Latest / Mansa Musa: The Richest Man Who Ever Lived — Fexingo History / Mansa Musa's African Gold in European Coins
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about what Mansa Musa did with his gold in Mali and Cairo, but there's a really fascinating angle we haven't touched yet: how that gold ended up jingling in the pockets of European merchants and kings. Luna: Wait, European coins actually had Mansa Musa's gold in them? Lucas: Not literally his personal stash, but yes, West African gold from the Mali Empire was a major source for European mints. And it's not just a guess—we have documentary and archaeological evidence. For instance, the famous Catalan Atlas of 1375 shows Mansa Musa seated on a throne, holding a gold nugget, with a caption that says he's the richest and most noble king in all the land. That atlas was made for the king of Aragon, and it was essentially a commercial guide for Mediterranean traders. Luna: So European rulers were literally looking at a map of where the gold came from. Lucas: Exactly. And they knew that the gold came from the 'land of the blacks' via trans-Saharan caravans. The gold would be brought to North African ports like Ceuta, Tunis, and Fez. From there, European merchants—especially Genoese and Venetian traders—would buy it and ship it to their own mints. Luna: So how did that actually work? Did they just trade salt for gold and then sell the gold in Europe? Lucas: Pretty much, but with more steps. The key commodity the Malians wanted was salt from mines like Taghaza, which we covered in the salt episode. But also copper, textiles, and later, European goods. The gold would be traded to North African merchants, who then sold it to European buyers at ports like Tunis. The Europeans paid for it with silver and manufactured goods, and then the gold was taken to mints in Genoa, Venice, Florence, and even England. Lucas: The famous Florentine florin, first minted in 1252, was made from gold that likely came from West Africa. The Venetian ducat, introduced in 1284, had the same source. And in England, the gold noble, first minted under Edward III in 1344, probably used African gold too. Luna: So the florin and ducat, those iconic medieval coins, were essentially made with Mansa Musa's gold? Lucas: Indirectly, yes. We can't trace a specific bar of gold to a specific king, but the timing fits. The Mali Empire was at its height in the 13th and 14th centuries, and that's exactly when European gold coinage took off. Before that, Europe mostly used silver. The shift to gold was driven by the availability of African gold. Lucas: And it wasn't just Italy and England. The king of France, the crown of Aragon, the Holy Roman Empire—all started minting gold coins around the same time. The historian Peter Spufford called this the 'golden age of the florin and ducat.' Luna: So Mansa Musa's gold literally helped create the European gold standard. Lucas: In a way, yes. And there's a specific historical irony here. When Mansa Musa passed through Cairo in 1324, he gave away so much gold that he crashed the value of gold in Egypt. But in Europe, the influx of African gold over the following decades caused a different problem: inflation. Luna: Wait, so the gold that crashed Cairo's economy eventually crashed Europe's too? Lucas: Not a crash like Cairo, more of a gradual price rise. Historians call it the 'price revolution' of the 14th century. More gold in circulation meant more money chasing the same goods, so prices went up. But it also funded trade and economic growth. Luna: I never thought of Mansa Musa as a factor in European economic history. Lucas: Most people don't. But there's also a diplomatic angle. In 1402, the English king Henry IV wrote a letter to the 'King of Mali'—he called him the 'King of the Moors'—offering friendship and trade. We have a copy of that letter. Henry was clearly trying to get direct access to the gold, bypassing the North African middlemen. Luna: Did the Malians ever respond? Lucas: We don't know. There's no record of a reply. The letter might never have reached Mali, or maybe it did and the Malians weren't interested. They had a well-established trade network through the Sahel and didn't need Europeans. Lucas: But it shows that European rulers were very aware of Mansa Musa and his wealth. The Catalan Atlas wasn't just a decoration; it was a tool for planning trade. Luna: So the gold route was basically: Mali to North Africa to Europe. And everyone along the chain got rich. Lucas: Exactly. And the Malians themselves didn't just trade raw gold. They also minted their own gold currency, like the mithqal, which we mentioned in the episode about scholars' wages. But that gold stayed within the empire. The gold that went to Europe was the surplus from trade. Lucas: One more thing: the gold from Mali wasn't just used for coins. It was also used for jewelry, church ornaments, and gifts between monarchs. So when you see a medieval crown or a reliquary studded with gold, there's a good chance it came from West Africa. Luna: That's incredible. So Mansa Musa's legacy is literally embedded in European art and economy. Lucas: Exactly. And it's a reminder that the medieval world was deeply interconnected. The Mali Empire was a major player in the global economy, and its gold helped shape the world we live in today.