ABSTRACT
Historical relationships between western African groups are better understood, and it is possible in many instances to discard the "outside-inside" viewpoints reflected in European sources for more Afrocentric perspectives derived from African traditions and more informed analyses of European accounts. The inhabitants of western Africa have been linked by commercial networks since ancient times. The profit Maghrebian middlemen exacted from Europeans for gold, pepper, and other western African commodities was a primary factor promoting Portuguese reconnaissance voyages along the coast of western Africa during the fifteenth century. Competition between European strangers was welcomed by western Africans, who capitalized on this rivalry to improve terms of exchange for European commodities, levy higher customs duties, and contrive new fees and extractions. Western African groups were hard pressed to maintain long-standing economic, social, and cultural institutions and customs. African middlemen marketed a growing number and variety of products, including beeswax, dyewoods, cotton cloth and garments, animal pelts, and cowhides.
