STS+Environment

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 * Trade Winds**

The climate of the Indian Ocean dictated the pattern of trade between Africa and the Middle East. Traders from the Middle East could sail to the Swahili Coasts anytime between November and February when the winds blew. By April, the winds would start blowing eastwards and the traders would depart again.

There is little information about patterns of trade off the East Coast of Africa before the advent of Islam. One of the earliest written sources is a first century manual for travelers, the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.
 * __Imports and Exports__**

Resources referred to in the Periplus include >
 * Ivory
 * Rhino horn
 * Tortoise shell
 * Coconut oil

Ivory was a hugely bought product. It was strong, very easy to carve and both functional and decorative. Ivory could be regarded as the plastic of today. After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the division of his empire into three, we know there was an increase in ivory imports from Africa. This was because trade with India, the other main source of ivory, had declined trade.

The African coast of the Red Sea became were used out to deliver elephant tusks. Gold from Southern Africa was also bought in the Middle East and in Northern Africa. Coins from Northern Africa and Persia, dating back to the 3 AD have been found in Zanzibar and Northern Tanzania, suggesting a strong tradition of trade between the Mediterranean world and the African world.

__**Textiles**__ Trade routes from Eastern Africa went from Northern Africa as well as the Middle East. The people of the Empire of Aksum traded with the people of the East Coast for gold. There is proof of this in the 6th century in account of the Greek merchant, Cosmas Indicopleustes. The Empire of Aksum took oxen, lumps of slate, and iron. When they arrive they slaughter the oxen, cut them in pieces, and lay the pieces on the top of the thorns, along with the lumps of salt and the iron. Among the expensive textiles imported, such as embroidered silks, blue cotton clothing were hugely prized. Blue dye was unknown in East Africa and the colour was regarded as having special powers. Blue clothing that was unpicked and the prized strands were woven into white cloth.

Agriculture
In Swahili, agriculture is important. In Swahili the climate growing conditions produce a lot of fruits and vegetables. The most important fruits are: pineapples, passion fruits, citrus fruits, mangoes, peaches, pears, and bananas. Some of the vegetables are: tomatoes, spinach, cabbage, and okra. The major foods are: corn, rice, wheat, drought resistant crops ([|sorghum], millet, and [|cassava]) and other substitute food like Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, and plantains which are also produced. The major foods for incomes are: coffee (Current Tanzania’s largest export crop), cotton (Current Tanzania’s second largest export crop), cashew nuts (Current Tanzania’s third largest export crop), palm oil, [|sisal], tea, and tobacco.

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Kingfisher Books, 1992.
 * Zevin, Jack. __The Kingfisher Illustrated History of the World__. New York:

© Jan 28th, 2007 Written by Michaelhjlee**