World History Moment: Race To Timbuktu

World History Moment: Race To Timbuktu

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In 1324, King Musa of Mali traveled the world, flaunting the riches he had brought from his home city of Timbuktu. Over the centuries, Timbuktu became the place of legend.

In 1824, a French geographic society offered a prize of 10,000 francs to the first European to reach Timbuktu and return alive. Historian John R. Schmidt tells us who finally got there, how they did it and what they found.