AllMovie

In the third of a series, Africa: The Story of a Continent, Program 3 - Caravans of Gold, Basil Davidson focuses on the role of gold and how it influenced medieval world trade in the early days of Africa. In several areas, especially along the Niger River, in Mali, and Ashanti, it was the principal means of trade, and camel caravans brought back salt supplies from Jenne, Cairo, and Marrakech in exchange for gold. This gold found its way into Europe as well, to be used for the casting of European coins, and eventually to India and China.