XVᵉ siècle – XVIᵉ siècle
Atlantic Sahara and Mauritanian coast
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Arguin was a Portuguese trading station positioned close to a Saharan caravan route. After 1455, the Portuguese established a factory there and traded with nomadic groups, exchanging horses, wheat, cloth, silver, precious stones, and spices for slaves, skins, gum, and some gold dust. Its gold trade later declined as Portuguese merchants approached southern sources and no longer depended on nomadic intermediaries, while the royal monopoly faced competition from private traders on the Guinea coast.
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Le récit
Arguin represented one of the earliest Portuguese efforts to approach Saharan commerce from the Atlantic. The site lay closest to a Saharan caravan route, and after 1455 the Portuguese established a factory there. Its position allowed them to develop commercial relations with nomadic groups who connected the coastal station to the wider desert economy.
The Portuguese sold horses, wheat, cloth, silver, precious stones, and spices at Arguin. They mainly purchased slaves, skins, gum, and some gold dust. This exchange placed Arguin within a mixed commercial system in which bullion was only one of several commodities and nomadic intermediaries remained essential to access the interior.
Arguin’s gold trade declined during the last quarter of the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth centuries. Portuguese purchases amounted to only 20–25 kilograms of gold annually, and merchants increasingly moved closer to southern sources. The station also suffered from the rigidity of its royal monopoly and competition from private merchants operating along the Guinea coast.
XVᵉ siècle – XVIᵉ siècle
Atlantic Sahara and Mauritanian coast
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Arguin was a Portuguese trading station positioned close to a Saharan caravan route. After 1455, the Portuguese established a factory there and traded with nomadic groups, exchanging horses, wheat, cloth, silver, precious stones, and spices for slaves, skins, gum, and some gold dust. Its gold trade later declined as Portuguese merchants approached southern sources and no longer depended on nomadic intermediaries, while the royal monopoly faced competition from private traders on the Guinea coast.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
Arguin represented one of the earliest Portuguese efforts to approach Saharan commerce from the Atlantic. The site lay closest to a Saharan caravan route, and after 1455 the Portuguese established a factory there. Its position allowed them to develop commercial relations with nomadic groups who connected the coastal station to the wider desert economy.
The Portuguese sold horses, wheat, cloth, silver, precious stones, and spices at Arguin. They mainly purchased slaves, skins, gum, and some gold dust. This exchange placed Arguin within a mixed commercial system in which bullion was only one of several commodities and nomadic intermediaries remained essential to access the interior.
Arguin’s gold trade declined during the last quarter of the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth centuries. Portuguese purchases amounted to only 20–25 kilograms of gold annually, and merchants increasingly moved closer to southern sources. The station also suffered from the rigidity of its royal monopoly and competition from private merchants operating along the Guinea coast.