Final answer:
Travel along the West coasts of Africa enhanced the socio-economic and political landscapes between 1300 and 1550, with the advent of European exploration creating new trade dynamics and leading to the harrowing trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Role of Travel along the West Coasts of Africa (1300-1550)
Between 1300 and 1550, travel along the West coasts of Africa played a pivotal role in shaping socio-economic and political developments. The coastal region was integral in the trans-Saharan trade network, facilitating the exchange of a variety of commodities including gold, ivory, and spices. During this period, the African continent, particularly Western Africa, experienced the emergence of powerful kingdoms such as Ghana, Mali, and Songhay that were engaged in trade and had complex societal structures.
With the mid-fifteenth century advent of European exploration, led by nations like Portugal, travel along the West African coast underwent a significant transformation. European explorers like Prince Henry the Navigator sponsored fleets that navigated the West African coastline. Their aim was to discover an all-water route to the Indian Ocean to avoid the high tariffs imposed by Arab traders on luxury goods like spices, silk, and cotton. Africa's contribution to global trade included prized items such as ivory, gold, palm oil, and later, slaves.
The trans-Atlantic slave trade dramatically altered the dynamics of West African travel and trade by the sixteenth century. European demand for enslaved Africans led to the establishment of trading posts and the transformation of certain coastal areas into transit points for captives bound for slavery in the Americas. This period saw kingdoms such as Dahomey adapt to these changes, becoming participants in the Age of Discovery and the burgeoning trans-Atlantic slave trade.