Saharan Camel Caravan

Timeline

1. 1451–1455Trade route from Timbuktu to Tlemcen · Niger River basinTimbuktu, a core hub of trans-Saharan trade, was still at the height of prosperity in the mid-fifteenth century; northbound camel caravans could number several thousand camels per batch, carrying gold, ivory, and kola nuts and returning with Saharan rock salt, North African copperware, and Mediterranean textiles, while the Songhai Empire gradually strengthened control over the oases along the route, providing armed protection and supplies for the caravans.
2. 1456–1460Coastal transshipment ports from Fez to Tripoli · MaghrebAs the Portuguese gradually established trading posts along the Gulf of Guinea coast of West Africa, part of the gold trade began shifting to sea routes, challenging the monopoly of the trans-Saharan camel routes. Merchants in the cities of the North African Maghreb began adjusting their purchasing structures, increasing imports of goods from the Eastern Mediterranean and Ottoman-controlled areas, and the cargo mix of Saharan caravans accordingly showed a rising share of the slave trade.