East Africa
East Africa research paper due and don't know how to start it? How about like this?
The Eastern coast of Africa eludes historical documentation except for the early travels of a Greek sailor shortly after the time of Christ. What is known about the coastline is that the export trade brought rich goods of wine, linens, brass and iron, tools and olive oil to regions in Indonesia, Persia and other Arab countries. Also considered a commodity to the Arab nations was the Negro slave trade, which began on the East coast of Africa as early as the seventh century AD.
East Africa's Coast Line
The greatest influence along the coastline appears to be from the Arab nations. Arab settlers came to Africa from the twelfth century on and migrated into the Bantu regions inland from the coast. Muslim Arabs from Indonesia also came to the Eastern Coastal nations of Africa and it is uncertain whether these regions were ruled by Native Africans or by Arab immigrants. What is certain is that the language that grew out of the nations of the Eastern Coast is a mixture of Arab and Native African and the culture reflects the merging of these two distinct heritages. For example, the dominant language of the region is Swahili, which is based in Bantu and influenced by Arab.
Trade and East Africa
More than any other aspect of East African existence, trade was at the center of all that was prosperous. The late fifteenth century marked the height of East African trade and the expanding of the exports of the region into China and India. This newfound outlet was the icing on the cake for East African trade, since the prior two centuries had brought recognition of its possibility of gold and ivory trade throughout Europe by the Crusades. The two harbors that were the most prosperous along the coast were at Kilwa and Sofala.
The following countries are part of East Africa Today:
- Tanzania
- Burundi
- Rwanda
- Uganda
- Sudan
- Ethiopia
- Eritrea
- Djibouti
- Somalia
- Kenya