As imported European paper became cheaper and more easily obtainable in the Sahara Desert and its hinterlands in the 18th and 19th centuries, the practice of letter-writing and account-keeping grew enormously. As in other parts of the world, letter-writing made it possible for distance to be bridged in new ways, drawing far-flung people into circuits of information exchange.
In this workshop — organized by the Letters of the Sahara Research Team — we explore the question of how currencies and credit functioned in Saharan trade. Our sources are a number of commercial ledgers from different sites in the Sahara: Ghadames (Libya), Katsina (Nigeria) and Timbuktu (Mali). These documents are written in Arabic; we will read them in the original language and with English translations. We will ask how these kinds of sources can be used to better understand the economic history of this region during a period of commercial expansion across the Sahara, connected to the growth of commercial capitalism across the globe.
All are welcome.
To RSVP or for more information and to get the documents that will be discussed in the workshop, contact Bruce Hall (bruce.hall@berkeley.edu) or Adam Benkato (abenkato@berkeley.edu).
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