THE PRE COLONIAL TRADE IN EAST AFRICA

ORGANISATION OF THE LONG DISTANCE TRADE

  • The Long Distance Trade was the trade over long distances to and from the interior as well as within the interior of East Africa.
  • The Long Distance trade was also known as the pre- colonial caravan trade or the interior trade.
  • The major participants were the Nyamwezi, Kamba, Yao, Chagga , Baganda from the interior.
  • The participants from outside (coast) were the Arabs, Swahili and Zanzibaris.
  • The traders travelled in caravans of 100 to 1000 men to and from the interior.
  • The caravans carried the Sultan’s flag for security reasons.
  • They were armed and included porters and medicine men.
  • The trade was mainly carried out during the dry season in order to dodge the wet seasons.
  • Due to long distances, regular stopping places with facilities for storage of goods as well as supplies were developed. These place included Tabora, Ujiji, Bagamoyo etc.
  • Initially, the trade was conducted on barter trade system where goods were exchanged for goods.
  • With time, cowrie shells were introduced to act as a medium of exchange.
  • Later, the cowrie shells were replaced by coins minted by some coastal towns.
  • The major means of transport was by human beings/ head porterage.
  • The Nyamwezi provided the most skilled and experienced porters.
  • Exports from the interior were gold, ivory, slaves, salt, wax, ostrich feathers, skins and hides, rhinoceros horns, honey etc.
  • Imports from the coast were beads, cloths, guns, mirrors, glass ware, plates, swords, pans, etc.
  • Chiefs provided security to the traders along the trade routes.
  • Slaves were obtained through raiding or selling domestic servants by the chiefs and rulers.
  • Negotiations were made by local chiefs and rulers like Mirambo, Tippu Tip, Muteesa I, Msiri over a wide area in order.
  • The trade involved taxation of traders’ goods passing through the various kingdoms.
  • Gold was got from the ancient kingdom of Mwenemutapa.
  • Ivory was obtained by hunting down elephants.
  • There were agents and bases in the interior and at the coast such as Ujiji, Bagamoyo, Tabora etc.
  • It took months or years collecting and transporting trade items from the interior to the coast.
  • The Banyans financed the Arabs and Swahili traders and charged them some interest.
  • The medium of communication in this trade was Kiswahili.
  • There were there major trade routes to the interior that is the northern, central and southern routes.
  • The northern route ran from Pangani, Tanga and Mombasa inland to Kilimanjaro area and to the eastern shores of Lake Victoria and through Kenya as far as Mount Elgon.
  • This route mainly supplied ivory and was controlled by the Kamba people.
  • The central route ran from Bagamoyo to Tabora then to Karagwe, Buganda and Bunyoro to Ujiji.
  • This route was controlled by the Nyamwezi and it mainly supplied slaves and salt.
  • The southern route started from Lindi and Kilwa through Malawi then to the ancient Mwenemutapa kingdom.
  • This route was controlled by the Yao and it mainly supplied gold obtained from Mwenemutapa.