Question

What outsiders traded with Southern Africans before the Europeans arrived?

Answer 1

Before European contact, Southern Africans traded with Arab Muslim merchants through the Indian Ocean trade networks, exchanging gold, ivory, spices, and textiles as well as slaves from the African interior towards destinations like the Middle East and North Africa.

Step-by-step explanation:

Before the arrival of Europeans, the Indian Ocean trade networks facilitated commerce with Southern Africans. The primary international traders included Arab Muslims, who were actively engaged in the trade across the Indian Ocean, connecting East Africa with the Middle East, and North Africa, and even reaching India and China. Merchant networks were already well-established, trading goods such as gold, ivory, spices, and, unfortunately, enslaved people.

Enslaved Bantu peoples from the African interior were brought to the coast, where they would be sold and transported to destinations such as southern Iraq, where they labored in agriculture or as domestic servants. These trade routes also saw goods like kola nuts, shea butter, and indigenous textiles moving across sub-Saharan Africa.

Additionally, Islamic traders from North Africa and the Mediterranean had long been traveling into Saharan and sub-Saharan Africa, acquiring valuable resources and engaging in the slave trade long before Europeans turned their focus to Africa. Even after Portuguese sailors and other Europeans arrived in the sixteenth century, these networks continued to be significant, shaping the interactions and economies of African societies.

Answer 2

Step-by-step explanation:

The first Europeans to enter Southern Africa were the Portuguese, who from the 15th century edged their way around the African coast in the hope of outflanking Islam, finding a sea route to the riches of India, and discovering additional sources of food. They reached the Kongo kingdom in northwestern Angola in 1482–83; early in 1488 Bartolomeu Dias rounded the southern tip of the continent; and just over a decade later Vasco da Gama sailed along the east coast of Africa before striking out to India. Although the voyages were initially unpromising, they marked the beginning of the integration of the subcontinent into the new world economy and the dominance of Europeans over the indigenous inhabitants.