Question

Starting in the Middle Ages, swahili became the "lingua franca," or common language, in trading ports along the eastern coast of Africa. What conclusions can you draw about Africans and trade, based on this fact?

Traders from other cultures controlled the trade that took place in African ports.

The native Africans controlled the trade that took place in their ports.

Swahili is a language that came from Persian or Arabia originally.

Swahili as a language was created for the purposes of trade.

Answer 1

Answer: The native Africans controlled the trade that took place in their ports.

Explanation: Swahili is a Bantu language that developed among East African coastal communities and became the common language of the ports. That shows Africans on the coast were central actors in the trading networks (they organized the ports and negotiated with foreign traders). The other choices are incorrect or misleading: Swahili did not originate in Persia or Arabia (though it contains many Arabic loanwords), traders from other cultures did not wholly control the ports, and the language evolved through long contact and use in trade rather than being deliberately "created" solely for trade.