Manilla (Money)
Scope and Content
One Manilla found in the wreckage of the English Schooner 'DUORO' sunk off the Isles of Scilly in 1843. It is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.
Dates
- 1843
Historical Note
Manillas were a type of commody money used in West Africa and made of bronze or copper. This monetary form predates the colonial period and continued to be used as money as well as decoration until the late 1940s.
These objects are deeply engrained in the Atlantic trading of enslaved persons. Holders of enslaved persons would have used these to trade with local Chiefs in exchange for humans.
The manufacturing of these pieces would have taken place in Birmingham between 1830-50 and then shipped to Benin, a part of the Slave Coast of Africa, where a trader of enslaved persons would exchange one manilla for one person.
This Manilla was raised by divers from the wreck of the English Schooner 'DUORO' sunk off the Isles of Scilly in 1843.
(Information taken from certificate of authenticity accompanying object.
Extent
1 item(s)
Language of Materials
English
- Title
- Manilla (Money)
- Status
- In Progress
- Date
- March 2022
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Manuscripts Repository