Connected to the World
Before the Atlantic slave trade, African states participated in global commerce connecting Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
Trade Networks
- Trans-Saharan routes
- Indian Ocean trade
- Red Sea commerce
- Nile River exchange systems
Goods Traded
- Gold
- Salt
- Ivory
- Textiles
- Books
- Copper
- Agricultural products
Knowledge Networks
Ideas moved alongside goods.
Scholars traveled between Timbuktu, Cairo, Mecca, Fez, and other centers of learning.
Why This Matters
The people who would later become African Americans came from societies already connected to the wider world.
The Atlantic slave trade did not introduce Africa to global history. It violently redirected Africa's place within it.
