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Medieval African Economies: AD 700–1500

In: Economic Development in the Twenty-first Century

Author

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  • Matthew Kofi Ocran

    (University of the Western Cape)

Abstract

Africa is often associated with poverty and misery but Ocran demonstrates that on the eve of European adventure on the continent, Africans could hold their own in the comity of polities in the known world at the time. He reviews the historical facts regarding Africa’s medieval economies and provides evidence to the fact that the region was well endowed with rich mineral resources and was engaged in vibrant trade with her northern compatriots across the desert and with Arab traders to the East. Ocran shows that the Saharan desert was no barrier to trade. One cannot appreciate medieval Africa without considering the awe-inspiring states that existed on the continent, particularly those in Western Africa. The Ghana, Mali and Songhay Empires provide a glimpse of economic life of medieval Africa before the arrival of Europeans on the continent. He shows that there wasn’t much difference between the state of African economies and that of Europe in the medieval epoch.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew Kofi Ocran, 2019. "Medieval African Economies: AD 700–1500," Palgrave Studies in Economic History, in: Economic Development in the Twenty-first Century, chapter 0, pages 199-220, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palscp:978-3-030-10770-3_6
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-10770-3_6
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