West African Gold Trade System

Type Object Region Africa Time c. 800–1500

The West African gold trade system was a precious-metal exchange system centered on Sudan-zone gold mines, circulated via trans-Saharan routes and In…

Timeline

c. 800–1100Ghana Kingdom · Senegal–MaliThe Ghana Kingdom taxed gold mines and trade routes; gold in the form of dust or cast ingots was carried by Saharan caravans to North Africa, becoming an important source of gold coin supply for the Islamic world.
c. 1240–1300Timbuktu · MaliThe Mali Empire took over major gold mines and trade nodes, establishing customs duties and measurement practices at places like Timbuktu; around 1291–1300 CE the scale of northward gold dust shipments stabilized, supporting imperial finances and merchant wealth accumulation.
c. 1300–1400Maghreb ports of North Africa · MaghrebMansa Musa's pilgrimage and his massive distribution of gold caused gold price fluctuations in North Africa; West African gold entered Mediterranean currency circulation through Maghreb mints, and the trade system reached its medieval peak.

Sources

Gao and the Gold Trade — Pekka Masonen (1977)
Al-Umari's Masālik al-abṣār fī mamālik al-amṣār — Ahmad ibn Fadlallah al-Umari