The Gold and Salt trade of South Africa

In the second half of the 19th century the remote Bachaurd lands of South Africa amazed the world when diamonds and gold in huge deposits were discovered. The Gold, Salt and Diamond trade of South Africa mainly started when a young farm boy named Erasmus in the Orange Free State spotted a sparkling pebble in 1867. A peddler asked to take it to town to find out its worth and it was then found to be a diamond.

Soon after this discovery, a 21 carat diamond was found in the Orange Vail. The next important discovery was the “Star of South Africa”, which was a white diamond of 83 ½ carats. This discovery ended all doubts about the mineral potential of South Africa. The diamond rush began in 1867 after these significant diamonds were found.. Other diamonds were then found along the rivers and from all over the world a horde of miners swarmed into the Orange Free State. Less then five years later it became known as the town of Kimberly. The tents of the diggers were replaced by wooden houses, streets then developed. Kimberly changed the course of the nation’s history. The fortunes of many important men were found here. Kimberly became the second largest city in South Africa. By 1871 almost fifty thousand people were living there

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To make a profit mining companies needed to have cheap labor. They are usually not concerned with social concerns and put profit first. Only the king for example could possess gold nuggets, other people could only own gold dust. Analysts have also noted that if the supply of diamonds dries up it might help DeBeers which would then sell some of its own diamond stockpiles. Soldiers would carry salt up from the Tiber River where barges brought salt from the salt pans of Ostia.

These incidents allowed Global Witness and other groups to make a strong case for insisting on corporate action to avoid purchasing diamonds from designated “conflict zones”. Gold production and trade were important activities that mobilized hundreds of thousands of African people. The discovery of these minerals in Africa opened a vast trading world between Africa and Europe.

This non-compliance should have been expected as it would be rare for corporations to comply with rules or self-regulation when profits are concerned. Mansa Musa, the most famous ruler of the Mali Empire, spent and gave so much gold away during his celebration of the hajj in 1324 that he severely lowered the value of gold. The Roman statesman Cassiodorus was quite observant when he said “Some seek not gold, but there lives not a man who does not need salt”.

Approximate Word count = 3448
Approximate Pages = 14 (250 words per page double spaced)

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