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C H A P T E R F O U R The Political Economies of Western Europe and Northern Africa Compared Northern Africa and the Sudanic States (circa 1200–1500 AD) A major problem with many studies of 13th- and 14th-century socioeconomic history is the complete omission of Africa, with the notable exception of Egypt (e.g., Abu-Lughod 1989). One of the misguided notions inherent to Eurocentric historiography is the view that “with the exception of the effects of Arabic science in southern Spain and Sicily during the Middle Ages, influences from outside Europe only became decisive in the twentieth century” (Blockmans 1997:30), thus implicitly endorsing a belief in European autodevelopment (e.g., Delatouche 1989:26). Having compared Europe’s political economy with that of South Asia and China, it is my contention that Europe’s “rise” cannot be explained without also taking into account its trade linkages with the North African region (the Maghreb and its South Saharan empires), which by the 13th century had become increasingly interdependent (Abulafia 1994:4). While more attention has been paid in the last decade to the trade links with and commercial routes to the east under the Pax Mongolica (e.g., Humphreys 1998:455), the eminent role of northern Africa in Mediterranean Europe’s commercial relations during the Middle Ages has surprisingly been relegated to history’s dustbin, as if it were relevant only to those few curious specialists of the era/area (Devisse 1974:204; Lacoste 1974:1). Whenever the continent is not neglected, a world-systems analysis often focuses on the 16th century as 126 CHAPTER FOUR the initial period of peripheralization (Rodney 1982; Wallerstein 1974).1 Only a comparison of the political economies of the North African and Western African Sudanic states with that of Western Europe can explain why capitalism did not come into fruition in the former, which is particularly interesting since “when closely examined, all the factors which enabled Europe to succeed, were available to Islam much earlier” (Shatzmiller 1994:405).2 In a.d. 772, Ibrahim al-Fazari was already referring to Ghana as the “land of gold” (Burman 1989:112), indicative of Northwest Africa’s importance to the Mediterranean Islamic states as a bullion-exporting region. The African kingdoms were also renowned for their export of slaves obtained near Lake Chad, the Niger, and Senegal rivers (Brett 1978:505–506). Although textile production in the Maghreb was the least-productive industry in Dar-al-Islam (Serjeant 1972:177), and most of its trade was very local up to the mid-12th century (Vanacker 1973:674), some of its production was generated by demand fromareaslocatedsouthoftheSahara.Saltwasanothercommoditytransported throughout the Sahara from at least the 10th century onward, exported from the Maghreb to Ghana by Islamic merchants—especially those from Ifriqiya3 — who were also responsible for the proselytism of the region’s elites (Brett 1969, 2001:251–254).4 From the 9th century onward, commercial activities across the Sahara gradually intensified (Kaké and M’Bokolo 1978:67; Devisse 1988). In Northern Africa, it was mainly Ifriqiya that displayed the strongest economy up to the 11th and 12th centuries, as evidenced by the glass and textile production that was exported to the south (Serjeant 1972:178; McDougall 1985:7). Under the Almoravids, however, Morocco increasingly exported its textiles (such as those produced in Sijilmasa) and horses (Levtzion 1973:178; Fisher 1972; Abulafia 1987:469) to the major commercial caravan center of Awdaghost (Vanacker 1973:661; McDougall 1983:271).5 These commercial activities raised the gold 1. While this periodization has been challenged (e.g., Thornton 1998), this debate does not lie within the temporal scope of this study. 2. North African states also faced some of the same hurdles as Europe. For example, Islam’s prohibition of usury is well documented (e.g., Taleqani 1983:105–112). This prohibition, however, should not be seen as an impediment to economic growth or to the development of capitalistic features (Udovitch 1970:61). As in Western Europe, religious leaders and theologians proclaimed one thing, but the reality of daily mercantile activities was quite different (Thiry 1995:469). 3. Approximately present-day Tunisia. 4. From the 11th century onward, the military threat from the Almoravids also contributed to the spread of Islam among local elites, although economic and political factors were sometimes equally important (Paulme 1957:562–563). According to Trimingham (1962:26, 31), conversion to Islam in the Bilad-al Sudan was initiated by merchants and subsequently propagated...

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