Mansa Musa · Politics
The political economy behind the legend: the goldfields of Bambuk and Bure, the trans-Saharan trade in which gold moved north and salt moved south at nearly equal value, and how control of that flow - not a hoard of treasure - underwrote Mali’s imperial power.
You learned that Mali’s power rested on the goldfields of Bambuk, Bure, and Galam and on the trans-Saharan trade, in which gold flowed north and salt flowed south at close to equal value by weight, and that the mansa’s wealth came from controlling and taxing this flow rather than owning the mines. Explain…
Leads to Adam Smith.
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