Trans-Saharan trade
Across-the-sands exchange
Trans-Saharan trade refers to the commerce conducted across the Sahara Desert, historically linking sub-Saharan Africa with North Africa and the Mediterranean world.
For centuries, camel caravans transported gold, salt, slaves, ivory, and other goods along established routes connecting trading centers like Timbuktu and Gao with cities in Morocco and Egypt.
This exchange facilitated not only economic activity but also the spread of Islam, Arabic script, and cultural practices throughout West Africa.
- goldElement seventy-nine
- gold dustFine precious metal particles
- desert crossingJourney through arid wilderness
- saltSodium chloride compound
- caravan routesMerchant travel paths
oasis towns · kola nuts · merchant class · slaves · ivory · Timbuktu · copper · social stratification · urbanization · textiles · Tuareg · camels · Morocco · oral traditions · dates · dunes · merchants · Berber
Trans-Saharan tradeautarky
Complete economic independence
economic isolation · self-sufficiency · subsistence farming · subsistence economy · trade embargo