Arguin

Arguin is an island off the Saharan coast, surrounded by the shallow waters and sandbanks of the Atlantic. Its position made it a meeting point between maritime visitors and the caravan networks of the desert. Local traders brought gold, gum arabic and enslaved people to the coast, connecting the island with markets far inland.

Portuguese navigators reached Arguin in the 1440s and established a fortified trading post. Its commerce prospered in the fifteenth century, but Portuguese attention later shifted towards the Guinea coast. The Dutch seized the island in 1638, and European powers continued to contest the coast in the following centuries, particularly for access to gum arabic. African merchants and rulers remained indispensable to the trade that reached the island.