West African Gold Trade

Timeline

1. 1371–1380Southern goldfields · Guinean forest zoneIn the 1370s, Wangara traders in the Mali Empire's southern goldfields bartered goods for gold, secretly transporting gold dust north to avoid revealing the mines' locations. Gold was gathered mainly by panning alluvial deposits; gold dust was packed into small leather pouches and weighed and priced by Islamic units such as the mithqal (about 4.25 grams).
2. 1371–1380Timbuktu customs post · MaliThe Mali Empire set up customs posts along the northward gold routes, and the mansa's court held monopoly rights over gold exports. In the 1370s, imperial officials inspected gold dust and collected customs duties at commercial centers such as Timbuktu; part of the gold went directly to the court as tribute, forming the empire's most important source of revenue.
3. 1371–1380Timbuktu–Sijilmasa trade line · trans-SaharanIn the 1370s, West African gold was exchanged in Timbuktu for North African rock salt at nearly equal weights, then carried by caravan north to Fez in Morocco, Tunis, and elsewhere, entering the Mediterranean gold coin minting and exchange system. Arab chronicles called West Africa the "Land of Gold," and roughly two-thirds of Europe's gold supply at the time may have come from West Africa.
4. 1371–1380West African trading centers · West AfricaIn the 1370s, West African gold circulated as gold dust rather than coin; merchants used scales to weigh and trade by the mithqal, storing gold dust in leather bags or horn containers. This flexible measuring method suited long-distance caravan transport and multi-tiered transactions, and allowed the empire and merchants to accurately calculate customs duties and profits.