Golden Era

In 1827, Rene Callie, who was a young Frenchmen, left Senegal for West Africa, where he planned to hunt for Timbuktu, the famed golden city. The Geographical Society of Paris put forward a reward of 1,000 frances to the one who would find Timbuktu and hopefully return alive. Callie learned to speak Arabic and decided to impersonate an Egyptian. Because most West Africans were Muslims, he thought this would be the best way to win their trust. The disguise worked. Thoroughly thankful, Callie hopped on a caravan headed to Timbuktu, In April 1828, he reached Timbuktu, and he stayed for 2 weeks before he headed back North. Sadly, Timbuktu was not the fabled glorious city and was composed of mud huts.

Was the wealth of Timbuktu a myth? The answer is no. Callie had only made the journey too late. In the 7th-15th century, Timbuktu had thrived. The 3 kingdoms, which were called Ghana, Mali, and Songhay, dominated in that time. While in the time of Mali, Timbuktu was the center of education and commerce. Naturally the renowned university Sankore attracted many students. In the late 16th century, the Songhay empire unfortunately fell because the Moors invaded. The golden era of Western Sudan had come to an end.

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