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.

Take notes in the appropriate

spot on your green Medieval

Trade Systems note page.

This will be glued on p. 22

Primary Trade Routes

• Silk Roads (Eurasia)

• “Sea Roads” (Indian Ocean)

• Sand Roads (Sahara)

Step 1: Label the following

locations on your map

Indian Ocean

China

Chang’an

East Africa

•China

•Gun powder

•Paper

•Silk

•Mirrors

•Porcelain

•India

•Cotton fabric

•Spices

•Gems

•Middle East

•Dates

•Nuts

•Dyes

•Perfumes

•Olive oil

•Buddhism

•Islam

•Diseases

Draw the Silk Road

CHINA

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

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

•China

•Gun powder

•Paper

•Silk

•Porcelain

•India

•Cotton fabric

•Spices, gems

•Middle East

•Nuts

•Dyes

•Perfumes

•Olive oil

•Buddhism

•Islam

•Diseases

Silk Road Trade

Draw the “Sea Roads” - Indian Ocean Trade

Sahara

DesertHimalayas

Taklimakan Desert

Indian Ocean•Slaves

•Gold

•Iron

•Tortoise Shell

•Ivory

•Islam spread to

cities along the

East African

coast & to

Southeast Asia

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

Sea “Roads”• Indian Ocean connected people through the Eastern

Hemisphere• Ocean transportation was cheaper than the Silk Road• Ships could carry larger and heavier cargo• Used the monsoon seasons to their advantage

Sand Roads, the Gold – Salt Trade

Sahara

DesertHimalayas

Taklimakan Desert

Indian Ocean

Benin

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

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

Culture in Transit

• Islam and Arabic

http://www.mapsofwar.com/images/Religion.swf

Flip your green paper over

On the back, take notes

about the West African

Kingdoms of Ghana &

Mali

5th century: rise of powerful kingdoms based on control of trade

routes

Dominated for 1000 years- led to exchange of ideas, goods, rise of

cities, and wealth ($$$)

l

Wealthy West African kingdoms:

Ghana & Mali

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- king)

• Built giant mosque in Timbuktu, a major trading city

Sent to the Arabian

Peninsula & Asia

Why were slaves taken

from East Africa?

Muslims -= not allowed

to enslave fellow

Muslims

Many civilizations

depended on a

cheap source of labor

Start of the East African Slave

Trade

Next, you will complete the purple

Kingdoms of Africa Webquest

Turn the webquest in when done!

If you have extra time & didn’t finish

your Genghis Khan assignment, do

so now.

Mansa Musa Crash Course

video with questions

Awesome song

Review Questions1. What empire did Mansa Musa rule?

2. What was the primary religion that spread on

the trade routes?

3. True or False: the “sea roads” were across the

Sahara in North Africa

4. What were the 2 major goods traded FROM

West Africa?