What was the Trans-Saharan trade and what goods moved along it?

• A. An overland network across the Sahara; gold, salt, and other commodities moved, facilitated by camels.
• B. A hidden network of sea routes around Africa's coast.
• C. A trade system centered in West Africa using river boats.
• D. A European caravan route established in the 15th century.

Answer: (C)

The Trans-Saharan trade was an overland network across the Sahara that connected West African kingdoms with North Africa and the Mediterranean. Camel caravans made these long desert crossings feasible, linking regions that otherwise had little direct contact. The goods most commonly transported were gold from West Africa and salt from Saharan mines, but merchants also moved copper, ivory, textiles, beads, and even enslaved people. This trade helped power empires like Ghana, Mali, and Songhai and facilitated the spread of Islam, as well as ideas, technologies, and wealth, across the Sahara. It isn’t a sea-route around Africa, nor primarily a river-based system, and it predates the European routes that began in the 15th century.