The gold salt trade
Saharan trade routes circa 1400, with the modern territory of Niger highlighted Unlike Ghana, Mali was a Muslim kingdom since its foundation, and under it, the gold–salt trade continued. Other, less important trade goods were slaves, kola nuts from the south and slave beads and cowry shells from the north (for use as currency). From the seventh to the eleventh century, trans-Saharan trade linked the Mediterranean economies that demanded gold—and could supply salt—to the sub-Saharan economies, where gold was abundant. Although local supply of salt was sufficient in sub-Saharan Africa, the consumption of Saharan salt was promoted for trade purposes. The rise of the Ghana Empire, now called Mali, Senegal, and southern Mauritania, paralleled the increase in trans-Saharan trade.Mediterranean economies were short of gold but could supply salt, taken by places like the African salt mine of Taghaza, whereas West African countries like Wangara had plenty of gold but needed salt. The trans-Saharan slave trade was also important because large So this brings us to our original question. Was salt traded, pound for pound, for gold? Wikipedia thinks so. Under the topic “Silent Trade,” it says: Also in West Africa, gold mined south of the Sahel was traded, pound for pound, for salt mined in the desert. Start studying Spread of Islam and the Gold Salt Trade. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. All of this, from the Moorish populations to the great empires of Western Africa of the desert sands, to that romantic and exotic image of blue-robed Tuaregs on their camels bringing in salt or gold across the desert dunes, would, most likely, not have happened had it not been for the gold-salt trade of Western Africa. Caravans of camel riding merchants from North Africa crossed the Sahara beginning in the seventh century of the Common Era. Traders exchanged gold for something the West Africans prized even more: salt. Salt was used as a flavoring, a food preservative, and as today, a means of retaining body moisture.
Students will experience how Ghana became rich through the salt and gold trade . The Berber's will demonstrate how salt comes from salt water. The Waganara
Whether it involved sailing to faraway lands to trade for spices, or organizing a camel caravan to exchange salt for slaves, such an occupation required a. Thereafter, the gold trade was the centrepiece of the trans-Saharan trade. societies living in areas with forest products can exchange them for salt from desert 1. Cooperative Groupwork Unit.pdf - The Center for Middle cmes.arizona.edu/sites/cmes.arizona.edu/files/1.%20%20Cooperative%20Groupwork%20Unit_2.pdf 15 Mar 1982 As early as the 6th century, in the sub-Sahara, Moorish merchants routinely traded salt ounce for ounce for gold. In Abyssinia, slabs of rock salt, local products like gold, ivory, salt and cloth, for North African goods such as horses, books, swords and chain mail. This trade (called the trans-Saharan trade It was the first of the great West African trading empires. Ghana's wealth grew out of its location on the trade route that brought salt from the Sahara to western 15 Dec 2008 is the Asante's trade in gold which should be examined in detail above and trade livestock, iron agricultural tools, salt, and brass, for gold.97
Salt from the Taghaza mines formed an important part of the long distance trans- Saharan trade. The salt pan is located 857 km (533 mi) south of Sijilmasa (in
The rise of the Ghana Empire, now called Mali, Senegal, and southern Mauritania, paralleled the increase in trans-Saharan trade.Mediterranean economies were short of gold but could supply salt, taken by places like the African salt mine of Taghaza, whereas West African countries like Wangara had plenty of gold but needed salt. The trans-Saharan slave trade was also important because large So this brings us to our original question. Was salt traded, pound for pound, for gold? Wikipedia thinks so. Under the topic “Silent Trade,” it says: Also in West Africa, gold mined south of the Sahel was traded, pound for pound, for salt mined in the desert. Start studying Spread of Islam and the Gold Salt Trade. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. All of this, from the Moorish populations to the great empires of Western Africa of the desert sands, to that romantic and exotic image of blue-robed Tuaregs on their camels bringing in salt or gold across the desert dunes, would, most likely, not have happened had it not been for the gold-salt trade of Western Africa.
Saharan trade routes circa 1400, with the modern territory of Niger highlighted Unlike Ghana, Mali was a Muslim kingdom since its foundation, and under it, the gold–salt trade continued. Other, less important trade goods were slaves, kola nuts from the south and slave beads and cowry shells from the north (for use as currency).
Trading Gold for Salt. If you could choose between a pile of salt and a pile of gold , you would probably choose the gold. After all, you know that you can always In this lesson, we'll see why both gold and salt were crucial trade goods in Africa. Trade in Ancient Africa. Picture the great Sahara Desert of North Africa in your
2 Feb 2017 “Trade routes of the Western Sahara c. 1000–1500. Goldfields are indicated by light brown shading.” As common as salt may seem to modern
30 Oct 2011 When and where was salt as valuable as gold? economy trade. I have often heard that gold and salt were sometimes considered of equal value. When Salt Was Traded for Gold: The Salt Trade of West Africa that Built Kingdoms and Spread Culture In West Africa during the Medieval period, salt was traded for gold. This may seem astonishing as salt is a cheap commodity in today’s society. It may be added that salt is easily available today which was not the case in ancient times. The gold-salt trade was an exchange of salt for gold between Mediterranean economies and West African countries during the Middle Ages. West African kingdoms, such as the Soninke empire of Ghana and the empire of Mali that succeeded it, were rich in gold but lacked salt, a commodity that countries around the Mediterranean had in plenty. Whoever controlled the salt trade also controlled the gold trade, & both were the principal economic pillars of various West African empires. Salt, both its production and trade, would dominate West African economies throughout the 2nd millennium CE, with sources and trade centres constantly changing hands as empires rose and fell. Trade was even - an ounce of gold for an ounce of salt. The kingdom of Ghana did not have gold mines or salt mines, but Ghana got rich handling the trade of gold for salt. After a while, word reached the east coast of Africa about the riches to the west. All the east coast traders had to do was cross the Sahara to get there, Gold and salt trade via that Sahara Desert has been going on for many centuries. Gold from Mali and other West African states was traded north to the Mediterranean, in exchange for luxury goods The gold-salt trade was when people north of the Sahara trade salt for gold with the people south of the Sahara.
15 Mar 1982 As early as the 6th century, in the sub-Sahara, Moorish merchants routinely traded salt ounce for ounce for gold. In Abyssinia, slabs of rock salt, local products like gold, ivory, salt and cloth, for North African goods such as horses, books, swords and chain mail. This trade (called the trans-Saharan trade It was the first of the great West African trading empires. Ghana's wealth grew out of its location on the trade route that brought salt from the Sahara to western 15 Dec 2008 is the Asante's trade in gold which should be examined in detail above and trade livestock, iron agricultural tools, salt, and brass, for gold.97