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In Africa, the major kingdom of Mali was not affected directly by the Black Death, but trade to it dried up as the Silk Road and other trade routes suffered due to declining trade. This led to its ultimate collapse. Wit the decline of the Mali kingdom, it led to political fragmentation in that part of Africa, possibly weakening that part of the continent for centuries due to political turmoil. Thus we may have seen a larger and more politically united parts of Africa if the Black Death did not occur, potentially making it harder for Europeans centuries later to exploit the continent for the slave trade.<ref>For more on the kingdom of Mali and the Black Death, see: Ramen, Fred. 2002. <i>Sleeping Sickness and Other Parasitic Tropical Diseases.</i> 1st ed. Epidemics. New York: Rosen.</ref>
In Europe, serfdom may have continued in Western Europe for longer periods, limiting the eventual development of political revolutions that occurred centuries later. The gradual increasing individual rights in Western Europe helped to ultimately create the democratic processes in Western states today. In effect, it is possible this could have been delayed if the Black Death did not occur. While in Eastern Europe, including Russia, serfdom became well entrenched and lasted until the 19th century. It is possible population growth could have led to more rapid changes to the serfdom institution, leading to its earlier downfall than it otherwise may have been. Eastern European states, where individual liberties evolved more slowly, could have developed differently if the Black Death did not weaken the peasant population by so much.<ref>For serfdom in Russia, see: Dennison, T. K. 2014. <i>The Institutional Framework of Russian Serfdom.</i> Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.</ref>
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