war were sold to the slave traders
iii. They were exchanged with other commodities e.g gun and cloth
iv. Some lonely travellers were kidnapped by the slave traders
v. Commodities raided their neighbours and captured people who were sold to slave traders
vi. Children were enticed with gifts liked sweets and then captured to be sold to slave traders
vii. Debtors were sold to slave traders to pay debts through a method known as panyarring
Reasons for the decline
 There was decline in demand of sugar as France began producing cheaper sugar that
penetrated and dominated the European market.
 Independence of USA. In the 1776, the U.S.A attained political independence from
Britain, a move that deprived the British of profits made from the slave trade
 Industrial Revolution. During the industrial revolution in Europe, machines replaced
human labour as they were more efficient.
 Anti-slavery movement. The Christian missionaries began to advocate for the abolition
of slave trade, as did humanitarians in Britain during 19th c.
 Economic views. Influential economists like Adam smith advanced arguments for a free
enterprise economy; men were less productive when enslaved than free men.
 The American civil war. The U.S.A experienced a civil war between the north and south
over the institution of slavery, the north which was against slavery won the war leading to
the abolition of slavery in the U.S.A.
 Contribution of Africans. Leading Africans actively campaigned against slave trade.
King Nzinga Mbemba of Congo wrote a letter to the king of Portugal requesting him to
stop his men buying slave in the Congo.
 The impact of French Revolution. The French Revolution of 1789 spread the ideas of
liberty, equality and brotherhood. These ideas changed the institution of the slavery and
slave trade.
 Slave revolts. There were frequent slave revolts. In St. Domingo slaves killed their
masters and set up the Haitian Republic. Other revolts occurred in Jamaica, Antigua and
British Guyana.
 Development of legitimate trade. It was cheaper than slave trade. the development of
legitimate trade replaced slave trade.

Impact of Trans-Atlantic Trade

 The trade led to the development of ports like Bristol and Liverpool.
 It contributed to the emergence of a class of wealthy traders who invested in plantation.
 It led to settlement of Africans in America.

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 There was depopulation in Africa as slaves were captured and taken to America.
 Slave raiding led to an increased in inter-tribal wars, the wars increased insecurity.
 Kingdoms like the Fante, Asente, Dahomey and Oyo which controlled the trade
became very powerful.
 There was economic decline because the young and able were taken away, leaving the
weak and old.
 Slave raiding involved the destruction of property; villages were often burnt down and
left in ruins.
 There was decline in traditional industries due to introduction of goods such as clothes
and glassware at the expense of local ones.
 The trans-Saharan trade decline as goods were diverted towards the West African coast
from them was exported overseas.
 Long- lasting trade links were established between West Africa, Europe and America.
 Slave market and ports like Lagos and Elmina from where slave were shipped, developed
into urban centres along the coast of West Africa.
 Slave trade weakened African societies to the level that they could not effectively resist
colonisation.
 The abolition of trade lead to the creation of Sierra Leone and Liberia as settlements
for freed slaves

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