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Describe how trade developed in Africa Trade in Africa

How did Trade Develop in Africa? For thousands of years, the hot, dry Sahara isolated North Africa from the rest of the continent. Then, about 400 b.c., the Berber people of North Africa found ways to cross the Sahara to West Africa. Trade soon opened between the two regions. How Did the Sahara Trade Develop? For hundreds of years, the Berbers carried goods across the Sahara on donkeys and horses. The animals often did not survive the desert heat. The Romans introduced the central Asian camel in a.d. 200. The use of camels greatly changed trade in Africa. Camels are well suited for the desert. Their humps store fat for food, and they can travel for many days without water. The Berbers quickly adopted camels, both as a source of food and as a way to travel. Berber traders formed caravans of many camels. These caravans crossed the Sahara between North Africa and West Africa. West African merchants sent gold mined in their region to towns bordering the Sahara. From there, caravans carried the gold northward. Some of this African gold reached Europe and Asia. Christian and Muslim rulers in these areas valued African gold. Caravans from West Africa also carried ivory, spices, leather, and ostrich feathers. In addition, they transported enslaved people captured in wars. Merchants sent these captives to the Mediterranean area and Southwest Asia to serve as soldiers or servants.