American Crops in West Africa

Krall

Banned
I'm trying to develop a basic timeline that involves Mali/West Africa becoming much more developed than it did in OTL, and as part of it I'm hoping to have Mali discover the Americas, which I'm hoping will be a large boon to their economy, but there's one issue I'm not entirely sure about - crops.

So, how easy would it be for American crops, like maize and potatoes, to spread to West Africa? I'm mainly concerned with the obstacles posed by the climate, soil types, etc., rather than political or social ones, so assume the West Africans are able and willing to plant and harvest these crops en masse, provided they'll grow.

Thanks in advance! :)
 
Having Mali discover the Americas and sustain contact with them is extremely unlikely in my opinion. It's not necessary either:the introduction of crops from the Americas by European traders is something that happened OTL. They were adopted on a massive scale, especially maize, but manioc, sweet potatoes, beans, and others were also important later on. In fact, West Africans integrated American crops into their diets before most Europeans. Some even claim that it was the introduction of these crops and the subsequent increase in population that allowed the Atlantic slave trade to be sustainable.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3171994?seq=1 (Section on New World crops starts on page 24)

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/whic/Ref...oak30216&zid=1600bfabdcfdcd023dd062cc0ea60585

Although if you're only looking to strengthen Africa agriculturally, regardless of POD, I would suggest taking a look at "Lost Crops of Africa", it's free to download from the National Academies Press. Here's a link to volume I: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=2305
 
I'm trying to develop a basic timeline that involves Mali/West Africa becoming much more developed than it did in OTL, and as part of it I'm hoping to have Mali discover the Americas, which I'm hoping will be a large boon to their economy, but there's one issue I'm not entirely sure about - crops.

As Dannythegreat, I doubt Malians could have discovered America, in the historical sense that is (Accidental discoveries are always possible, but much probably unconsequentials).
Mali ressources were too tied to slavery, salt, copper and gold, basically non-maritime ressources, to have a real interest on sea explorations.

That said, explorations around Africa, maybe to override Arabo-Islamic takeover of Mali/European trade ways can't be totally ruled out, but the few we know about west african shipping doesn't really make me think that they could do it before, say, Portuguese.

If by some way you manage to strengthen Manden in a more "centralized" empire, if think the expension would go rather along the Niger river or in the north against Berber tribes, following production and trade roads.
 
Well cassava, peanuts, and corn have pretty much usurped many local African crops in OTL, so it doesn't seem like there's much in the way of climatic factors preventing their spread. The only problematic ones would be higher elevation Andean crops such as potatoes. The rest are tropical.
 

Krall

Banned
Having Mali discover the Americas and sustain contact with them is extremely unlikely in my opinion. It's not necessary either:the introduction of crops from the Americas by European traders is something that happened OTL.
As Dannythegreat, I doubt Malians could have discovered America, in the historical sense that is (Accidental discoveries are always possible, but much probably unconsequentials).
Mali ressources were too tied to slavery, salt, copper and gold, basically non-maritime ressources, to have a real interest on sea explorations.

That said, explorations around Africa, maybe to override Arabo-Islamic takeover of Mali/European trade ways can't be totally ruled out, but the few we know about west african shipping doesn't really make me think that they could do it before, say, Portuguese.

If by some way you manage to strengthen Manden in a more "centralized" empire, if think the expension would go rather along the Niger river or in the north against Berber tribes, following production and trade roads.

Yes, those are exactly the kinds of obstacles that I'm *not* asking about. Don't get me wrong - I know they're important - but I'm specifically and only asking about how well American crops might do in West Africa in this thread; I'm planning to ask about those kinds of obstacles in a different thread.

That said, having Mali centralise, expand along the Niger River to the coast, and then try and get around the Arab domination of various trade routes is roughly what I was planning on happening.

Having Mali discover the Americas and sustain contact with them is extremely unlikely in my opinion. It's not necessary either:the introduction of crops from the Americas by European traders is something that happened OTL. They were adopted on a massive scale, especially maize, but manioc, sweet potatoes, beans, and others were also important later on. In fact, West Africans integrated American crops into their diets before most Europeans. Some even claim that it was the introduction of these crops and the subsequent increase in population that allowed the Atlantic slave trade to be sustainable.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3171994?seq=1 (Section on New World crops starts on page 24)

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/whic/Ref...oak30216&zid=1600bfabdcfdcd023dd062cc0ea60585

Although if you're only looking to strengthen Africa agriculturally, regardless of POD, I would suggest taking a look at "Lost Crops of Africa", it's free to download from the National Academies Press. Here's a link to volume I: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=2305

That's exactly the kind of information I've been looking for! Thank you! :D
 

Krall

Banned
Well cassava, peanuts, and corn have pretty much usurped many local African crops in OTL, so it doesn't seem like there's much in the way of climatic factors preventing their spread. The only problematic ones would be higher elevation Andean crops such as potatoes. The rest are tropical.

Ah yes, I didn't do much research before starting this thread, so I only learned about the widespread cultivation of cassava and peanuts in Africa after looking at some of things dannythegreat linked to. :eek:
 
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