À partir de XIIᵉ siècle
Western Sudan, Upper Black Volta, and the Guinea forests
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Mande-Dyula trading network connected the western Sudan with the goldfields and forest products of Guinea. Dyula or Wangara merchants sought gold in the Lobi country and farther south in the territories later known as Ashanti and the Gold Coast, while exchanging salt and northern goods. The network also circulated kola nuts and other products between Sudanic and forest regions.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
The expansion of Mande merchants toward Guinea was driven by the commercial value of gold and salt. Gold came initially from alluvial deposits at Bambuk and Bure in the valleys of the upper Senegal and Niger, while salt was obtained from deposits in the Sahara and was in exceptionally strong demand in West Africa. As the Dyula or Wangara merchant class developed, its members traveled farther in search of gold that could be secured in exchange for salt and other northern commodities.
The trading corridor extended from the western Sudan into the Lobi country astride the upper Black Volta valley and onward to richer gold deposits in the forestlands later known as Ashanti and the Gold Coast. These routes were not limited to the exchange of gold and salt. They also carried brass and copper, cloth, spices, manufactured goods, horses, skins, leather, slaves, ivory, and other products between northern and southern ecological zones.
Kola became one of the most important forest products moving northward. Cola nitida was native to forests extending from Ashanti to Liberia, and its nuts were highly valued in the Sudan and could also be exported across the Sahara. By about the beginning of the thirteenth century, some Mande merchants were establishing themselves in or alongside major Guinean settlements, allowing political, religious, cultural, and economic influences to circulate through their colonies.
À partir de XIIᵉ siècle
Western Sudan, Upper Black Volta, and the Guinea forests
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Mande-Dyula trading network connected the western Sudan with the goldfields and forest products of Guinea. Dyula or Wangara merchants sought gold in the Lobi country and farther south in the territories later known as Ashanti and the Gold Coast, while exchanging salt and northern goods. The network also circulated kola nuts and other products between Sudanic and forest regions.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
The expansion of Mande merchants toward Guinea was driven by the commercial value of gold and salt. Gold came initially from alluvial deposits at Bambuk and Bure in the valleys of the upper Senegal and Niger, while salt was obtained from deposits in the Sahara and was in exceptionally strong demand in West Africa. As the Dyula or Wangara merchant class developed, its members traveled farther in search of gold that could be secured in exchange for salt and other northern commodities.
The trading corridor extended from the western Sudan into the Lobi country astride the upper Black Volta valley and onward to richer gold deposits in the forestlands later known as Ashanti and the Gold Coast. These routes were not limited to the exchange of gold and salt. They also carried brass and copper, cloth, spices, manufactured goods, horses, skins, leather, slaves, ivory, and other products between northern and southern ecological zones.
Kola became one of the most important forest products moving northward. Cola nitida was native to forests extending from Ashanti to Liberia, and its nuts were highly valued in the Sudan and could also be exported across the Sahara. By about the beginning of the thirteenth century, some Mande merchants were establishing themselves in or alongside major Guinean settlements, allowing political, religious, cultural, and economic influences to circulate through their colonies.
Continuer le voyage
D’autres chemins liés à cette histoire.