FACTORS FOR THE RISE OF TRADE
(Account for the Rise of Trade in Pre-colonial Africa)
TRADE IN PRE-COLONIAL AFRICA
Trade is the buying and selling of goods and services between people, countries or regions.
Trade is the exchange of goods between two or more individual.
African communities have been engaging in trade since immemorial time. Trade among African communities was a result of regional specialization that is scarcity of certain items in one society and availability of certain items in another society.
For example, Uvinza had Salt, the Nyamwezi had no Salt hence they had to go as far as Kigoma to trade with the people of Uvinza in order to obtain Salt, similarly Zaire ( Kongo ) had Copper the Nyamwezi moved as far as Zaire to obtain Copper, the Nyamwezi who travelled and settled in Zaire came to be known as THE YEKKE.
METHODS OF TRADE
Trade in pre-colonial Africa was conducted in by using two ways.
1. Barter trade
2. Currency.
i. Barter trade, was a form trade that was conducted btefore the introduction of currency. Barter system was a trade based on the exchange of goods for goods. This trade was a great factor for interaction of the people with different specialization such as pastoralists, cultivators, and iron smelters.
ii. Trade through currency: this was a trade that involved the use of money as the medium of exchange.
Forms of currencies in pre-colonial Africa.
A. Cowrie shells, there were commonly used in Kilwa and central Africa where they were called NZIMBU SHELLS.
B. Gold (in Asante)
C. Piece of clothes
D. Salt
E. Copper (the Katanga cross was used as currency in central Africa throughout 13 and up to 19th century).
FACTORS FOR THE RISE OF TRADE. (Account for the rise of trade in pre-colonial Africa)
1. Scarcity of items in some African societies, uneven distribution of resources led to the demand for certain products where they were not available. For Example, the people on North Africa travelled across the Saharan desert to West Africa searching for Gold, Kola nuts and other forest products, the Nyamwezi travelled up to Katanga in Zaire searching for Copper hence scarcity of items in one society led to the rise of trade in pre-colonial Africa.
2. Specialization in economic activities, the rise of different specialization such as iron smelting, Salt mining, pottery, pastoralism and fishing, created a need of exchange as some communities needed commodities from other communities.
3. Emergency of socio-political structures, the chiefdoms and kingships created good environment for trade, the kings of different states provided security for traders but also they themselves participated in trade, they saw trade a very important factor to strengthen their empires as they got military weapons and resources to pay soldiers in their armies Example of these kings and chiefs were such as Mansa Kankan Mussa, Nyungu ya Mawe, Mirambo, Machemba, Munyiguimba the father of Mkwawa.
4. Availability of transport animals, for example the availability of transport animals such as Horses, donkeys, camels, camels were introduced by the first century AD, and solved transport challenge in crossing the Sahara leading to the rise of Trans-Saharan trade.
5. Surplus production, surplus production is the production beyond what is demanded for consumption. Traded in pre-colonial stated during the Neolithic era when man started agriculture and production was beyond what was needed for consumption hence this led to the rise of trade.
6. The profitability of trade, some people were motivated to engage in trading activities just because the trade promised super profits to those people, Example the Igbo, Yoruba, the Nyamwezi, the Tuaregs, the Kamba, and Yao participated in trade because was profitable.
