15th century
Genoa and the Sahara
Antonius Malfante was an agent sent by a leading Genoese merchant to investigate commercial possibilities in the Sudan. In 1447 he reached the oases of Tuat at the northern end of a trans-Saharan route. His journey reflects Italian merchants’ attempt to respond to Portuguese competition and declining access to established North African gold markets.
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The Story
By the mid-fifteenth century, Italian merchants faced worsening commercial prospects as Portuguese expansion advanced along the Atlantic coast. Concerned by Portuguese success in obtaining African gold, Genoese interests began to consider overland ventures into the interior. This strategy sought access to the Sudan through routes that did not depend entirely on Portuguese-controlled coastal commerce.
In 1447, a principal merchant of Genoa sent his agent Antonius Malfante toward the Sudan. Malfante reached the oases of Tuat, located at the northern end of a trans-Saharan route. His destination indicates the importance of oasis settlements as points of contact between Mediterranean merchants and the caravan networks leading southward.
Malfante’s journey was part of a broader effort by Italian commercial actors to understand and reach the sources of African gold. It preceded the reported journey of Benedetto Dei to Timbuktu in 1469 and belongs to the same period of intensified European interest in inland Sudanese commerce.
15th century
Genoa and the Sahara
Antonius Malfante was an agent sent by a leading Genoese merchant to investigate commercial possibilities in the Sudan. In 1447 he reached the oases of Tuat at the northern end of a trans-Saharan route. His journey reflects Italian merchants’ attempt to respond to Portuguese competition and declining access to established North African gold markets.
Continue exploring
The Story
By the mid-fifteenth century, Italian merchants faced worsening commercial prospects as Portuguese expansion advanced along the Atlantic coast. Concerned by Portuguese success in obtaining African gold, Genoese interests began to consider overland ventures into the interior. This strategy sought access to the Sudan through routes that did not depend entirely on Portuguese-controlled coastal commerce.
In 1447, a principal merchant of Genoa sent his agent Antonius Malfante toward the Sudan. Malfante reached the oases of Tuat, located at the northern end of a trans-Saharan route. His destination indicates the importance of oasis settlements as points of contact between Mediterranean merchants and the caravan networks leading southward.
Malfante’s journey was part of a broader effort by Italian commercial actors to understand and reach the sources of African gold. It preceded the reported journey of Benedetto Dei to Timbuktu in 1469 and belongs to the same period of intensified European interest in inland Sudanese commerce.