a smoke. Seeing the smoke, the natives come down to the beach, place on the ground a certain quantity of gold in exchange for the goods, and go off again to a distance. The Carthaginians then come ashore and take a look at the gold; and if they think it represents a fair price for their wares, they collect it and go away; if, on the other hand, it seems too little, they go back aboard and wait, and the natives come and add to the gold until they are satisfied. There is perfect honesty on both sides; the Carthaginians never touch the gold until it equals in value what they have offered for sale, and the natives never touch the goods until the gold has been taken away." Gold Trade Though the Wangarans kept the location a secret to protect their monopoly, the general area of the Akan goldfields was known by the sixteenth century. In his Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis (1505–1508), Duarte Pacheco Pereira described the gold trade in Djenne and Bighu. Abul Qasim ibn Mohammed al-Ghassani in 1586 described Bighu as a place where "mines of gold and gold dust" were found. Sultan Muhammed Bello had an 1824 map with Bono state, Elmina, and Bighu clearly marked. In ancient Ghana by tradition all gold nuggets belonged to the King, leaving the gold dust for the trade. It made them rich & loyal. The tradition continued with Ghana being absorbed by the King of Mali Sundiata Keita and again with the Songhai under Askia the Great. Then the Pashalik of Timbuktu. Followed by the Fulani Jihad States. The tradition ended with the colonisation of Africa by Europe. It was the gold mined in Wangara that paid the tribute demanded from Moriscos by the Spanish crown during the Reconquista. When Europe found a much larger source of gold in the Americas many African states began to decline. Becoming the main importer of slaves instead of gold. In the closing years of the 18th and the opening years of the 19th century, the discoveries of Friedrich Hornemann, Mungo Park and others revived the stories of Wangara and its richness in gold. Geographers of that period, such as James Rennell, shifted the Wangara country far to the east and confused Idrisi's description with accounts which probably referred to Lake Chad. Today, many West African gold mines are rife with foreigners, corruption