Trans saharan trade routes: Did you mean...?

Admiral Zheng He (aka Cheng Ho, c. 1371-1433 CE) was a Chinese Muslim eunuch explorer who was sent by the Ming dynasty emperor Yongle (r. 1403-1424 CE) on seven diplomatic missions to increase trade and secure tribute...

The American Civil War (1861-1865) was the pivotal event in United States history and the largest armed conflict in the Western world following the end of the Napoleonic Wars (1815) and prior to...

Kaupang was a Norwegian Viking Age town with a seasonal emporium established around c. 780 CE and abandoned around c. 950 CE. Kaupang is located on the western side of Oslofjord (Viksfjord) in what is the present-day southeastern county...

The Mali Empire (c. 1235 - c. 1672) emerged in the western Sahel following the decline of the Ghana Empire and rose to prominence under the leadership of Sundiata...

William Still (1819-1902) was an African American abolitionist known as the "Father of the Underground Railroad" for his efforts in helping to free between 600 to 800 people from slavery. Born the son...

Ancient Persian culture flourished between the reign of Cyrus II (The Great, r. c. 550-530 BCE), founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, and the fall of the Sassanian Empire in 651 CE. Even so, the foundations of Persian...

From around 800 BCE, ancient Greek city-states, most of which were maritime powers, began to look beyond Greece for land and resources. As a consequence, they founded colonies across the Mediterranean. Trade was usually the...

Since antiquity, pepper has always been the most important spice in the world. It played a central role in the medicines of ancient India and China, became a critical component of Roman food, and remained central in the cuisine of medieval...

Execrable Human Traffick, or The Affectionate Slaves, oil on canvas by George Morland, c. 1788. Depicted here is a scene of a man being abducted by slavers on the coast of Africa as his family watches. From the 16th to the 19th century...

Colonial American currency was a work in progress from the time of the earliest English settlements of the 1600s until the United States of America minted its own money in 1783. The monetary system was far from standardized...