WI earlier trans-saharan trade?

Let's say that large-scale maritime trade with west africa is started by the Carthaginians, and the roman empire introduces camels from arabia in the 2nd century BC. how would west african civilization develop with such early contact, especially before both christianity and islam? how would the mediterrenean develop with a new trading partner in the southwest? would ocean-sailing boats develop faster in europe because of this?
 
Rome conquers them or at least tries to. Rome regularly ventured into the Sahara and the desert doesn't appear to have been an insurmountable barrier to their legions. The desert was also somewhat smaller and wetter in that period which probably helped.

At least as early as 19 BC under the expedition of Lucius Cornelius Balbus the Romans reached the Niger River probably in the current area of the city of Gao. Subsequent Roman armies are recorded as having reached the Senegal River and Lake Chad. In 90 AD a commercial expedition led by Julius Maternus got as far as central Africa and returned with rhinoceros horns.
 
There’s two PODs here. The Roman POD would kick off the camel caravan trade 500 years earlier. IOTL the Ghana Empire was built on the salt and gold trade around 700 AD, ITTL we could see a similar empire around 200 AD. The Romans would trade with them and introduce writing and Christianity. Literacy may rise among the elite a thousand years before the Muslims brought it with them. The Roman North African provinces would be wealthier and more important from the gold trade. By the Middle Ages, West Africa would be more cosmopolitan. It wouldn’t just be a mysterious place where a handful of famous travelers like Ibn Battuta had seen.

A Carthaginian POD would be trickier as they would start a sea trade which didn’t exist until the Middle Ages. Some say Hanno the Navigator visited West Africa around 500 BC. If trade colonies were estabablished back then, as was the Phoenician pattern, their language and maritime package would be adopted by the natives. That’s quite a boost from dugout canoes. It’s possible the Carthaginians, rich with more gold do better in the Punic Wars.

It’s hard to see how it would be possible that West African sailors would not discover the New World before anyone else. Brazil being so close and the currents perfectly favorable. Were that to happen West Africa would greatly benefit from corn, cassava and sweet potato as these are more productive than the analogous native sorghum and yam.
 
A Carthaginian POD would be trickier as they would start a sea trade which didn’t exist until the Middle Ages. Some say Hanno the Navigator visited West Africa around 500 BC. If trade colonies were estabablished back then, as was the Phoenician pattern, their language and maritime package would be adopted by the natives. That’s quite a boost from dugout canoes. It’s possible the Carthaginians, rich with more gold do better in the Punic Wars.

But there's not really any technological impediment to Carthaginians or Romans sailing further down the coast, we only know that there wasn't a reason for them to establish any kind of permanent presence. Judging by the multiple recorded Roman expeditions deep into Africa that I mentioned above I would be really surprised if there wasn't at least a couple naval expeditions or even enterprising private merchants that got as far as Ivory Coast.

If the gold is there by that period it would be that incentive to return and establish permanent trade routes.
 
But there's not really any technological impediment to Carthaginians or Romans sailing further down the coast, we only know that there wasn't a reason for them to establish any kind of permanent presence. Judging by the multiple recorded Roman expeditions deep into Africa that I mentioned above I would be really surprised if there wasn't at least a couple naval expeditions or even enterprising private merchants that got as far as Ivory Coast.

If the gold is there by that period it would be that incentive to return and establish permanent trade routes.

By trickier I meant it’s hard to nail down how that would impact history. It’s one thing to start a camel based trans-Sahara trading empire earlier, but it’s harder to gauge the impact of sustained link by sea that early. One would expect the Atlantic Exchange be moved up a thousand years or more.

If Hanno did reach the Gold Coast I can only imagine he didn’t find any gold there. If gold was already available in 500 BC I can see no reason the Phoenicians would not return.
 
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