The shell money of the slave trade

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Book

Title:	The shell money of the slave trade
Authors:	Hogendorn, Jan Johnson, Marion
Year:	1986
Issue:	49
Pages:	230
Language:	English
Series:	African studies series (ISSN 0065-406X)
City of publisher:	Cambridge
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
ISBN:	0521320860
Geographic term:	West Africa
Subjects:	slave trade cowrie currency
Abstract:	Examination of the role of cowrie-shell money in West African trade, and in the slave trade in particular. It traces the shells from their 'manufacture' in the Maldives, whence they were carried to the Mediterranean and Europe for onward transport by the sea to the West African coast. Over a large part of West Africa they became the regular market currency, counted in various ingenious ways to suit local needs. The shell currency became severely devalued by the importation of thousands of tons of the cheaper Zanzibar cowries. Colonial governments disliked cowries because of the inflation and encouraged their replacement by low-value coins. They disappeared almost totally, to re-appear during the great depression of the 1930's, and have been found occasionnally in the markets of remote frontier districts.