East Africa and its Extensive Trade Networks - Essay Example

East Africa and its trade route brought great significance to ancient Africa. The positive impact and negative impacts of the existence of East African trade routes are discussed in the paper. The paper a detailed explanation of how these trade routes affected the people who were part of the trading activities within East Africa.

Aksum and the Swahili Coast were the first to be mentioned as the important trade regions. The coast of East Africa is a part of extensive trade networks throughout the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. Aksum was located in Eritrea and Ethiopia. It is remembered for its splendid stone monuments, gold coins, and elaborate palaces (Ade-Ajayi 80). In the sixth century, the Aksumite kings extended their empire to southern Arabia. International trade developed in that region where markets were established in urban areas concentrated along the coastal regions full of wealth and power. The merging of Arab, African, and Indian peoples along the coast of East Africa produced the Kiswahili language and Swahili culture. Ivory, gold, and slaves were the goods that were traded globally along the Swahili coast.

The negative effect of the existence of the East African trade route was the slave trade. The slave trade was conducted by both Europeans and Arabs. European slave traders came in the 17th century, taking the African slaves into the islands of America and the Indian Ocean. The slave trade in Africa caused social disruptions among people, depopulation of certain regions, and increasing violence, as a result, of the firearms trade (Ade-Ajayi 85). The slave trade ended later resulted in a justification for European colonizing East Africa.

Europeans began exploring East Africa in the 15th century. Vasco de Gama and other Portuguese explorers started the connection between the Europe and African Coast that later lead to centuries of trade and domination of Africa by Europeans. Other explorers came later including Christian missionaries. When the slave trade was deemed illegal, Europeans had engaged in other types of trade (Ade-Ajayi 89). The industrial revolution in Europe needed cheap raw materials for its factories in which East African colonies provided large quantities of agricultural goods, precious minerals, and other cheap raw materials, as a result, of colonization. Africans were Christianized and civilized by Europeans with an aim of seeking economic gain. African was ironically economically exploited where much of its capital was drained from their countries. Read More