Ivory and gold
Africakingdoms gained their powered by trading gold and salt.
Ghana! Then followed by Mali, then Songhai ! :)
gold
Camels contributed to the success of West African trading kingdoms because of their usefulness as pack animals on the gold route.
West African kingdoms played a significant role in the transatlantic slave trade by capturing and trading enslaved individuals from rival tribes or communities. They established complex trading networks with European powers, exchanging slaves for goods such as firearms, textiles, and metalware. The kingdoms often engaged in warfare and raids to acquire captives, which intensified social and political dynamics in the region. This involvement had lasting impacts on West African societies, contributing to demographic changes and social disruption.
To obtain goods and firearms from Europe
Crusades and eastern Mediterranean trading network
Early empires gained wealth and power by trading slaves, gold, and ivory.
The arrival of the European in the 15th and 16th century led to the slave trade. The Europeans traders were involved in the African kingdoms like Mali and Ghana because of their sophisticated trading networks.
Arabian and African societies were involved in slave trading in Africa before Europeans. Arab merchants conducted a significant portion of the trans-Saharan slave trade, while African kingdoms such as the Kingdom of Benin and the Kingdom of Dahomey participated in capturing and selling slaves.
They were trading colonies, and therefore the basis of their prosperity.
Internationalism