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Trans-Saharan Gold Trade
In the 1490s, gold from the West African Sudan region (present-day Mali and Niger) reached North African ports via trans-Saharan routes and then ente…
Timeline
- 1490–1500Bambuk–Ghana gold belt · SahelIn the 1490s, West African inland gold mines (Bambuk, Bure, etc.) were still worked by local miners and merchants, with gold gathered in the form of dust and ingots at markets along the Niger River such as Djenné and Gao.
- 1491–1500Timbuktu · MaliTimbuktu and Gao, major trading towns on the eve of the Songhai Empire's rise, gathered gold from southern mines and salt and horses from the north; Berber clan leaders (such as the al-Aqit Muhammad family) organized caravans heading north.
- 1492–1500Fez · MoroccoCaravans crossed the Tafilalet oasis and Atlas passes, carrying gold to Fez in Morocco and Tunis, where Mediterranean merchant ships carried it into Iberian and Italian markets, complementing European demand for precious metals at the time.
Sources
- African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa — Michael A. Gomez (2018)
- The Trans-Saharan Gold Trade (7th–14th century) https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/gold/hd_gold.htm