1. Medieval Trade Systems
Learning Goal!
Analyze how the Silk Route and the African gold-salt trade facilitated the spread of ideas and explain how the slave trade in East Africa developed.

2. Primary Trade Routes Silk Roads (Eurasia) “Sea Roads” (Indian Ocean)
Sand Roads (Sahara)

4. Step 1: Label the following locations on your map
Indian Ocean
Russia
Asia
China
East Africa

5. Sahara Desert Indian Ocean Black Sea Caspian Sea Constantinople
Taklimakan Desert
Chang’an
Sahara
Desert
Himalayas
Mecca
Indian Ocean

6. Silk Roads Land-based “Relay Trade” Began as indirect trade routes
Prospered when large and powerful civilizations began to provide security for their merchants and travelers
Continued to flourish when the Byzantine Empire, the Muslim Abbasid dynasty and Tang dynasty created a continuous belt of states across Eurasia

7. Goods in Transit Typically large camel caravans Why camels?
Traveled over harsh and dangerous steppes, deserts & oases
Most of the goods were luxury products
Silk came to symbolize the Eurasian exchange system
Used as currency in Central Asia
Symbol of high status
Also associated with the sacred

8. Silk Road Trade China Gun powder Paper Silk Porcelain India
Cotton fabric
Spices, gems
Middle East
Nuts
Dyes
Perfumes
Olive oil
Buddhism
Islam
Diseases

9. Sea Roads - Indian Ocean Trade
Taklimakan Desert
Sahara
Desert
Himalayas
Monsoon Nov - Feb
Monsoon April - Sept
Indian Ocean
Slaves
Ivory
Gold
Tortoise Shell
Iron
Islam spread to cities along the East African coast & to Southeast Asia

10. Sea Roads, cont.
Islam spread to the east coast of Africa & southeast Asia via the Indian Ocean trade complex
East coast of Africa: slaves were traded away to Middle East/Asia
Mace, cloves, and sandalwood

11. Sea “Roads”
Indian Ocean connected people through the Eastern Hemisphere
Ocean transportation costs were cheaper than the Silk Road
Ships could carry larger and heavier cargo
Used the monsoon seasons to their advantage

12. Sand Roads, the Gold – Salt Trade
Taklimakan Desert
Timbuktu
Gold from West Africa
Salt across the Sahara
Slaves
Ivory
Nuts
Dates Cloth
Islam
Sub-Saharan West Africa is pulled into the Muslim trade network
Benin
Sahara
Desert
Himalayas
Indian Ocean

13. Sand Roads
Connected North Africa and the Mediterranean world with West Africa
Made possible with the introduction of the camel
Caravans would include as many as 5,000 camels and would take up to 70 days to reach their destination!
Sub-Saharan West Africa = important part of the Muslim trade network
Crash Course: Mansa Musa and Islam in Africa

14. Culture in Transit Islam and Arabic

15. Open to your next notebook page (#19)

20. Mansa Musa holding a gold nugget

21. Wealthy West African kingdoms: Ghana & Mali
5th century: rise of powerful kingdoms based on control of trade routes
Dominated for 1000 years- lead to exchange of ideas, goods, rise of cities, and wealth ($$$)
Ghana
Iron weapons = controlled region & trade routes ($)
King taxed all trade, esp. gold & salt
Large army
Ghana = gold
Mali
Conquered Ghana (1240 controlled gold & salt mines
Leaders converted to Islam (Mansa Musa)
Built giant mosque in Timbuktu, a major trading city

22. Start of the African Slave Trade
Sent to the Arabian Peninsula & Asia
Why were slaves taken from East Africa?
Muslims were not allowed to enslave fellow Muslims
Many civilizations depended on a cheap source of labor

23. Mansa Musa Crash Course video with questions