how was the relationship between the western world and Africa before slavery?

Question

Did africa and america or other western countries have any alliance or trade agrrement prior to slavery?

Answer 1

There were some connections between Europe and sub-Saharan Africa before the era of the Atlantic Slave Trade. Of course, enslaved people had been trafficked across the Sahara on the caravan route since classical times, and some African-descended people lived in Europe in the Middle Ages. People from Muslim Spain certainly crossed the Sahara as part of that caravan trade, most notably Leo Africanus, although it isn't clear if he actually visited all the places he claimed he'd been. The famous hadj pilgrimage of Mansa Musa, the king of Mali, in 1324 was widely known in western Europe and he was seen as the epitome of a wealthy ruler. He is famously portrayed in the Catalan Codex of 1375 seated on a throne of gold and holding a giant nugget or orb in his hand. Europeans knew that gold and enslaved people came from sub-Saharan Africa and they were eager to travel there if they could, although their Islamic enemies stood in the way. Getting a handle on that trade was part of the Spanish and Portuguese effort to establish bases in North Africa during the period of the reconquista.