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Exploring Africa

The Trans-Saharan Trade As more and more food was produced, people began to have special jobs. Some of them were responsible for providing the food while others just made tools and weapons. In time, people who lived in one community began to sell any extra goods they had to neighbors. Some people traveled over great distances to trade. The North African Berbers traveled south across the desert to sell goods to the people of West Africa. Because the Berbers traveled through the Sahara Desert this trading became known as the trans-Saharan trade. No one knows when this trading began; some people say that as long as there have been people in Africa there has been trade. Journeying Through the Desert The trans-Saharan trade thrived for over two thousand years only decreasing in the last century. The Berbers loaded up about one thousand camels and traveled 1,500 miles (2,400 km) across the desert. The journey usually took three months to complete and was fraught with dangers. Some merchants lost their way in the vast desert and died of thirst. Others got caught up in fierce sandstorms. When they finally got to the trading towns south of the desert, the Berbers bartered their salt and copper for gold and kola nuts . The Growth of Empires The people who lived at each end of the trans-Saharan trade routes were very fortunate. They were able to take part in the lucrative trade and become rich. Each town or village began to select kings and form themselves into states. As trade expanded, the states grew even more powerful and started to conquer their weaker neighbors. Eventually, the states south of the Sahara grew into large and wealthy empires such as Ghana and Mali.

Routes Across the Sahara At the height of the trans-Saharan trade, there were three main routes that crossed the desert and ended at important trading cities. One route was from Marrakesh to the salt-mines of Taghaza. From there salt and copper were carried to the ancient Ghana Empire and Timbuktu. The second route ran from Tunis to Hausaland and Gao. The last one went from Tripoli to the salt-mines of Bilma, and then on to the ancient Bornu Empire. Both of these routes carried salt and copper. Salt was very important as it was used for cooking and for preserving meat in the hot climate. There were other secondary routes that crossed the main ones. For example, there was a caravan trail all the way from Cairo in the east to Gao in the west.

S alt pans in the Sahara at Teguidda, Niger.

A camel train crossing the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria.

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