المستخلص: |
This Study aims to discuss the importance of Gold and its commerce in Western Africa, or what was so-called West Sudan in Medieval Sources. It deals with the value of Gold and its Mines in the time of Islamic kingdoms in Western Africa such as; Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali and Songhai. Thus, the Study is discussing, in the same time, the influence of Gold trade across the Great Sahara and the role of Salt to exchange it with on such kind of trading, and how that made these African peoples very wealthy during Islamic time. This Article will discuss too the negative impact of Gold over these African Kingdoms especially in giving attention to the European Colonial Powers at that time; like Portugal, to turn to this area into a controlled Gold Trading across the Sahara after they saw how rich the African kings were during their trip of Pilgrimage to Mecca.
|