Show dal STOER I 1 UK I 1 jr T fl 0 L 1 in in IN 01 D w LOERS I 1 IN li boulo 1 allt I 1 i jews of the century alone had trading posts in northwest africa INTERESTS interesting DISCOVERY MADE africa loomed larger in the middle ages than modern historians have realized jews forced out of spain washington lava preserved the secrets of roman civilization in pompeii tombs protected uio the records ot of ancient egypto culture and now there Is prospect that alint some long neglected letters may inay reveal one of tile the most fascinating chapters la in the historic trall trail of the jewish people and incidentally show that africa loomed larger in the middle ages than modern historians haie hae realized with this introduction the national geographic society in a bulletin makes the first announcement in this country of a remarkable documentary discovery made by charles de la Ron clere librarian of the national Nati prial library in france hitherto says the librarian africa has figured not at all in medieval history it still was a dark continent when stanley and livingstone penetrated it less than it a century ago yet it would seem the jews of the fifteenth century had trading posts in northwest africa and carried on a vast commerce with the natives from the sahara to the atlantic and from at AI geria to the niger medieval natives of africa those these native peoples who finally resisted the I 1 roads inroads 13 of christian christla 0 jew and mohammedan possessed sources of wealth in grain and got gold some tribes lived in rock salt houses actual history in one case parallels the legend legendary account of the defense of troy troy primitive religions and strange customs flourished in common with a civilization advanced enough to take a accurate c census of cities antonia Ant onla a traversed trav erseil tills this region and wrote his descriptive letters in 1447 from timbuktu and bouat timbuktu was the chicago of 0 the west african plains and bouat the center of the camel caravan traffic that exchanged the wheat and barley of egypt for cor the powdered gold of 0 timbuktu an and d the perilous per clous salt bait from te bazza all the places visited by mabante were ere so well avell knoian n to the jews of his time that flat they were listed in a Ca catalan talal atlas prepared three quarters of a century earlier by charles 11 ac according cordin to SI 1 I Ron clere but shortly after mal fantes visit the jews were driven out of spain and since the jews were tile the only ones in europe who knew of the nigeria country and apparently permitted no christians to enter there except malfante the jewish knowledge was lost to europe not until dr gerhard Ger liard began its ills e explorations in algeria and morocco in 1800 1860 dl did d tile the rest of the world form a contact with the extensive regions of Malf Mal antea fantes travels landing at a point west of algiers malfante SIal Ial tante fante worked his way south to bouat which believed himself to have been the first european to visit yet malfante fante dated his first letter from there tour four centuries earlier an african commercial center bouat was an oasis containing from to 1 00 villages Il lages which together formed a vast commercial center each eacle had bad a chief cliplef travelers became the guests of these chiefs an and malfante reported their protection superior to that in states like and tunis one of these towns was wa Tamen tit now a decayed village whose people still recall the jewish epoch arabian invaders earlier had bad robbed the jews who were musters masters of the sahara and whose empire extended south to the niger Tamen tit malfante SIal tante wrote sheltered both jews and edans who lived in harmony the native negroes valued copper highly malfanti Mal fantt stated and used it for money pushing on to timbuktu host was the brother ot of a captain of 0 desert industry a man of great wealth and possessed ot of trade information concerning all ot of north africa from him malfante fal fante learned of such flourishing places as Teg liazza famous for its salt mints mines and unique for its architecture Thello the houses were made of rock salt lAfal malfante fante noted that it never rained there or the houses would have melted away to the south of the mohammedan kingdom were many states inhabited solely by savages one of these tribes worshiped a mirror believing that in the reflection of their faces they saw a deity |