The Mali Empire and Their Trans-Sahara Trade Routes

The Mali Empire and Their Trans-Sahara Trade Routes

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Culture and Society of Africa (AFCS 101)

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Introduction

This paper will focus on the trade routes associated with the Mali Empire of North-West Africa. It was during the time period prior to the advent of European influences, which was approximately from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016). It will examine which were the major trade routes as well as what goods the trade routes transported.

It will address the importance of certain goods which were transported along the Trans-Sahara trade routes as it relates to the Mali Empire.  One of the important commodities was gold and it will be covered as to how important the gold trade was to the success of the Mali Empire. Salt was also an important part of the commerce which traveled along their trade routes. It would be traded as large blocks and eventually broken down to progressively smaller pieces until it reached the end of its journey as fine salt (Pinch, V., 2003).

Kola nuts were also a major trade component of the Mali Empire. It was highly prized and was often used for special occasions. The rulers of vast lands would use the kola nuts as highly valued presents to be given to other rulers. This was a status symbol used by the Mali rulers to either impress their counterparts or to boast the wealth of their empire. The kola nuts industry would perpetuate the Mali Empire’s Trans-Sahara trade routes for a long time (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016).

We will look at what a Mali caravan actually was, and who the people were which were on them. It took more camels to travel one way than it did to travel on the return trip. This was due to the type of cargo which was being transported along the Mali Trans-Sahara trade routes. The cargo going to the destinations was much bulkier and there was more of it than the cargo headed the opposite direction. The salt heading towards the forested areas was bulky and heavy. The gold and kola nuts which were coming from the forests were smaller and lighter. It is difficult to imagine salt being heavier than gold but it was in high demand and easy to obtain. Whereas gold could only be extracted from the ground at a certain rate and was much smaller in size (British Museum, 2016).

The Mali Trans-Sahara trade routes themselves will be explained to illustrate the directions in which they traveled, as well as which cities they would traverse through. Some of them traveled a North/South direction and those will be discussed to show not only where they went but what was being transported on them. The other Mali Trans-Sahara trade routes had an East/West direction of travel. All of them were of major importance to the economy of the Mali Empire (Pinch, V.,2003).

The Body

There was much traffic of gold along the Mali trade routes, including the Trans-Sahara trade route. Mali was an ancient empire of Africa and its economy relied on the trans-Sahara for trading gold. The camel provided the transport of not only the gold but also many other types of products. These products would be made locally and sent out via trade routes to countries along the coast of North Africa (British Museum, 2016).

The economical as well as the social value of their major trade routes was enormous for the rise and the sustainment of the Mali Empire. This lucrative trade meant the Mali had to ensure the trade routes remained open as well as under their control. This rose for the need to expand its empire north to Taghaza to incorporate the salt mines located there. The Mali also extended its area of control to include the gold mines of Bure. These were the two commodities which were essential to the Mali Empire’s success (Pinch, V., 2003).

These long trade routes the Mali controlled were only frequented by a small number of their population. Most of the Mali people consisted of fishermen, farmers, hunters/soldiers, and herdsmen. A significant group of people which were instrumental in the process of trade were the Dyula or sometimes called the Wangara. The Dyula were Mande-speaking people which were professional traders and operated along the upper part of the Niger River at Timbuktu through the Senegal. They were master traders and they kept the trade partnerships open for the free flowing of goods throughout the Mali Empire region (British Museum, 2016).

To give an idea of what the travel route was like, we must first understand what type of environment in which it went through. The Sahara Desert is a formidable and hostile area in which to travel, especially long treks with camels loaded down with cargo. This speaks to how important the trade routes were at the time, because people were willing to take the chance of succumbing to the brutal conditions of the desert, so it must have been a lucrative venture. The Mali trade routes were the life blood of their Empire, and it was vital for them to maintain control of them (British Museum, 2016).

Along the West of Africa, gold was plentiful which was often used as currency, and in the North of Africa caravans were given safe passage along the Mali routes. These caravans had an area of the entire expanse catering to the whole of West African markets. The Mali Empire had a vested interest in keeping the trade routes viable for they could use them to transport their gold as far as the Mediterranean. This was vital to the Mali because it expanded their range of trade immensely (British Museum, 2016).

Gold in the Mali Empire was not only used as currency, it was used for decoration. The gold from Africa was widely well known and prized by many countries. This demand created a market for gold even more, and the Mali Empire took advantage of the premiums paid for their gold by utilizing the Trans-Sahara trade routes. The Mali Empire stayed wealthy by trading the gold for things they could use or were in demand for, such as salt. Salt was a huge product which made the return trip back to Mali. The Mali people would use salt for many purposes. The salt was used for preserving meat, for seasoning food, and it was also used in the preparing of the bodies of their dead before burial (British Museum, 2016).

The trade items weren’t only limited to obtaining salt; which the Mai people relished in their diets as a seasoning since it was otherwise scarce to them. They would also enjoy getting such products as glass items, ceramics, as well as precious stones for their gold. Their gold was what kept the Mali Empire going so strong. Since so many wanted it, they could import enormous amounts of goods they would otherwise not have (Janet Goldner, 2016).

Looking at the trade routes in which the Mali Empire controlled, they would be from areas to where the modern day countries of Senegal, Mauritania, and Nigeria. These routes traveled the Sahara Desert to destinations in North Africa to places like Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, and Algeria. Had the Mali traded with the people of South Africa as well, they may have been even more powerful and would have had even more wealth. However, their trade routes north to the Mediterranean were a huge wealth builder for them, and they must have been content on maintaining this connection (Pinch, V., 2003).