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Manilla, Money of the Slave Trade, British, Middle - Late Period, c. 18th - early 19th Century
Manillas are brass or copper bracelet-shaped objects, used as money in West Africa, from about the 16th century to the late 1940s. They are usually horseshoe-shaped, with terminations that face each other and are roughly lozenge-shaped. Manillas were first used as money in Calabar an ancient kingdom on the southeast coast of Nigeria. In 1505, a slave could be bought in Calabar for 8-10 manillas. In 1522, in Benin a female slave 16 years of age cost 50 manillas. The price of a slave varied considerably over time, by place, and by the type of manilla. After Bristol entered the African trade, manillas were made in England for export, at first in Bristol, later in Birmingham. A typical voyage took manillas and brass objects such as pans and basins to West Africa, then slaves to America, then cotton back to the mills of Europe. Bristol merchants were responsible for shipping more than 500,000 enslaved African people to the Caribbean and North America. In 1902 the import of manillas to Nigeria was prohibited. They were, however, still in regular use in 1948 when the British bought up over 32 million pieces and resold them in Europe as scrap. A lingering reminder of the slave trade, manillas ceased to be legal tender in British West Africa on 1 April 1949. People were permitted to keep a maximum of 200 for use as a symbol of wealth in ceremonies such as marriages and funerals. Manillas may still occasionally be used as money in remote villages in Burkina Faso.AS96171. Copper Manilla, British, middle - late period, Birmingham, weight 69.2g, 68mm across, 65mm tall, 7mm gauge, teardrop foot 18mm wide x 21 mm long, SOLD
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