Gold Mines: The Kingdom of Ghana never owned gold mines or salt mines. But the kingdoms to the south had so much gold that miners were allowed to keep all the gold dust they found. Only the nuggets had to be turned in for trade. (All gold had to be turned in after the arrival of the caravans of Arab traders.) Artists to the south and in Ghana used gold to make beautiful statues and jewelry. They made gold drinking glasses and plates and decorative objects. Ghana was dripping in gold. Gold for Salt: To get the gold Ghana wanted, Ghana traded gold with the kingdoms to the north for salt. Then, they traded salt with the kingdoms in the south for gold.  The various kingdoms in West Africa made very good trading partners. They each had something the other wanted. The north had salt. The south had gold. Ghana was in the middle. Ghana handled the trades. Trades were even, ounce for ounce - an ounce of gold for an ounce of salt. Both sides - north and south - paid Ghana a tribute to handle the trades. Although Ghana never owned gold and salt mines, they controlled the trade between the kingdoms to the north and the kingdoms to the south.   Ghana Gets Rich: With the arrival of camel trains, the caravans, the Kingdom of Ghana expanded their control to include trade with the foreigners. They traded gold for spices and other luxury goods as well as salt. The King of Ghana was a very wise man. He did three things that he felt would protect his people.  Tax: The first thing he did was charge a tax (a tribute, a tariff) on all people entering and leaving Ghana. This tax was paid in salt, iron, peacock feathers, fine silk, spices, and other luxury goods.  In exchange, Ghana warriors kept the trade routes open and protected from raiders. As long as the traders paid the tax, traders could pass in peace. It was the tax that made Ghana rich. The System of Silent Barter:  The second thing he did was to establish a system of silent barter. Rather than meet and argue a price, gold would be left at a special place for the traders to take. If ample goods were not left in exchange, all trade ceased. The traders of Ghana did not speak the language of many of the new traders who crossed the Sahara via the Trans-Sahara Trade Routes.  This system of silent barter worked very well. Traders were afraid to leave too little. They knew Ghana would stop trading. If anything, they left more than they normally would, to keep relations good and trade flowing. Second City:  The King of Ghana did not wish traders to enter his city on a routine basis or in an uncontrolled manner. To protect his people, he built a second city for the traders located about 6 miles from the main capital. The capital remained a city for the king and his people. The other, the new part of the city, was reserved for Moslem traders, merchants, and foreigners. This system worked very well. It allowed the people of Ghana to continue to worship in a way that was familiar and comfortable to them. It encouraged the traders to worship in their way, in the many mosques they built in the new city. The people of Ghana were very religious. They knew you had to treat the gods with respect unless you wanted big trouble.   The people of Ghana were ready for trouble. They had squabbles with their neighbors from time to time. They had a huge army. But they really didn’t want trouble. They wanted their life to continue as it always had, only more comfortably. The king wanted to conduct public prayer in the big open plazas of his city. The people in the villages wanted to hear the griots, the storytellers, telling the stories they loved so much about Anansi the Spider. All people, common and noble, wanted to dance at the festivals in the masks they so loved to make and wear, accompanied by the drums for which they were famous. The Gold Coast: As more and more traders braved the Trans-Sahara Trade Routes, bringing spices and silks to Ghana, and taking gold in trade, the Kingdom of Ghana flourished. Ghana and other West African kingdoms soon became collectively known as The Gold Coast.   Free Africa Presentations in PowerPoint format   To learn more about Africa, click on Anansi