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Akan Gold Trade

Type Object Region West Africa Time 999–1899

The Akan gold trade refers to the economic-material system in which Akan peoples of West Africa (in present-day Ghana) mined, smelted, and traded gol…

Timeline

  1. 999–1099Akan forest zone · GhanaThe Akan developed alluvial gold mining and smelting techniques in forest mining areas, and gold dust became a medium of regional exchange.
  2. 1199–1399Volta Basin · GhanaAkan gold was carried north by caravan to meet the trans-Saharan salt trade, becoming a source of fiscal and diplomatic leverage for the Mali Empire.
  3. 1599–1799Kumasi · AshantiThe Ashanti Kingdom cast gold into ornaments and gold dust, used both as symbols of royal authority and for external trade, bringing the gold trade to its height.
  4. 1799–1899Gold Coast · GhanaEuropean merchants purchased gold along the coast, and the colonial authorities of the British Gold Coast eventually took over the mining districts, ending the traditional Akan gold trade system.

Sources