On Trans-Saharan Trails: Islamic Law, Trade Networks, and Cross-Cultural Exchange in Nineteenth-Century Western Africa

Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Acknowledgments......Page 11
Saharan specifics and dates......Page 15
Translations and foreign words......Page 16
Abbreviations......Page 17
Glossary......Page 19
Maps......Page 25
1 \"Making History\" Across the African Divide......Page 31
Saharan History and Its Misperception......Page 34
Saharans: Betwixt and Between......Page 35
Saharan Sun and Sand......Page 37
Caravans of Gold......Page 39
Southwestern Social Order......Page 40
Frenchmen in the Sahara......Page 42
Writing African History......Page 44
Studying Islamic Africa......Page 46
The Centrality of Orality......Page 51
Oral Chronologies......Page 53
The Memory of Strangers......Page 55
Recollections of Retired Caravaners......Page 58
African Written Sources......Page 61
Pilgrimage Travelogues......Page 62
Legal Documents......Page 63
Commercial Records......Page 64
White Slave......Page 66
European and African Explorers......Page 69
Orientalizing the Sahara......Page 71
African Interpreters......Page 73
On Trans-Saharan Trails: Method and Layout......Page 75
2 Trans-Saharan Trade in the Longue Dure......Page 79
The Effects of Desertification......Page 81
Early Chariot Crossings?......Page 82
Ecology and the Camel......Page 84
Expansion of Caravan Trade......Page 86
The Spread of Islam......Page 87
Beginnings of Arabic Sources......Page 89
Tenth-Century Caravanning......Page 91
First Trading Communities......Page 93
The Omnipresent Wangara......Page 94
Jewish Caravaners......Page 95
Influential Ibadi Merchants......Page 100
Golden Trade of the Moors......Page 101
Of Routes and Realms......Page 103
Remnants of a Capsized Caravan......Page 104
Caravans of Cowries, Copper, and Tanned Leather......Page 105
Other Caravan Cargoes......Page 106
Jenne and Timbuktu: Cross-Cultural Markets......Page 109
Wadan and Shinqiti: Cities of the Adrar......Page 111
The Oasis of Tishit......Page 113
Walata: Commercial Crossroads......Page 114
Portuguese Ports of Trade......Page 116
Anti-Jewish Repression......Page 117
The Moroccan Factor......Page 118
Early Modern Saharan Trade......Page 120
Late-Seventeenth-Century Trends......Page 121
Jihad in the \"Age of Gum\"......Page 123
Morocco&rsquos Saharan Policy......Page 125
Timbuktu, Sufis, and the Kunta......Page 126
European Commercial Imperialism......Page 128
Reflections on the Book and Paper Trade......Page 129
Conclusion......Page 134
3 Markets and the Movement of Caravans:Nineteenth-Century Developments......Page 137
Caravans in the Age of Jihad......Page 142
The Caliphate of Masina......Page 143
Masina and the Caravaners of Tishit......Page 145
Shaykh Umar Tal\'s Holy War......Page 146
The Umarians and the Desert-Side Economy......Page 147
Samori\'s Revolutionary War......Page 151
Trans-Saharan Slave Trade......Page 152
Demand and Supply......Page 154
Late-Century Developments......Page 156
Counting the Slaves?......Page 158
Old and New Merchandise......Page 160
Caravans of Salt......Page 162
Trans-Saharan Horse Trade......Page 163
Gum Arabic Exports......Page 165
A Taste for Green Tea......Page 166
Guns and Powder......Page 167
Boom in the Ostrich Feather Trade......Page 171
Other African Trade Goods......Page 173
Moroccan Commerce......Page 176
Merchants of Fez......Page 177
Trade in Al-Sawira......Page 178
Jewish Cross-Cultural Brokers......Page 179
Aby Serour and the Jews of Timbuktu......Page 180
The Rise and Fall of Markets......Page 182
New Town of \'Aghrayjit......Page 184
New Caravan Hub of Tinduf......Page 185
From Jiga to Nyamina......Page 186
Conclusion......Page 187
4 Guelmam and the Wad Nun Traders......Page 190
The Market of Guelmin......Page 192
Relations with Morocco......Page 193
Commercial Capital......Page 194
Bayruk\'s Diplomacy and Dealings in \"White Slaves\"......Page 196
Spanish and Scottish Ports of Trade......Page 198
The House of Illigh......Page 200
The Tikna: Distant Relatives of the Almoravids......Page 201
Africans,......Page 202
A Nation Divided by God and by the Camel......Page 204
Legends of the Tikna......Page 206
Early Evidence of the Tikna Diaspora......Page 207
The Bayruk Family......Page 209
The Jews of Guelmin......Page 212
The Awlad Bu Al-Siba......Page 216
Sharifian Claims......Page 218
Early West African Settlers......Page 220
Official Cross-Cultural Brokers......Page 221
Mulay Ahmad al-Shaygar and the Kunta War......Page 223
The Wad Nun Network......Page 226
Importers of Green Tea......Page 227
Parallel Itineraries......Page 229
Wad Nun Women in the Diaspora......Page 231
Conclusion......Page 235
5 The Organization of Caravan Trade......Page 236
Ships of the Desert......Page 238
Camel Qualities......Page 239
Sustenance and Shelter......Page 240
Grazing and Tending Herds......Page 241
Branding and Camel Insignia......Page 243
Caravans Big and Small......Page 244
The Akabar International Caravans......Page 245
Interregional Rafga and Caravans of Salt......Page 247
The Blessed Caravan Season......Page 249
Caravan Workers......Page 252
Caravan Leaders......Page 253
Professional Guides......Page 255
Skilled Caravaners......Page 257
Servile Caravan Workers......Page 258
Messengers and Market Entries......Page 260
Lodging and Landlord Services......Page 261
Family Labor and Women Caravaners......Page 262
Saharan Women and Trade......Page 263
Manufacturing Caravan Equipment......Page 266
Immobile Partners Holding the Fort......Page 267
Caravan Shareholders and Entrepreneurial Widows......Page 268
Female Caravaners: The Case of the Masna......Page 269
The Paper Economy of Caravanning......Page 271
Lists, Letters, and Ledgers......Page 272
Currencies on Trans-Saharan Trails......Page 278
The Salt Bar: Currency and Condiment......Page 279
The Standard Gold Mithqal......Page 280
The Baysa, or Cotton Currency......Page 281
The Ubiquitous Cowry Shell......Page 283
Silver Coins and Foreign Currency......Page 285
The Age of Paper Money......Page 286
The Multiple Mudds......Page 287
Other Weights and Measures......Page 289
Fractions of Slaves and Livestock......Page 290
Setting Market Rules......Page 292
The Getna Date Festival and the Amuggar Fairs......Page 293
Perilous Crossings......Page 295
The Threat of Thirst......Page 296
The Political Economy of Raiding......Page 297
Tolls, Taxes, and Protection Payments......Page 298
Desert Spies and Vigilantes......Page 300
Clan Alliances......Page 301
Conclusion......Page 302
6 Business Practice and Legal Culture in a Paper Economy of Faith......Page 304
Islam\'s Commercial Tradition......Page 309
Islamic Law and Practice......Page 310
The Maliki Doctrine in Africa......Page 311
Social Justice and Honesty in Trade......Page 314
Trade or Usury?......Page 315
Faith and Written Contracts......Page 317
Islamic Partnerships......Page 320
Function of Documents in Islam......Page 323
Qadi as Regional Rulers......Page 326
The Business of Justice......Page 327
Sanctions, Enforcement, and Community Pressure......Page 329
Overview of Saharan Jurisprudence......Page 331
Influential Muftis......Page 332
Return Policies and the Law on Defects......Page 334
The Revocation of Sales......Page 335
Illegal Sale of Seized Goods......Page 336
Other Transactions......Page 337
Rules of Cross-Cultural Exchange......Page 338
A Question of Race......Page 339
Trade with Christians and Jews......Page 340
Cross-Cultural Barter......Page 341
Debating Currencies and Equivalencies......Page 342
The Tricky Business of Usury......Page 345
Forward Purchases and Multiple Currency Loans......Page 347
Money Transfer Tools......Page 348
Contracting Saharan Caravans......Page 349
Mufawada Saharam Contracts......Page 350
Sharika Partnerships......Page 352
Saharan Agency and Commission Contracts......Page 353
Agency Contracts (Wakala)......Page 354
Trade without Commission (Ibda)......Page 356
‘Aqadim Labor Contracts......Page 358
Other Contractual Agreements......Page 359
Debt Contracts (\'Aqd al-Qard)......Page 360
Lease Contracts......Page 361
Debt Swapping and Storage Contracts......Page 364
Social Contracts: Sayings about Business Behavior......Page 366
Conclusion......Page 367
7 Trade Networks and the Limits of Cooperative Behavior......Page 370
The Literature on Trade Networks......Page 372
The Question of Membership......Page 374
Network Structure and Hierarchy......Page 376
Women, Slaves, and Laborers......Page 378
The Question of Reputation......Page 379
Religious and Legal Institutions......Page 380
Literacy and the Question of Trust......Page 383
Wad Nun Trade Network Inheritance Case Study......Page 386
Death on the Trail......Page 388
Trader One: Baghlil\'s Passing......Page 394
Trader Two: Al-Hajj \'Aly......Page 395
Trader Three: \'Aly b. Hammad......Page 396
Trader Four: \'Aly Fal b. Arwili......Page 400
The Limits of Collaboration......Page 401
Trade Network Misbehavior......Page 404
A Legal Dispute......Page 405
Islamic Institutional Constraints......Page 407
Conclusion......Page 413
8 On Trans-Saharan Trails......Page 417
Orality and Trade Network History......Page 419
On Contracting Trust......Page 421
Islamic Law and the Organization of Trade......Page 423
The Vital Role of Credit......Page 424
Networks of Trade Networks......Page 425
Long-Distance Trade and Cultural Diffusion......Page 426
Bridging the African Divide......Page 429
Appendix 1......Page 431
Appendix 2......Page 435
‘Ayun al- \'Atrus......Page 439
Nouakchott......Page 440
Shinqıti......Page 441
Tıshıt......Page 442
Louga......Page 443
Nioro......Page 444
Asrır......Page 445
Documentation and Research Centers......Page 446
Tıshıt......Page 447
4. UNPUBLISHED THESES......Page 448
5 . PRIMARY SOURCES IN ARABIC......Page 449
6. PRIMARY MATERIAL IN ENGLISH AND ROMANCE LANGUAGES......Page 451
7. SECONDARY LITERATURE......Page 457
Index......Page 481