Final answer:
Extensive trade in West Africa, involving commodities like gold, salt, and slaves, transformed the region's political landscape by fostering the rise of powerful empires, expanding trans-Saharan trade routes, and later militarizing its states due to the European slave trade.
Step-by-step explanation:
Impact of Trade on West African Political History
The extensive trade in West Africa significantly shaped the political history in the region over time. The emergence of the Ghana Empire and Islamic conquests created favorable conditions for trade, particularly in gold, which was in high demand in the Mediterranean and Europe. This burgeoning trade led to the minting of European coins from West African gold and expanded trans-Saharan trade routes.
Additionally, political entities such as the Mali Empire and later the Songhai Empire benefited from these trades, expanding their influence by taxing them. However, with the collapse of Songhai and the advent of European slave trade, smaller states emerged that directly traded enslaved people with Europeans in exchange for goods, thereby altering West Africa's society and militarizing states.
The continent-spanning trade of gold, salt, and enslaved people was instrumental in city-state prosperity and helped to form kingdoms and empires. Over time, trade necessary for the survival of medieval African kingdoms promoted diplomacy and sometimes warfare, which in turn affected the expansion and collapse of these empires.