Anna Pham, Michaela Tecson, Christina Pham, Angelica Rivas, Alex Dimanno
October 27, 2014
U.S. History/Section 62
Revised Thesis Roadmap ~ Gold­Salt Trade Thesis:
Our topic is the Trans Saharan Gold­Salt trade from Africa to Europe. The gold in Africa was traded for salt in the Northern parts of Africa and Europe (Italy). This trade was significant in the developing urban centers of America.
The salt from the Mediterranean areas was necessary for Africa because of their dry climate. It allowed them to preserve their foods and replenish the minerals in their diet lost from the hot climate. Berber traders were banned from the West African Gold fields at Bambuk, Bure, and Galam which were important to the fortunes of the ancient Ghanaian rulers. The Volta River region and Lobi lands, in present­day Burkina Faso, and the Akan states provided gold which passed through the Sahara and ended up in Europe.
Mediterranean colonies that demanded gold were linked to sub­Saharan economies, where gold was abundant, by the Trans­Saharan trade. This is where the ample amounts of salt up north came into play when sub­Saharan economies were in need of it. Gold became the main product of the Trans­Saharan trade. African gold was famous worldwide and was also used in the evolving Americas. As depicted by maps, some parts of Africa were symbolized holding gold nuggets. As the growing Americas developed a more distinct knowledge on gold and the uses for gold as well as the