https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w United, 5th grade en-us 2021-10-22 23:32:41 UTC 2026-04-27 19:39:43 UTC hello@padlet.com rebeccaballantine1 https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837337107 2021-10-22 23:41:25 UTC https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837337107 rebeccaballantine1 https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837340046 Use this website to discover Mali]]> 2021-10-22 23:45:00 UTC https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837340046 rebeccaballantine1 https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837345349 The Empire of Mali was located in the Sahel, a dry grassland region that lies between the Sahara Desert to the north and the forest regions to the south.  In the forests, close to the source of the Niger River, lay the gold mines.  Beyond the Sahara in Northern Africa lay the wealthy coastal cities along the Mediterranean Sea.

Located between these two sources of wealth, the Sahel was ideally situated as a trading center for goods from both regions. Cities developed in this area and leaders became rich and powerful because they taxed all the goods traded in their territory. ]]> 2021-10-22 23:52:08 UTC https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837345349 rebeccaballantine1 https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837347892 2021-10-22 23:55:05 UTC https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837347892 rebeccaballantine1 https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837348345 2021-10-22 23:55:39 UTC https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837348345 rebeccaballantine1 https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837350763 Traders crossed the Sahara Desert to the north using camels and traveling together in a caravan. These people were called Berbers, an ethnic group of desert people who were mostly Muslim. ]]> 2021-10-22 23:58:43 UTC https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837350763 rebeccaballantine1 https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837352647 The most valuable product the Berbers transported was salt, which they moved by camel and exchanged for gold. Salt was worth its weight in gold because it was important to be healthy and it was used to preserve food (before refrigerators). ]]> 2021-10-23 00:00:48 UTC https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837352647 rebeccaballantine1 https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837354885 Many other goods crossed the Sahel including slaves, ivory, animal skins from the south, and luxury goods from the Mediterranean & the East.]]> 2021-10-23 00:03:42 UTC https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837354885 rebeccaballantine1 https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837360371 Mali was rich with gold -- most of it from small mines or found in small flakes near the river.  In fact, during the height of the Mali Empire, much of the world's economy depended on gold mined in Mali.  ]]> 2021-10-23 00:10:45 UTC https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837360371 rebeccaballantine1 https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837365237 2021-10-23 00:16:20 UTC https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837365237 rebeccaballantine1 https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837372431 Notice where the Niger River is. This made it much easier to transport goods (once camel caravans had crossed the desert with them).]]> 2021-10-23 00:24:37 UTC https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837372431 rebeccaballantine1 https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837378434 Explore this interactive map (click on the Mali Empire button) and find artifacts, people, and places of the "Gold Road."]]> 2021-10-23 00:31:31 UTC https://padlet.com/seoit/ub7e2nb5yqoenq0w/wish/1837378434