Topic 2: THE PRE-COLONIAL PRODUCTION

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Topic 2: THE PRE-COLONIAL PRODUCTION

The Trans-Saharan Trade / Triangular Trade
The Trans-Saharan Trade was a vital network connecting West Africa with North Africa and the Middle East, primarily from the 8th to the 16th centuries. Key commodities traded included gold and slaves from West Africa, exchanged for salt, textiles, and manufactured goods from North Africa. This trade fostered the growth of powerful West African empires like Ghana, Mali, and Songhai.

The Triangular Trade (also known as the Atlantic Slave Trade) was a transatlantic system operating from the 16th to the 19th centuries. It involved three main legs:

1. European manufactured goods (textiles, guns, alcohol) were transported to West Africa and exchanged for enslaved Africans.
2. Enslaved Africans were forcibly transported across the Atlantic to the Americas (the Middle Passage) to work on plantations producing raw materials.
3. Raw materials (sugar, tobacco, cotton) were shipped from the Americas back to Europe for processing. This trade had devastating demographic, social, and economic impacts on Africa, while fueling European industrialization and colonial expansion.