the wealth of africa money in africa - british museum · money in africa presentation supported by...

The wealth of AfricaMoney in Africa

Presentation

Supported by

The CarAf Centre

www.britishmuseum.org

What types of money have been used in Africa?

Front cover image: cowrie shells given to Scottish explorer Mungo Park in West Africa in 1796, British Museum

Which is the best money?

What do you want from money?

source 1: Cowrie shellBritish Museum

source 2: Gold coinBritish Museum



Light





Light

easy to carry





Light

easy to carry

hard-wearing





Light

easy to carry

hard-wearing

Good for small purchases





Light

easy to carry

hard-wearing


Good for large purchases





Light

easy to carry

hard-wearing



impossible to forge





Light

easy to carry

hard-wearing



impossible to forge

cheap to make source 1: Cowrie shellBritish Museum




Light

easy to carry

hard-wearing



impossible to forge

cheap to make

Good for propaganda





Light

easy to carry

hard-wearing



impossible to forge

cheap to make

Good for propaganda

Attractive





Light

easy to carry

hard-wearing



impossible to forge

cheap to make

Good for propaganda

Attractive

Ability to control supply





Light

easy to carry

hard-wearing



impossible to forge

cheap to make

Good for propaganda

Attractive

Ability to control supply

internationally accepted



WhAt other types of money Were there?

What values do each of these items have?

source 3: Iron hoe blade, SudanBritish Museum

source 4: Kissi penny, LiberiaBritish Museum

source 5: Salt bar, EthiopiaBritish Museum

source 6: Manilla, West AfricaBritish Museum

countinG coWries

Using cowrie shells as currency involved counting large numbers of the small shells. Special systems for counting the shells were developed to make this task easier.

source 7 40 = 1 string

2000 = 1 head = 50 strings

20,000 = 1 bag = 10 heads

Cowrie counting in Nigeria, in Zaslavsky 1999: 225

What are the inconveniences of this type of money?

source 8: Counting cowries(The caption says

that 1000 cowries = 1 French franc)

British Museum

source 9: A Ugandan boy

buys a bible with cowries, c. 1900(Some of these are strung over

his arm; others are in the bundle on the man’s head)

© RCS Photo Archive, University

of Cambridge

hoW eAsy WAs it to impose A coLoniAL coinAGe?

source 10The lowest unit of British currency at the time was the farthing [1/4 penny]. In Nigerian currencies the lowest unit was the value of 5 cowries in Igboland. Thus, even the farthing, worth between 25 and 32 cowries, was five or six times the value of the lowest currency unit in southern Nigeria.

Ofonagoro 1979: 635

how easy do you think it was for the british to persuade people to use their coins?

source 11: String of cowrie shells

British Museum

source 12: 1/10th pennies, British West Africa, 1908

(issued in response to local needs)British Museum

GettinG used to the neW currency

Some Europeans believed that African people would have difficulty understanding new, colonial currencies, and so took steps to educate them. In fact, the use of African traditional ‘currencies’ was far more complex than the simple way Europeans used money.

source 13For a token of 50 francs, for example the station chief hands the African 50 grams of lead, or 50 beads, or 50 nails, etc., so that the African understands the relative value of the token.

French efforts to show African people the value of the tokens they issued in Gabon, described in Zay 1892: 250

the education process did not work. can you think of any reason why not?

source 14: Factory tokenFranceville, Gabon, 1880s

British Museum

hut tAx

One of the ways that colonial rulers tried to encourage people to use their coins, as well as to raise money to pay for running the colony, was by imposing a hut tax. This tax had to be paid in coinage at a fixed amount per hut that someone owned, and became very unpopular among African people.

source 15At present, the chief item in the receipts from taxes is the hut tax, derived from a small annual payment per hut by natives.

Hut tax in Kenya, described in Eliot 1905: 190–191

source 16Taxes had to be paid in money and no longer in cattle. Africans had to pay a hut tax of 1 Rand per year... a man who worked on the mines for three months could earn enough money to pay the hut tax.

Hut tax in southern Africa, described in Callinicos, 1980

how easy do you think it was for the british to persuade people to use their coins?

how important was the hut tax to the british?

source 17: Hut tax collection in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), 1938

© RCS Photo Archive, University of Cambridge

source 18: Rhodesian hut tax token

(receipt for payment of hut tax)British Museum

WhAt uses did money hAve for coLoniAL poWers?

What message is this banknote trying to get across?

source 19: Thousand franc banknote, French West Africa, 1945(The woman on the right is Marianne, the symbol of France)

British Museum

WhAt uses did money hAve for independent countries?

What message is this coin trying to get across?

source 20: 20 cedis coin, Ghana, 1991

British Museum



motto


British Museum



cowrie

motto


British Museum

WhAt couLd be the probLem With pAper money?

What has gone wrong with the Zimbabwe economy?

What is the point of the poster?

could this have happened with traditional types of African currency?

source 21: Zimbabwe banknote poster, 2009The Zimbabwean © TBWA/Hunt/Lascaris

British Museum

source 22: Ten trillion dollar banknote (detail), Zimbabwe, 2008

British Museum

your feedback

Please help the British Museum improve its educational resources for schools and teachers by giving your feedback. The first 250 teachers or tutors to complete the online survey before 12.00 on 1 September 2011 will receive a printed set of illustrations of African civilisations by artist Tayo Fatunla. Visit www.surveymonkey.com/s/wealthofafrica to complete the survey and for terms and conditions.

find out more

The British Museum’s collection spans over two million years of human history and culture, all under one roof and includes world-famous objects such as the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures, and Egyptian mummies.

The Museum’s collection of over 200,000 African objects includes material from ancient to contemporary cultures. Highlights on display throughout the Museum include a magnificent brass head of a Yoruba ruler from Ife in Nigeria, vibrant textiles from across the continent, and the Throne of Weapons – a sculpture made out of guns.

for students

Students can experience and engage with the collection in many ways, from taking part in activity sessions at the Museum to using free online resources or playing interactive games in the classroom and at home.

for teachers

Search the Museum’s collection online at www.britishmuseum.org for information about objects, including pictures to download or print.

schools and teachers enewsletter

Sign up to the schools and teachers enewsletter to receive regular updates on free special exhibitions previews, teacher events and new free resources at www.britishmuseum.org/schools

Ancient civilizations websites

These award-winning British Museum websites have been specially designed for students in Years 5 and 6. Each site is supported by information and guidance for teachers. www.ancientcivilizations.co.uk

the carAf centre

These resources have been produced by the British Museum in collaboration with The CarAf Centre, a community educational support centre and registered charity based in the London Borough of Camden. For more information, visit www.thecarafcentre.org.uk

© The Trustees of the British Museum 08/2010

Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG Holborn, Russell Square, Tottenham Court Road Telephone +44 (0)20 7323 [email protected]

the wealth of africa money in africa - british museum · money in africa presentation supported by...

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