Who traded salt for gold?

Many items were traded between North Africa and West Africa, but the two goods that were most in demand were gold and salt. The North Africans wanted gold, which came from the forest region south of Ghana. The people in the forests wanted salt, which came from the Sahara.

Why did Africa trade gold for salt?

The people who lived in the desert of North Africa could easily mine salt, but not gold. They craved the precious metal that would add so much to their personal splendor and prestige. These mutual needs led to the establishment of long-distance trade routes that connected very different cultures.

Did Ghana trade gold for salt?

The king of Ghana also used his power to spread international trade. At its peak, Ghana was chiefly bartering gold, ivory and slaves for salt from Arabs and horses, cloth, swords and books from North Africans and Europeans. Back then, salt was worth its weight in gold.

Why was salt so valuable?

Prior to industrialization, it was extremely expensive and labor-intensive to harvest the mass quantities of salt necessary for food preservation and seasoning. This made salt an extremely valuable commodity. Entire economies were based on salt production and trade.

How did the Ghana Empire get rich?

The Ghana Empire grew rich from this increased trans-Saharan trade in gold and slaves and salt, allowing for larger urban centers to develop. The traffic furthermore encouraged territorial expansion to gain control over the different trade routes.

Why is salt so valuable?

How did the salt gold trade work?

Transported via camel caravans and by boat along such rivers as the Niger and Senegal, salt found its way to trading centres like Koumbi Saleh, Niani, and Timbuktu, where it was either passed further south or exchanged for other goods such as ivory, hides, copper, iron, and cereals.

What part of Africa has a large supply of salt?

South Africa, Namibia (Photo 1) and Botswana are the main sources of salt in southern Africa.

Is salt worth more than gold?

This basically means, that the reason you have been hearing about salt being more valuable than gold, all this time, is wrong. The fact is that it was actually salt trade that held more worth than the gold industry.

Is salt worth its weight in gold?

The most common exchange was salt for gold dust that came from the mines of southern West Africa. Indeed, salt was such a precious commodity that it was quite literally worth its weight in gold in some parts of West Africa.

Why is Ghana so successful?

Located within the present-day borders of Mauritania, Mali, and Senegal, medieval Ghana literally sat on a gold mine. The land’s abundance of resources allowed Ghana’s rulers to engage in years of prosperous trading. Strategic governing coupled with great location led to the rapid emergence of a very wealthy empire.