Which group of trading peoples spread Islam to West Africa and what two major items did they trade with west Africans?

North African traders were major actors in introducing Islam into West Africa. Several major trade routes connected Africa below the Sahara with the Mediterranean ... proselytizing, believing that God would bring people around to Islam in his own ways. ... It was a multi-ethnic state with various religious and cultural groups.

the completion of the erie canal spurred the first great westward movement of american settlers, gave access to the rich land and resources west of the appalachians and made new york the preeminent commercial city in the united states.