Trans-Saharan Trade Routes
Definition
These were a network of trading paths crossing the Sahara Desert that connected Africa to the Mediterranean world, including North Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. Goods, ideas, and people moved along these routes.
Analogy
Think of the Trans-Saharan Trade Routes like a busy highway system. Just as highways connect different cities and allow for transport of goods and people, these trade routes connected different regions allowing for exchange of goods (like gold and salt), culture, religion (like Islam), and knowledge.
Related terms
Sahara Desert: The largest hot desert in the world located in North Africa which was crossed by traders using camels during the Trans-Saharan trade.
Caravans: Groups of merchants who banded together to travel across dangerous terrain like deserts. They were like convoys on our modern highways ensuring safety in numbers.
Gold-Salt Trade: This was a major part of the Trans-Saharan trade where West African countries traded their gold resources for North African salt.
"Trans-Saharan Trade Routes" appears in:
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Practice Questions (20+)
- Which of the following empires was NOT located on the western end of the Trans-Saharan trade routes?
- African goods traded on the Trans-Saharan Trade Routes included:
- African goods traded on the Trans-Saharan Trade Routes included _____.
- What role did the Trans-Saharan trade routes play in cultural exchanges?
- What was a significant technological innovation that greatly influenced the Trans-Saharan Trade Routes?
- What was a major cultural impact of the Trans-Saharan trade routes?
- What primary factor led to the growth and development of Trans-Saharan Trade Routes in the Medieval Period?
- Which product was not a major commodity traded along the Trans-Saharan Trade Routes?
- Which innovation has not significantly contributed to the efficiency of Trans-Saharan Trade Routes?
- What was a primary difference between the trans-Saharan trade routes and the Silk Road during the same period?
- How did the introduction of Islam to Sub-Saharan Africa affect the Trans-Saharan Trade Routes?
- Which factor enabled the Trans-Saharan Trade Routes to flourish during the period from 1200 to 1450?
- Which empire dominated and maintained major control over the Trans-Saharan trade routes in Africa during the time period between c.1200 - c.1450?
- How did Islam's spread impact social structures along Trans-Saharan Trade Routes in medieval times?
- What evidence suggests the impact of Trans-Saharan Trade Routes on state formation in Sub Saharan Africa during the period c.1200 - c.1450?
- What if Islam had not spread into North Africa before the development of Trans-Saharan Trade Routes?
- How did the Trans-Saharan trade routes affect religious belief systems within Africa during early modern period?
- Assuming trans-Saharan trade routes were impassable during this period due to hostile conditions, what could be a plausible alternate route for West Africa's gold export?
- Which technological innovation had a significant impact on trans-Saharan trade routes during the period from 1200 to 1450?
- How did the trans-Saharan trade routes impact North African societies from the thirteenth through fifteenth centuries?
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