The History of the West African Salt Trade

Did you know that salt was literally worth its weight in gold in ancient West Africa? This video is all about the lucrative trade of salt in West African history. Salt from the Sahara desert was one of the major trade goods of ancient West Africa where very little naturally occurring deposits of the mineral could be found. Transported via camel caravans and by boat along such rivers as the Niger and Senegal, salt found its way to trading centres like Koumbi Saleh, Niani, and Timbuktu, where it was either passed further south or exchanged for other goods such as ivory, hides, copper, iron, and cereals. The most common exchange was salt for gold dust that came from the mines of southern West Africa. Indeed, salt was such a precious commodity that it was quite literally worth its weight in gold in some parts of West Africa. — CHAPTERS — 0:00 Intro 0:42 Trade of Salt in West Africa 1:57 History and Transportation 5:22 Outro — WANT TO KNOW MORE? — The Salt Trade of Ancient West Africa https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1342/the-salt-trade-of-ancient-west-africa/ Timbuktu https://www.worldhistory.org/Timbuktu/ Mali Empire https://www.worldhistory.org/Mali_Empire/ Wolof Empire https://www.worldhistory.org/Wolof_Empire/ Songhai Empire https://www.worldhistory.org/Songhai_Empire/ — WATCH NEXT — The Poet and Scholar Callimachus of Cyrene https://youtu.be/E6lYw2va4xg The Wars of the Roses: Causes and Consequences https://youtu.be/JB5VqD4A6R8 The Life and Death of Mary Queen of Scots https://youtu.be/x0MrMEDiKOU Proofreading History - Joanne Taylor https://youtu.be/QMz4NzHdHGY — BUY OUR MERCH — https://www.worldhistory.store​/​ — SUPPORT US VIA OUR PATREON— https://www.patreon.com/join/whencyclopedia — ATTRIBUTIONS — The music used in this recording is the intellectual copyright of Michael Levy, a prolific composer for the recreated lyres of antiquity, and used with the creator's permission. Michael Levy's music is available to stream at all the major digital music platforms. Find out more on: https://www.ancientlyre.com https://open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v?si=emacIH9CRieFNGXRUyJ9 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ1X6F7lGMEadnNETSzTv8A https://athena.worldhistory.org/article/MWl01dYLPpb-West-African-Salt-Trade-Images-and-Attributions World History Encyclopedia www.worldhistory.org #history #africanhistory #africa #salttrade #salt