Note Page 2



European Exploration in West Africa

Spain, England, and France were not the only European countries interested in claiming new territories and acquiring riches. Portugal also made voyages of exploration in search of a water route to India. The empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai dominated West Africa one after another from 300 to 1600 A.D. They were located in the western section of the continent and near the Niger River and south of the Sahara Desert.

The rulers of Portugal wanted to find a faster and safer trade route to the country of India on the continent of Asia. The old land route was long and the movement of traded goods was slow. They knew that ships could travel faster and carry more goods than any land caravan could. In their search for this water route, Portuguese ships traveled down the west coast of Africa and made contact with three powerful West African empires: Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. These three empires were surrounded by salt and gold mines. As a result, they controlled the prosperous gold and salt trade in West Africa.

Trading was an important part of life in Africa. African empires traded with each other to meet their needs. One of their greatest needs was salt. During the time of the explorers, salt was needed to flavor and preserve food. Because there was no refrigeration, many foods like meats quickly spoiled. Instead of trying to keep these foods cool, people covered them with salt. The salt dried out the food and allowed it to be stored for a while before being eaten. This made salt very valuable. It was so valuable that other African kingdoms were willing to trade gold for it!

The great empires of West Africa traded with European nations and other African kingdoms. The large supplies of gold and salt began to cause European countries like Portugal to become more and more interested in the coast of West Africa. Portugal began to trade goods like iron, guns, gunpowder, knives, cloth and beads for gold dust. In addition to gold dust, Portuguese traders soon began to return to Portugal with another cargo, African slaves.

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