| Description |
1 online resource (xxviii, 468 pages) : maps |
| Contents |
"Making history" across the African divide -- Trans-Saharan trade in the Longue durée -- Markets and the movement of caravans : nineteenth-century developments -- Guelmīm and the Wād Nūn traders -- The organization of the caravan trade -- Business practice and legal culture in a paper economy of faith -- Trade networks and the limits of cooperative behavior -- On trans-Saharan trails |
| Summary |
This study is the first of its kind to examine the history and organization of trans-Saharan trade in western Africa using original source material. It documents the internal dynamics of a trade network system based on a case study of 'Berber' traders from the Wād Nūn region, who specialized in outfitting camel caravans in the nineteenth century. Through an examination of contracts, correspondence, fatwas and interviews with retired caravaners, Professor Lydon shows how traders used their literacy skills in Arabic and how they had recourse to experts of Islamic law to regulate their long-distance transactions. The book also examines the strategies devised by women to participate in caravan trade. By embracing a continental approach, this study bridges the divide between West African and North African studies. The work will be of interest to historians of Africa, the Middle East, and the world and to scholars of long-distance trade, Muslim societies and Islamic law |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 409-449) and index |
| Notes |
Print version record |
| Subject |
Trade routes -- Sahara -- History -- 19th century
|
|
Trade routes -- Africa, West -- History -- 19th century
|
|
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS -- International -- Marketing.
|
|
POLITICAL SCIENCE -- International Relations -- Trade & Tariffs.
|
|
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS -- International -- General.
|
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BUSINESS & ECONOMICS -- Exports & Imports.
|
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Commerce
|
|
Trade routes
|
| SUBJECT |
Sahara -- Commerce -- History -- 19th century
|
|
Africa, West -- Commerce -- History -- 19th century
|
| Subject |
West Africa
|
|
Sahara
|
| Genre/Form |
History
|
| Form |
Electronic book
|
| ISBN |
9780511517723 |
|
0511517726 |
|
0511517238 |
|
9780511517235 |
|
9780511575457 |
|
0511575459 |
|
9781107611788 |
|
1107611784 |
|
