The Supply Chain That Traded Salt for Gold

Описание: In the medieval world, a slab of common rock salt was literally worth its weight in pure gold. This isn't a myth; it was the foundation of one of the most extreme and profitable routes of ancient trade ever conceived. This is the story of the trans-Saharan salt-for-gold trade.
This documentary investigates the incredible economic history of the great West African empires of Ghana and Mali. We reveal how the lethal scarcity of a single mineral—salt—in a land of unimaginable gold wealth created a powerful economic engine. This engine was strong enough to build sophisticated cities, fund massive armies, and create the richest man in human history, all in the heart of the Sahel.
Join us as we uncover the secrets of this lost economy:
► The biological imperative: Why salt was a matter of life and death in West Africa.
► The technology of the desert: How the "ship of the desert," the camel, conquered the Sahara.
► The "White Gold" mines and the secret "Rivers of Gold."
► The stunning wealth of Mansa Musa, the richest man in the history of the world.
► The great disruption: How Portuguese ships bypassed the desert and shattered this ancient economy.
This is the definitive story of how the world's most forbidding wasteland became a highway for commerce, forging some of the most powerful and wealthy empires in history.
🔔 SUBSCRIBE and activate the notification bell for more deep-dive documentaries on History, Ancient Trade, and Economics.

#supplychain #AncientTrade #Documentary #AfricanHistory #economichistory #ancienthistory