Question

Before the triangular trade, what did Europe and Africa trade between each other? Like any specific items or food?

a) Europe primarily traded textiles, firearms, and manufactured goods to Africa in exchange for gold, ivory, and slaves.
b) Europe traded spices, silks, and ceramics with Africa for salt, timber, and minerals.
c) Africa exchanged livestock and agricultural products with Europe for wine, grains, and pottery.
d) Both Europe and Africa relied on subsistence agriculture and had limited direct trade before the triangular trade.

Answer 1

Europe traded manufactured goods like textiles and firearms for African gold and ivory before the onset of the intensive slave trade. This exchange evolved into the triangular trade which included Europe, Africa, and the Americas, exchanging slaves, raw materials, and manufactured goods.

Step-by-step explanation:

Before the triangular trade, Europe and Africa traded a variety of goods with each other. European nations exchanged textiles, firearms, and other manufactured goods for African gold, ivory, and eventually slaves. Prior to the high volume of the slave trade, Africa was part of a vibrant network of trade, transacting in items such as kola nuts, shea butter, indigenous textiles, and iron tools within West Africa. Moreover, the medieval empires of West Africa, such as Ghana, Mali, and Songhai, were particularly renowned for trading in gold and salt.

The Portuguese, in their early explorations, initially focused on trading for gold but soon shifted towards the more readily available slaves. This set the stage for the subsequent triangular trade system where European goods would be exchanged for African slaves, who were then shipped to the Americas, with the final leg involving the transport of American agricultural products back to Europe.