ABSTRACT
The type of political organization evolved by the Wolof, as described in the mid-fifteenth century by Alvise da Ca da Mosto, indicates that, despite limited scope of the economy and small surpluses, a state could come into being and build the foundations of an economy. The economic foundations of the nascent Wolof state and the modes of securing the necessary income for the sovereign and the ruling group varied. Oral traditions include information on the economy and the forms of its exploitation by the state organizations of the Wolof. The system of the presentation of gifts may be viewed as one integrating all the subjects—through the mediation of local lords that is, chiefs of villages or great families—into the organizational framework of the state revenues. The difference between a fully developed system of tribute and a system of customary gifts lies in the scope of the services rendered, which is limited in the case of the gifts.
