Goldsmithing: Techniques, History
Portuguese colonialists headed south to Morocco, in the early 15th century, in an attempt to control the gold supply emanating from the rich gold mines of Mali. A century before, in 1324, the Mali ruler Mansa Musa (1312–1337) undertook his famous hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, during which he gave away so much gold that its market price in North Africa collapsed for a period .