ü shift from land-based trade routes to maritime trade routes, especially in the Indian Ocean ü increased use of technology in trade, such as the use of camels in the trans-Saharan trade and the development of larger ships for long-distance maritime trade ü growth of powerful trading kingdoms and empires, such as Mali, Ghana, and Songhai in West Africa, which controlled important trade routes and facilitated trade and communication between different regions ü increased cultural exchange and diffusion of ideas, religions, and technologies through trade networks ü environmental consequences, such as the spread of crops and pathogens, including epidemic diseases like the bubonic plague, along trade routes.