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Ivory trade in Ghana, 1690. Elephant ivory has been exported from Africa and Asia for millennia with records going back to the 14th century BCE.Transport of the heavy commodity was always difficult, and with the establishment of the early-modern slave trades from East and West Africa, freshly captured slaves were used to carry the heavy tusks to the ports where both the tusks and their ...
With the newly established ivory trade in sub-Saharan Africa, African ivory began appearing in medieval Europe. This is in larger part to the Muslim presence and trade in central Africa. Portugal, enamored by the prospect of African ivory began searching for alternate sources that did not involve trading with the Muslims. [2] As a result ...
The slave trade, in particular, had little effect on the peoples of Ivory Coast. [7] A profitable trade in ivory existed in the 17th century and gave the area its name. [7] However, the resulting decline in elephant population ended the ivory trade by the beginning of the 18th century. [7]
African maritime trade involved a wide range of goods that were highly valued in international markets. From the East African coast, gold, ivory, and slaves were prominent exports. In return, African traders received textiles, ceramics, spices, and other luxury goods from Arabia, India, and beyond.
In East Africa, the Indian Ocean trade network was pivotal in linking the African coast with the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia. Coastal cities like Kilwa , Mombasa , and Zanzibar emerged as key points of exchange, thriving on the trade of gold, ivory, and slaves.
Previously, trade with Sub-Saharan Africa could only be conducted through North African middlemen. Now Europeans could trade directly with the Africans themselves. This valuable trade lead to rapid change in West Africa. The region had long been agriculturally productive and, especially in western Nigeria, densely populated.
Founded c. 800 BCE, Carthage became one terminus for West African gold, ivory, and slaves. West Africa received salt, cloth, beads, and metal goods. Shillington proceeds to identify this trade route as the source for West African iron smelting. [17] Trade continued into Roman times.
The state arose in the 12th century CE. Its wealth came from controlling the trade in ivory from the Limpopo Valley, copper from the mountains of northern Transvaal, and gold from the Zimbabwe Plateau between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers, with the Swahili merchants at Chibuene. By the mid-13th century, Mapungubwe was abandoned. [71]