Compare And Contrast Indian Ocean And Trans-Saharan Trade

Comparison and Contrast Essay

While the Indian Ocean and Trans-Saharan trade routes both encouraged and facilitated the spread of Islam, the Indian Ocean saw a more extensive diffusion of disease, and traded across water instead of land. Islam was a widespread religion amongst both trade routes, but other religions, like Buddhism, were not as popular along the Trans-Saharan route. Through the time period, we see evidence of Islam’s dominance in the form of muslim architecture and the rulers of the time period. Mansa Musa, king of the Malian empire, in specific was a large influence on the religion of the population. Other pieces of Muslim architecture, such as the great Mosque of Djenne, are evidence of the religion’s dominance in Sub-Saharan Africa. Along the Indian Ocean trade routes, we also see Islam as a dominant religion, but there is much more of a variety. Evidence of Islam in Eastern Africa can be found in the language itself. Swahili, the dominant language of the region, is influenced heavily by Arabic. Buddhist traders from India and China spread the religion to some inhabitants of Eastern Africa. Hindu traders from India traded with Muslim traders, facilitating

The difference between the trade systems, however, were the way the goods were traded. Along the Indian Ocean, ships were used to carry bulk goods as well as luxury goods along a more relay-based route. Along the Trans-Saharan route, traders used camel caravans to carry mostly luxury goods to their trading destination. There were not many cities along the Trans-Saharan, so they never really did the relay-style trading. The Indian Ocean and Trans-Saharan trade routes shared products like textiles and ivory, enhanced the spread of Islam, and spread disease; but, due to the Indian Ocean’s trading style, spread diseases much quicker and spread a plethora of different