o Overview
-> Demand and regional exchange
-> Desert transport and technology
-> Commercial growth and urbanization
o Demand and regional exchange
-> c. 1200-1450: trade linked West Africa and North Africa.
-> North African demand for gold drew merchants south.
-> Gold supplied Mediterranean markets and coinage.
-> Scarce salt in the savanna encouraged desert imports.
-> Merchants exchanged Saharan salt for West African gold.
-> Enslaved people and textiles also crossed the Sahara.
o Desert transport and technology
-> Aridity made water access essential to desert travel.
-> Camels tolerated desert conditions better than horses.
-> Improved camel saddles increased carrying capacity.
-> Large caravans pooled supplies and reduced attack risks.
-> Berber guides used desert knowledge to connect oases.
-> Oasis stops enabled crossings but constrained routes.
o Commercial growth and urbanization
-> Older routes expanded; camels were not new after 1200.
-> Desert routes joined river trade along the Niger.
-> Trade income enlarged markets in Timbuktu and Gao.
-> Merchant settlements connected distant trading regions.
-> Growing towns increased demand for food and artisans.
o Overview
-> Mali's expansion and trade
-> Islam and communication
-> Social effects and continuities
o Mali's expansion and trade
-> Mali rose in the 1200s along West African trade routes.
-> Sundiata's conquests consolidated Mali's regional power.
-> Control of gold commerce and trade towns yielded taxes.
-> Trade revenue financed armies and further expansion.
-> Rulers protected routes, encouraging merchant travel.
-> Imperial rule linked Niger markets to Saharan caravans.
o Islam and communication
-> Muslim merchants carried Islam across Saharan routes.
-> Shared faith and Islamic law aided commercial trust.
-> Arabic connected traders, scholars, and royal courts.
-> Mansa Musa's 1324-1325 hajj publicized Mali's wealth.
-> His patronage supported mosques and Islamic learning.
-> Timbuktu drew scholars into wider Muslim networks.
o Social effects and continuities
-> Trade wealth strengthened rulers and merchant elites.
-> Demand for captives sustained forced migration north.
-> Islam spread most strongly in courts and trade towns.
-> Local religious practices persisted alongside Islam.
-> Mali expanded exchange without erasing local cultures.