Although they have very different geography, the Trans- Saharan and Indian Ocean Trade are both Arab controlled. Africa had three important “coasts”: the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Sahel, an extensive grassland belt at the southern edge of the Sahara. The Trans- Saharan trade began when an Islamic wave spread across north Africa sending ripples across the Sahara in the form of Berber merchants and travelers who set foot towards the savannah. The introduction of camels during 100CE- 200CE from Asia to the Sahara, improved the trade between the Mediterranean and western Africa. Although it was a slow process, camels were preferred because they could go weeks without food or water. Unlike the Trans-Saharan, the Indian Ocean is predominantly water. The trade was between the Swahili (Bantu- based and Arabic Influenced) coast of east Africa and India and also China. The string of urbanized east African ports was developed by the 13th century and includes towns such as Mogadishu, Mombasa, and Zanzibar. The town of Kilwa flourished in the context of international trade; however, during their height, as many as 30 port towns dotted the coast. The common transportation method use was dhows, an Arab sailing vessel with triangular or lateen sails. The monsoon winds off the East coast of Africa blow from the southeast between April and October (the Kusi) and from the northeast between November and March (the Kaskazi). The direction and timing of these winds have formed the basis for the Swahili and Arab traders shipping goods around the Indian Ocean.
The Trans- Saharan trade and Indian Ocean trade are important for the spread of Islam and the share of wealth. Trade between West Africa and the Mediterranean predated Islam, however, North African Muslims intensified the Trans-Saharan trade. North African traders were major factors in introducing Islam into West Africa. Islam arrived in Southeast Asia near the end of the 13th century with traders from India, who introduced the religion first to northern Sumatra, an island in present-day Indonesia. It is generally accepted that it was Indian Muslims, not Arab Muslims, who introduced Islam to Southeast Asia. When Indian merchants and missionaries introduced Islam to the region, they were careful to retain whatever previous Hindu or animist customs were necessary to gain the widespread adoption of Islam. Trans- Saharan and Indian Ocean not only used trade to spread Islam but also wealth. For the Trans- Saharan the two major resources traded were salt from the Mediterranean and gold from western Africa. Trades were even, ounce for ounce - an ounce of gold for an ounce of salt. Both sides - north and south - paid Ghana a tribute to handle the trades. Although Ghana never owned gold and salt mines, they controlled the trade between the kingdoms to the north and the kingdoms to the south. The Indian also traded gold and salt but they weren’t as dominant. The port towns traded with inland kingdoms like Great Zimbabwe to obtain gold, ivory, and iron. These materials were then sold to places like India, Southeast Asia, and China. These were Africa's exports in the Indian Ocean Trade. These items could be sold at a profit because they were scarce in Asian countries. At the same time, many residents of the port towns were willing to pay high prices for cotton, silk, and porcelain objects. These items were expensive because they were not available in Africa at the time.
The Arab controlled Trans- Saharan trade and Indian Ocean trade have different geography and resources traded, although they both contributed the spread of Islam and wealth. The two trade routes connected Africa, Europe, and Asia.
I2J - 11 PROFCOMM
Date Due
Date Assigned
Assignment
Category
Score
Weight
Weighted Score
Average Score
Total Points
Weighted Total Points
Percentage
10/25/2013
10/25/2013
News
Daily Work
2.00
1.00
2.00
1.83
2.00
2.0000
100.00%
10/24/2013
10/24/2013
News
Daily Work
2.00
1.00
2.00
2.00
2.00
2.0000
100.00%
10/23/2013
10/23/2013
News
Daily Work
2.00
1.00
2.00
1.93
2.00
2.0000
100.00%
10/22/2013
10/22/2013
News
Daily Work
2.00
1.00
2.00
1.91
2.00
2.0000
100.00%
10/21/2013
10/21/2013
News
Daily Work
2.00
1.00
2.00
1.83
2.00
2.0000
100.00%
10/03/2013
10/03/2013
News
Daily Work
2.00
1.00
2.00
1.92
2.00
2.0000
100.00%
10/02/2013
10/02/2013
News
Daily Work
2.00
1.00
2.00
2.64
2.00
2.0000
100.00%
10/01/2013
10/01/2013
News
Daily Work
2.00
1.00
2.00
1.85
2.00
2.0000
100.00%
09/27/2013
09/27/2013
News
Daily Work
2.00
1.00
2.00
2.00
2.00
2.0000
100.00%
09/26/2013
09/26/2013
News
Daily Work
2.00
1.00
2.00
1.92
2.00
2.0000
100.00%
09/25/2013
09/25/2013
News
Daily Work
2.00
1.00
2.00
1.88
2.00
2.0000
100.00%
09/24/2013
09/24/2013
News
Daily Work
2.00
1.00
2.00
1.87
2.00
2.0000
100.00%
09/23/2013
09/23/2013
News
Daily Work
2.00
1.00
2.00
1.74
2.00
2.0000
100.00%
09/20/2013
09/20/2013
News
Daily Work
2.00
1.00
2.00
1.70
2.00
2.0000
100.00%
09/19/2013
09/19/2013
News
Daily Work
2.00
1.00
2.00
1.92
2.00
2.0000
100.00%
09/18/2013
09/18/2013
News
Daily Work
2.00
1.00
2.00
1.69
2.00
2.0000
100.00%
09/17/2013
09/17/2013
News
Daily Work
2.00
1.00
2.00
1.65
2.00
2.0000
100.00%
09/13/2013
09/09/2013
Informative speech
Project
42.00
2.00
84.00
44.27
100.00
200.0000
42.00%
09/12/2013
09/12/2013
News
Daily Work
2.00
1.00
2.00
1.50
2.00
2.0000
100.00%
09/10/2013
09/10/2013
News
Daily Work
2.00
1.00
2.00
1.71
2.00
2.0000
100.00%
09/09/2013
09/09/2013
News
Daily Work
2.00
1.00
2.00
1.75
2.00
2.0000
100.00%
09/09/2013
09/09/2013
Class Rules
Project
2.00
5.00
10.0000
Categories
Category
Student's
Points
/ Maximum
Points
= Percent * Category
Weight
= Category
Points
Daily Work
40.00
40.00
100.00%
20.00
20.00000
Project
84.00
200.00
42.00%
10.00
4.20000
Totals:
30.00
24.20000
Student's overall average is:
24.20000
/
30.00
=
80.66
%
Show All Averages
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