West africa gold and salt trade
Whoever controlled the salt trade also controlled the gold trade, & both were the principal economic pillars of various West African empires. Salt, both its production and trade, would dominate West African economies throughout the 2nd millennium CE, with sources and trade centres constantly changing hands as empires rose and fell. In West Africa during the Medieval period, salt was traded for gold. This may seem astonishing as salt is a cheap commodity in today’s society. It may be added that salt is easily available today which was not the case in ancient times. Traders exchanged gold for something the West Africans prized even more: salt. Salt was used as a flavoring, a food preservative, and as today, a means of retaining body moisture. The first people to make the trek across the Sahara were the Berbers of North Africa who carried their strict Islamic faith across the desert. Trade was even - an ounce of gold for an ounce of salt. The kingdom of Ghana did not have gold mines or salt mines, but Ghana got rich handling the trade of gold for salt. After a while, word reached the east coast of Africa about the riches to the west. A succession of great African empires rose off the back of the gold trade as salt, ivory, and slaves were just some of the commodities exchanged for the precious metal that eventually found its way into most of southern Europe’s gold coinage. Gold attracted unwanted attention and competition, too, with the Portuguese the first to exploit West Africa’s coastal resources from the 15th century CE, and in their wake followed others.
into North Africa (i.e., the Trans-Saharan trade) and that reaching deeper south into the rainforest. The most traded items were gold, salt, cola nuts, copper,
A succession of great African empires rose off the back of the gold trade as salt, ivory, and slaves were just some of the commodities exchanged for the precious metal that eventually found its way into most of southern Europe’s gold coinage. Gold attracted unwanted attention and competition, too, with the Portuguese the first to exploit West Africa’s coastal resources from the 15th century CE, and in their wake followed others. Also in West Africa, gold mined south of the Sahel was traded, pound for pound, for salt mined in the desert. This sounds doubtful, given that salt was so plentiful in Taghaza that they used blocks of it to build houses, whereas the Wangarians had to work hard to obtain relatively small quantities of gold. Gold from Mali and other West African states was traded north to the Mediterranean, in exchange for luxury goods and, ultimately, salt from the desert. The merchants for these routes were often The gold-salt trade was an exchange of salt for gold between Mediterranean economies and West African countries during the Middle Ages. West African kingdoms, such as the Soninke empire of Ghana and the empire of Mali that succeeded it, were rich in gold but lacked salt, a commodity that countries around the Mediterranean had in plenty. Because the Akan lived in the forests of West Africa, they had few natural resources for salt and always needed to trade for it. Gold, however, was much easier to come by. Every Akan knew how to find tiny grains of gold sparkling in the river beds after a rainfall. Founded c. 800 BCE, Carthage became one terminus for West African gold, ivory, and slaves. West Africa received salt, cloth, beads, and metal goods. Shillington proceeds to identify this trade route as the source for West African iron smelting. Trade continued into Roman times. West African gold continued to be exploited after the medieval period as European powers competed for whatever they considered of value in the continent. The gold extracted from West Africa, though, was dwarfed by that extracted from the New World, the Inca civilization and Aztec civilization, in particular.
Traders exchanged gold for something the West Africans prized even more: salt. Salt was used as a flavoring, a food preservative, and as today, a means of retaining body moisture. The first people to make the trek across the Sahara were the Berbers of North Africa who carried their strict Islamic faith across the desert.
800 BCE, Carthage became one terminus for West African gold, ivory, and slaves . West Africa received salt, cloth, beads, and metal goods. Shillington proceeds 6 Mar 2019 The most common exchange was salt for gold dust that came from the mines of southern West Africa. Indeed, salt was such a precious commodity 13 May 2019 The most common commodity that gold was used to purchase was salt, a mineral that was always in great demand in order to better preserve Because the Akan lived in the forests of West Africa, they had few natural resources for salt and always needed to trade for it. Gold, however, was much easier to Although local supply of salt was sufficient in sub-Saharan Africa, the consumption of Saharan salt was promoted for trade purposes. In the eighth and ninth 28 Apr 2019 In West Africa during the Medieval period, salt was traded for gold. This may seem astonishing as salt is a cheap commodity in today's society.
In the forests of West Africa, salt was very scarce so they had to trade for it and it literally was more valuable than gold. You could not live on gold. 1k views · View
6 Mar 2019 The most common exchange was salt for gold dust that came from the mines of southern West Africa. Indeed, salt was such a precious commodity 13 May 2019 The most common commodity that gold was used to purchase was salt, a mineral that was always in great demand in order to better preserve Because the Akan lived in the forests of West Africa, they had few natural resources for salt and always needed to trade for it. Gold, however, was much easier to Although local supply of salt was sufficient in sub-Saharan Africa, the consumption of Saharan salt was promoted for trade purposes. In the eighth and ninth 28 Apr 2019 In West Africa during the Medieval period, salt was traded for gold. This may seem astonishing as salt is a cheap commodity in today's society. to take a look at the gold and salt trade across the Sahara, explore its long history, and discuss how it really took off after the spread of Islam to West Africa.
In west Africa, three empires- Ghana, Mali, and Songhai- controlled the gold and salt trade. Between 1000 and 1500, cities on Africa's east coast also gained
25 Jan 2013 States one result of the gold-salt trade in West Africa based on this document established connections between West Africa and North Africa; Between the and centuries one of the wealthiest and most powerful empires in the world was the Mali Empire, located in what is now west Africa. Ap World History 16 Oct 2015 Traders exchanged gold for something the West Africans prized even more: salt. Salt was used as a flavoring, a food preservative, and as today Students will experience how Ghana became rich through the salt and gold trade . The Berber's will demonstrate how salt comes from salt water. The Waganara The West Africans exchanged their local products like gold, ivory, salt and cloth, for North African goods such as horses, books, swords and chain mail. Thereafter, the gold trade was the centrepiece of the trans-Saharan trade. For example, societies living in areas with forest products can exchange them for salt from desert There were two main zones for the location of gold in West Africa. Trade networks developed in Africa because different regions had items that Although rich in gold, West Africa's savanna and forests lacked salt, a material.
9 Mar 2017 West Africa Trade — Gold and Salt. African countries traded amongst themselves at first and created the Trans-Sahara trade routes through the Abi Sa'dun—a salt-gold trade from Awdaghost dealing with the Soninke of Ghana —to “Mande world” designates the vast West African regions inhabited by The gold miners then returned and picked up their salt. Trading continued until both sides were happy with the exchange. Growth of Trade. As the trade in gold and 6 Apr 2017 Mali's relative location lay across the trade routes between the sources of salt in the Sahara Desert and the gold mines of West Africa.