The things that tras-saharan bought other than good trade was <span>Islam and the Arabic language.
Because of this, there is a cultural difussion happened between Ghanaian culture and the Middle east culture.
Even until this day, Islamic belief is still held by around 24% of Ghana population.</span>
Although there definitely existed "robber barons" who took advantage of a delicate and changing situation, most of these men were mostly well-meaning people who wanted to capitalize on an opportunity, and whose actions increased the welfare of many Americans.
Pretty sure it was the Soviet Union who claimed Ukraine, which is modern-day Russia i think.