Final answer:
Continuous contact with Europeans significantly transformed African polities and economies in the Yoruba kingdoms, Ashanti, and Kongo, by inciting a shift from traditional economic practices to slave trade, which significantly escalated warfare and tension.
Step-by-step explanation:
The continuous contact with Europeans proved instrumental in the transformation of African polities and economies from the 15th century onwards. These encounters caused significant socio-economic and political changes in the African kingdoms, states like the Yoruba kingdoms, Ashanti, and Kongo, serving as profound examples of this transformation.
For instance, such interactions played a crucial role in the rise of warrior states like Whydah and Dahomey situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic coast. The influx of European goods like firearms and manufactured goods incentivized these warrior states to enter the slave trade, intensifying conflict and warfare in their efforts to provide captives for exchange.
Similarly, the Yoruba kingdoms, a federation of numerous communities in the western region of Nigeria, sought alliances with the Portuguese, delivering enslaved people in return for guns and other goods. This arrangement significantly bolstered the power of the Yoruba states, but it also escalated warfare and tension in the region.
The Ashanti Empire in present-day Ghana, was another African kingdom that evolved significantly due to their interactions with European powers. Kingships like these became wealthy and powerful by engaging in the gold trade with Europeans but also, unfortunately, participated in the slave trade which demanded a constant state of conflict to supply slaves.
Lastly, the Kongo kingdom in Central Africa is an example of an African polity transformed by European contact. Kongo's economy was initially based on farming and trade; however, the arrival of Portuguese traders shifted their economic focus and involvement, significantly towards slavery and exports of copper and ivory, thus nurturing a political environment that was increasingly centralized around the trade with Europeans.
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