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An Okpoho-type manilla from south-eastern Nigeria
Manilla bundle of copper and copper alloys, various eras, West Africa

Manillas[pronunciation?] are a form of commodity money, usually made of brass, bronze, or copper, which were used in West Africa.[1] They were produced in large numbers in a wide range of designs, sizes, and weights. Originating before the colonial period, perhaps as the result of trade with the Portuguese Empire, manillas continued to serve as money and decorative objects until the late 1940s and are still sometimes used as decoration on arms, legs and around the neck. In popular culture, they are particularly associated with the Atlantic slave trade.[2]

Origins and etymology

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The name manilla is said to derive from the Spanish[1] for a 'bracelet' manilla, the Portuguese for 'hand-ring' manilha,[3] or after the Latin manus (hand) or from monilia, plural of monile (necklace).[4] They are usually horseshoe-shaped, with terminations that face each other and are roughly lozenge-shaped. The earliest use of manillas was in West Africa. As a means of exchange they originated in Calabar. Calabar was the chief city of the ancient southeast Nigerian coastal kingdom of that name. It was here in 1505 that a slave could be bought for 8–10 manillas, and an elephant's tusk for one copper manila.[5]

Manillas bear some resemblance to torcs in being rigid and circular and open-ended at the front.

Types

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Two variant forms of Okpoho manilla

Africans of each region had names for each variety of manilla, probably varying locally. They valued them differently, and were very particular about the types they would accept. Manillas were partly differentiated and valued by the sound they made when struck.

A report by the British Consul of Fernando Po in 1856 listed five different patterns of manillas in use in Nigeria. The Antony Manilla was good in all interior markets; the Congo Simgolo or 'bottle-necked' was good only at Opungo market; the Onadoo was best for Old Calabar, Igbo country between Bonny New Kalabari and the kingdom of Okrika; the Finniman Fawfinna was passable in Juju Town and Qua Market, but only half the worth of the Antony; and the Cutta Antony was valued by the people at Umballa.[6]

The proliferation of African names is probably due more to regional customs than actual manufacturing specialization. The 'Mkporo' is likely a Dutch or British manilla and the 'Popo' is French, but the rest are examples of a single evolving Birmingham product.

An important hoard had a group of 72 pieces with similar patination and soil crusting, suggesting common burial. There were 7 Mkporo; 19 Nkobnkob-round foot; 9 Nkobnkob-oval foot; and 37 Popo-square foot. The lightest 'Nkobnkobs' in the hoard were 108 gm and 114 gm, while they are routinely found (called Onoudu) under 80 gm, this implies that the group was buried at a certain point in the size devolution of the manilla. Mkporo are made of brass. The weight correspondence of the oval-foot Nkobnkob with the high end of the round-foot range suggests that it is either the earlier variety, or contemporary with the earliest round-foots. The exclusive presence of the 'square-foot' variety of French Popo, normally scarce among circulation groups of Popos, suggests that this is the earliest variety. The earliest French manillas as likely to be contemporaries of the earliest British pieces.

Sometimes distinguished from manillas mainly by their wearability are a large number of regional types called 'Bracelet' monies and 'Legband' monies. Some are fairly uniform in size and weight and served as monies of account like manillas, but others were actually worn as wealth display. The less well off would mimic the movements of the 'better off' who were so encumbered by the weight of manillas that they moved in a very characteristic way. The larger manillas had a much more open shape.

History

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Origins

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A Benin Bronze depicts a Portuguese soldier with manillas in the background

Some sources attribute their introduction to the ancient Phoenicians[7] who traded along the west coast of Africa or even early Carthaginian explorers and traders.[8] The Egyptians have also been suggested as they used penannular money. One suggestion is that Nigerian fishermen brought them up in their nets from the shipwrecks of European wrecks or made them from the copper 'pins' used in wooden sailing ships wrecked in the Bight of Benin. One theory is that if indigenous, they copied a splayed-end Raffia cloth bracelet worn by women, another that the Yoruba mondua with its bulbous ends inspired the manilla shape.[4]

Metal bracelets and leg bands were the principal 'money' and they were usually worn by women to display their husband's wealth. Early Portuguese traders thus found a preexisting and very convenient willingness to accept unlimited numbers of these 'bracelets', and they are referred to by Duarte Pacheco Pereira who made voyages in the 1490s to buy ivory tusks, slaves, and pepper. Describing the exchange, with the Kingdom of Benin, in his, 1508, Esmeraldo de situ orbis:

The houses are built of sun-dried bricks covered with palm leaves. Benin, which is 80 leagues (sic) long by 40 leagues (sic) broad, is always at war with its neighbours from whom it obtains captives, whom we buy at from 12 to 15 brass or copper manillas.[9][8]

By 1522 in Benin a female slave 16 years of age cost 50 manillas; the King of Portugal put a limit of 40 manillas per slave to stop this inflation.

Earliest report on the use of Manillas in Africa points to its origin in Calabar the capital city of the Cross River State of coastal Southeastern Nigeria. It has been documented that in 1505 at Calabar, (Nigeria) Manillas were being used as a medium of exchange, one manilla being worth a big elephant tooth, and a slave cost between eight and ten manillas.[6] They were also in use on the Benin river in 1589 and again in Calabar in 1688, where Dutch traders bought slaves against payment in rough grey copper armlets which had to be very well made or they would be quickly rejected.[10]

In addition to the earliest report, the origin of manillas from Calabar for use in Africa and particularly Nigeria is also confirmed by the African and universal other name for Manillas as Òkpòhò, which is an (Efik) word for money which is used throughout this report and in the titles of images in this report.

Role in the slave trade

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By the early 16th century it was common in the slave trade for bearers to carry manillas to Africa's coast, and gradually manillas became the principal currency of this trade.

The Portuguese were soon supplanted aside by the British, French, and Dutch, all of whom had labor-intensive plantations in the West Indies, and later by the Americans. A typical voyage took manillas and utilitarian brass objects such as pans and basins to Western Africa, where they were exchanged for slaves. The price of a slave, expressed in manillas varied considerably according to time, place, and the specific type of manilla offered.[4]

Production and designs

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A large manilla on display in the Ethnological Museum of Berlin

Copper was the "red gold" of Africa and had been both mined there and traded across the Sahara by Italian and Arab merchants.[4] It is not known for certain what the Portuguese or the Dutch manillas looked like. From contemporary records, we know the earliest Portuguese were made in Antwerp for the monarch and possibly other places, and are about 240 millimetres (9.4 in) long, about 13 millimetres (0.51 in) gauge, weighing 600 grams (21 oz) in 1529, though by 1548 the dimensions and weight were reduced to about 250 grams (8.8 oz)-280 grams (9.9 oz). In many places brass, which is cheaper and easier to cast, was preferred to copper, so the Portuguese introduced smaller, yellow manillas made of copper and lead with traces of zinc and other metals. In Benin, Royal Art of Africa, by Armand Duchateau, is a massive manilla of 25 centimetres (9.8 in) across and 4.5 centimetres (1.8 in) gauge, crudely cast with scoop-faceted sides, and well worn. It could be the heaviest (no weight given) and earliest manilla known. However, in the same book is a plaque with a European holding two pieces of very different form, crescent-shaped without flared ends, though apparently heavy if the proportions are correct. Today, pieces of this size and blunt form are associated with the Congo.

Between 1504 and 1507, Portuguese traders imported 287,813 manillas from Portugal into Guinea via the trading station of São Jorge da Mina.[11] The Portuguese trade increasing over the following decades, with 150,000 manillas a year being exported to the like of their trading fort at Elmina, on the Gold Coast, between 1519 and 1522, and an order for 1.4 million manillas being placed, in 1548, with a German merchant of the Fugger family, to support the trade.[12] The order stipulating the supply of both 250g Guinea and 312g Mina type manilla.[13] As the Dutch came to dominate the Africa trade, they are likely to have switched manufacture from Antwerp to Amsterdam, continuing the "brass" manillas, although, as stated, we have as yet no way to positively identify Dutch manillas. Trader and traveler accounts are both plentiful and specific as to names and relative values, but no drawings or detailed descriptions seem to have survived which could link these accounts to specific manilla types found today. The metals preferred were originally copper, then brass at about the end of the 15th century and finally bronze in about 1630.

Two different variants of manilla

Early in the 18th century, Bristol, with companies such as R. & W. King (one of the companies later incorporated into the United African Company),[8] and then Birmingham, became the most significant European brass manufacturing city. It is likely that most types of brass manillas were made there, including the "middle period" Nkobnkob-Onoudu whose weight apparently decreased over time, and the still lighter "late period" types such as Okpoho (from the Efik word for brass)[3] and those salvaged from the Duoro wreck of 1843. Among the late period types, specimen weights overlap type distinctions suggesting contemporary manufacture rather than a progression of types. The Popos, whose weight distribution places them at the transition point between Nkobnkob and Onoudu, were made in Nantes, France, possibly Birmingham as well and were too small to be worn.[2] They are wider than the Birmingham types and have a gradual, rather than sudden, flare to the ends.

A class of heavier, more elongated pieces, probably produced in Africa, are often labelled by collectors as "King" or "Queen" manillas. Usually with flared ends and more often copper than brass, they show a wide range of faceting and design patterns. Plainer types were apparently bullion monies, but the fancier ones were owned by royalty and used as bride price and in a pre-funeral "dying ceremony." Unlike the smaller money-manillas, their range was not confined to west Africa. A distinctive brass type with four flat facets and slightly bulging square ends, ranging from about 50 ounces (1,400 g)-150 ounces (4,300 g), was produced by the Jonga of Zaire and called 'Onganda', or 'onglese', phonetic French for "English.". Other types which are often called manillas include early twisted heavy-gauge wire pieces (with and without "knots") of probable Calabar origin, and heavy, multi-coil copper pieces with bulging ends from Nigeria.

Demise

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The Native Currency Proclamation of 1902 in Nigeria prohibited the import of manillas except with the permission of the High Commissioner. This was done to encourage the use of coined money. They were still in regular use however and constituted an administrative problem in the late 1940s. The Ibo tribe still used them prior to this and at Wukai a deep bowl of corn was considered equal to one large manilla and a cup-shaped receptacle filled with salt was worth one small manilla.[6] Although manillas were legal tender, they floated against British and French West African currencies and the palm-oil trading companies manipulated their value to advantage during the market season.

The British undertook a major recall dubbed "operation manilla" in 1948 to replace them with British West African currency. The campaign was largely successful and over 32 million pieces were bought up and resold as scrap. The manilla, a lingering reminder of the slave trade, ceased to be legal tender in British West Africa on April 1, 1949[4] after a six-month period of withdrawal.[14] People were permitted to keep a maximum of 200 for ceremonies such as marriages and burials. Only Okpoho, Okombo and abi were officially recognised and they were 'bought in' at 3d., 1d.[clarification needed] and a halfpenny respectively. 32.5 million Okpoho, 250,000 okombo, and 50,000 abi were handed in and exchanged. A metal dealer in Europe purchased 2,460 tons of manillas, but the exercise still cost the taxpayer somewhere in the region of £284,000.

The Bank of Biafra would feature a manilla on their, post 1968, five and ten shilling notes, and later coinage.[15][16]

Revival

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As curios for the tourist trade and internal 'non-monetary' uses they are still made, often of more modern metals such as aluminium, but the designs are still largely traditional ones.[14] Manillas may be occasionally still used in a few remote villages in Burkina Faso (2000).[2]

Uses

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A variant form of manilla, decorated with a geometric design, in the collection of the Sforza Castle in Milan, Italy

Internally, manillas were the first true general-purpose currency known in West Africa, being used for ordinary market purchases, bride price, payment of fines, compensation of diviners, and for the needs of the next world, as burial money. Cowrie shells, valued at a small fraction of a manilla, were used for small purchases. In regions outside coastal west Africa and the Niger River a variety of other currencies, such as bracelets of more complex native design, iron units often derived from tools, copper rods, themselves often bent into bracelets, and the well-known Handa (Katanga cross) all served as special-purpose monies. As the slave trade wound down in the 19th century so did manilla production, which was already becoming unprofitable. By the 1890s their use in the export economy centered around the palm-oil trade.[4] Many manillas were melted down by African craftsmen to produce artworks.[8] Manillas were often hung over a grave to show the wealth of the deceased and in the Degema area of Benin some women still wear large manillas around their necks at funerals, which are later laid on the family shrine. Gold manillas are said to have been made for the very important and powerful, such as King Jaja of Opobo in 1891.[14]

See also

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References

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Manilla (money)

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Manillas were horseshoe-shaped bracelets primarily made of bronze or copper alloys that functioned as a standardized form of in , especially along the coast of present-day , from the fifteenth century until the mid-twentieth century. Introduced by traders as exchangeable items tailored to local preferences, manillas enabled commerce in commodities like , , and slaves, while also serving as adornments, stores of value, and media for everyday market purchases, bride wealth, and fines. European production scaled up in the nineteenth century, notably in Birmingham, , flooding markets with standardized variants that reinforced their role despite fluctuating values tied to metal content and supply. Their persistence alongside British colonial silver coins created dual monetary systems, contributing to instability and social disruptions in southeastern until redemption efforts in the 1940s replaced them with fiat .

Definition and Physical Characteristics

Etymology and Terminology

The term manilla derives from the manilha, meaning "" or "hand-ring," which itself stems from the Latin manus ("hand"), reflecting the objects' wearable, ring-like form. Alternative derivations trace it to the Spanish manilla, denoting a or , as used by early European traders in . These European designations emerged during the , coinciding with Portuguese and along the West African coast, where such metal items were adapted as . In indigenous West African contexts, particularly among the Efik, Ibibio, Annang, and peoples of southeastern , manillas were termed okpoho or okpoko, words signifying "" or generically "," underscoring their material composition and role as a predating widespread European involvement. This local nomenclature highlights an indigenous origin for the currency form, with archaeological evidence of similar bracelets in use by the or earlier in the region. Terminologically, manillas are classified as penannular currency due to their incomplete circular shape, allowing them to be worn on arms or legs while facilitating counting and valuation in . Historical European records, including trade manifests from British, Dutch, and French merchants, consistently employed "manilla" to distinguish these items from other African currencies like kissi pennies or salt bars, emphasizing their specialization for West African markets from the 16th to 20th centuries.

Materials, Forms, and Weights

Manillas were primarily manufactured from , an of and tin, though —a -zinc —and occasionally pure or iron were also employed depending on the production center and era. Later examples incorporated mixtures of base metals to reduce costs during for trade. These materials were chosen for their durability, malleability in , and intrinsic value as commodities, facilitating their dual role as and . The characteristic form of manillas consisted of thick, penannular (open-ring) bracelets, typically cast in a or horseshoe shape with slightly flared or hooked ends that interlocked when stacked or worn. This design mimicked indigenous West African armlets and allowed for easy portability, storage, and verification of authenticity through visual and tactile inspection. Dimensions varied, but standard pieces measured approximately 5-6 in width and height with a thickness of 1-2 , enabling them to function as wearable items while serving economic purposes. Weights of manillas differed significantly by type, region, and manufacturer, lacking a universal standard but often calibrated to local conventions. Common trading variants, such as the Okpoho type prevalent in Nigerian markets, typically weighed 70-80 grams per piece. Larger or "fine" manillas, used in ceremonial contexts or as status symbols among groups like the Igbo, could exceed 700 grams, with exceptional examples reaching over 5 kilograms for oversized, torque-like forms. British-produced manillas from Birmingham, for instance, adhered to relatively consistent weights around 1 ounce (28 grams) in lighter variants, though heavier models dominated slave exchanges. These weight variations reflected both economic utility—facilitating divisible transactions—and the composition, with denser pieces commanding higher value per unit mass.

Variations by Type and Region

Manillas exhibited significant variations in form, size, and weight across West African regions, reflecting both indigenous preferences and European manufacturing influences. The predominant shape was penannular or horseshoe-like, with open ends often featuring flared, lozenge-shaped, or gradual terminals, cast from copper, bronze, or later brass alloys sometimes alloyed with lead. Early Portuguese-introduced specimens from the 15th century were larger, measuring approximately 3.5 inches in width, while 19th- and 20th-century examples diminished to about 1 inch, adapting to local trade demands. By type, standard manillas served as everyday , typically weighing 85-90 grams and measuring around 2.25 inches across, suitable for market exchanges and . Larger variants, known as queen or king manillas, functioned as stores of , exceeding standard dimensions and often featuring incised designs or additional coiled metal reinforcements for durability and aesthetic value. Popo manillas, characterized by heavier construction, rougher finishes, and gradual flares rather than abrupt ends, contrasted with the smoother, uniform Birmingham types produced en masse in ; the latter, lighter and crescent-shaped with sudden flares, circulated primarily in southern . Regionally, in Nigeria's and Cross River areas—cradles of manilla use among Efik and Igbo groups—specimens termed okpoho or mkporo emphasized wearable functionality, with weights calibrated for and fines, such as 8-10 pieces equaling one slave in 1505 Calabar markets. The Kingdom of repurposed imported manillas by melting and recasting them into artworks, favoring heavier forms for prestige. In and modern , Popo variants prevailed, often too robust for jewelry and tailored for bulk slave trade transactions, while Birmingham-produced pieces dominated Nigerian coastal economies until their 1948 abolition. These differences arose from local valuation of "flash" (mold excess) and tonal quality when struck, influencing acceptability across Guinea Coast markets from to .

Historical Development

Indigenous Origins in West Africa

Manillas originated as an indigenous medium of exchange in West African societies, particularly in the southeast Nigeria region centered on Calabar, the chief city of an ancient coastal kingdom. Known locally as "Okpoho" in Efik, Annang, and Ibibio languages—translating to "money" or "brass"—they functioned as a valued form of currency prior to extensive European involvement. Copper and bronze manillas were prized for their metal content, often regarded as "red gold," and served as a store of value in local economies. Archaeological and historical depictions, such as those on brass plaques from the Kingdom of Benin, indicate early integration into regional material culture, building on preexisting traditions of copper bracelets imported via trans-Saharan trade as far back as a millennium ago. These bracelets represented the first known general-purpose currency in , employed by indigenous groups including the , Igbo, Efik, and Ibibio for diverse transactions such as market purchases, payments, fines, compensation to diviners, and burial offerings. In the and adjacent areas like the Benin River and Igbo territories, manillas of horseshoe shape with flattened terminals—termed "Mkporo" or "Okpoko" in some dialects—circulated widely, reflecting adaptations to local preferences and symbolic roles as adornments denoting status and wealth. Their design echoed earlier ornamental metalwork, facilitating both economic exchange and social display in pre-colonial contexts. Early documentation from in 1505 records manillas pricing commodities like slaves at 8–10 units and elephant tusks at one copper manilla each, underscoring an established indigenous valuation system integrated into trade networks. This predated mass European production, with local communities leveraging manillas' durability, divisibility by weight, and intrinsic metallic value to bridge limitations in agrarian and fishing-based societies. While regional variations existed in form and , their core function as stemmed from West African metallurgical traditions and economic needs, independent of later colonial scales.

European Adoption and Mass Production

Europeans began adopting manillas as a standardized currency for West African trade in the fifteenth century, with Portuguese merchants among the earliest producers, crafting copper or bronze bracelets to exchange for goods including slaves, ivory, and palm oil. These early European variants mimicked indigenous African designs to ensure local acceptance, marking a shift from barter to commodity money facilitated by transatlantic networks. By the early sixteenth century, manillas had become a principal medium in the Portuguese-dominated slave trade along the West African coast, where records indicate a typical slave's value equated to 12 to 15 pieces. Mass production escalated in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, particularly in Britain, where Birmingham emerged as the primary hub, specializing in smaller "Popo" type manillas cast from or alloys sourced partly from Cornish mines. These , horseshoe-shaped items—often weighing around 0.5 to 1 kilogram each—were produced in vast quantities exclusively for the African market, with British firms exporting millions to support the and slave trades until the early twentieth century. Dutch and French traders also contributed to production, but Birmingham's output dominated, leading to inflationary devaluation as imports flooded local economies and undermined manillas' scarcity-based value. This European-led proliferation standardized manilla forms across regions like the Niger Delta and Bight of Biafra, where they circulated alongside local variants, but it also introduced inconsistencies in metal purity—such as adulterated Cornish copper blends—that African traders detected through testing, occasionally rejecting substandard imports. Production techniques involved sand-casting in molds, enabling scalability; by the 1890s, as colonial currencies displaced them, British West African authorities demonetized manillas effective April 1, 1949, ending their formal role after over four centuries of European involvement.

Manufacturing Centers and Techniques

Indigenous manillas in West Africa, particularly in regions like the Kingdom of Kongo, were produced using the lost-wax casting technique by local artisans working with high-quality copper. This process began with crafting a model from pure beeswax to define the bracelet's form and design, followed by encasing it in layers of clay mixed with organic materials like hair or fiber, with each layer dried and reinforced with charcoal powder to avoid air bubbles. Wax rods were attached for metal inflow, after which the mold was heated to melt and drain the wax, creating a void into which molten metal was poured; upon cooling, the single-use clay mold was broken away to reveal the cast item. Brass casting often occurred in the dry season outside villages due to cultural superstitions, with men traditionally handling precious metals like silver. European , initiated to meet transatlantic trade volumes, centered in several locations starting from the . led early efforts, sourcing copper from and to cast manillas, with exports including 150,000 units to between 1519 and 1522. In Britain, Birmingham became the dominant hub from the mid-18th century, manufacturing small "Popo" types and scaling to 300 tons annually by 1855, alongside sites in (e.g., Harford & Co., 1786–1836, incorporating local Mendip lead), , and . contributed mid-17th-century transitional "Popo" , while Dutch production likely shifted from to as they dominated trade. European techniques emphasized scalable of leaded alloys (up to 25% lead by the mid-19th century, plus , tin, and occasionally for fluidity), poured into molds that left visible seams on the crescent-shaped bracelets. A 1866 account details Birmingham and processes using copper-lead- mixes, with failed experiments in iron-copper blends; post-, pieces were shaken in revolving barrels to dislodge sand and polish surfaces. Over time, quality declined, reflecting cost-driven shifts from pure to cheaper, lead-heavy compositions for high-volume output.

Expansion Through Trade Networks

European maritime trade initiated the widespread expansion of manillas beyond their indigenous origins in , beginning with merchants in the late . traders introduced and manillas along coastal routes, exchanging them at ports such as for , , and enslaved individuals, with records indicating over 150,000 manillas shipped to between 1519 and 1522. This influx integrated manillas into established African exchange systems, where they circulated from coastal entrepôts like and the Benin River—first documented there in 1589—into interior networks via local merchants. By the 16th century, manillas had proliferated across the and adjacent regions, including modern-day and , facilitated by the transatlantic trade's demand for standardized currency. European production scaled up to meet this, with sourcing copper from and , while later Dutch, French, and British involvement diversified supply; for instance, French "popo" types emerged in the , and British Birmingham output reached 300 tons annually by 1855. African trade networks, spanning ethnic groups like the Efik, Igbo, and Hausa, further disseminated manillas inland for transactions in agricultural products, bridewealth, and fines, embedding them as a versatile medium from the Kongo region to . The expansion's scale is evidenced by colonial redemption efforts, with British authorities in redeeming approximately 32 million manillas by 1911, reflecting their deep penetration into regional economies sustained by ongoing European imports and intra-African circulation until the early . This process transformed manillas from localized adornments into a pan-regional , driven by the interplay of European supply chains and African distributive networks.

Economic Functions and Trade Applications

Local Uses in African Economies

Manillas emerged as the first general-purpose currency in , facilitating indigenous trade systems among groups such as the Igbo, , Efik, and Ibibio, primarily in present-day and surrounding regions. Locally termed okpoko, mkporo, or ego igwe in Igbo communities, they enabled exchanges for agricultural products, cloths, salt, , dry fish, and other commodities in precolonial markets. These bracelets supported diverse social and economic functions beyond basic , including payments, fines, compensation to diviners, and provisions for burials to ensure resources in the . In everyday transactions, manillas supplemented smaller denominations like shells for fractional values, integrating into local economies from at least the . Within Igbo society, manillas symbolized accumulation, with prosperous individuals saving them over years to advance in title societies, converting holdings into prestige through ceremonies that redistributed to artisans and kin, thereby reinforcing social hierarchies and alliances. This cyclical use underscored their role in a " in " framework, where economic value intertwined with relational and generational networks. Manillas retained prominence in local economies into the , coexisting with colonial introductions despite efforts to phase them out; Nigeria's 1948 redemption program withdrew about 32 million pieces, marking the end of their widespread circulation after centuries of embedded use.

Advantages as Commodity Money

Manillas functioned effectively as due to their intrinsic value derived from and alloys, materials prized in West African societies for both utility and ornamentation, often referred to as "red gold" for their and workability prior to European . This inherent worth, independent of governmental decree, underpinned their role in exchanges ranging from local markets to , distinguishing them from fiat alternatives and enabling accumulation as stores of value. Their durability stemmed from the corrosion-resistant properties of copper-based metals, allowing manillas to withstand prolonged circulation without significant degradation, unlike perishable commodities such as shells or cloth. This longevity supported their use over centuries, from indigenous origins to colonial-era trade, with examples persisting as in British Nigeria until 1949. Portability was enhanced by their as wearable bracelets or anklets, permitting individuals—often women—to transport substantial securely on their person without bulk, a practical advantage in mobile trading societies and overland . Varied sizes, ranging from lighter forms around 241 grams to heavier ones up to 306 grams, provided a degree of divisibility for transactions of differing scales, while regional fostered recognizability and within specific trade networks. Widespread acceptability arose from their integration into cultural practices, serving dual roles as and status symbols that displayed familial , which reinforced trust and in pre-colonial economies. As the first general-purpose in , manillas supplanted lower-value cowries for major dealings like bride prices, fines, and bulk goods, offering higher unit value and efficiency in value transfer. This versatility extended to transatlantic commerce, where their established demand facilitated large-scale exchanges, including for and other exports post-slave trade abolition.

Limitations and Economic Drawbacks

The variability in manilla quality, stemming from disparate European production methods, undermined their reliability as a ; for example, English manillas cast from Cornish often incorporated impurities like and lead, reducing their intrinsic metallurgical value compared to higher-purity alternatives from other regions and fostering in transactions. Massive imports exacerbated inflationary pressures, with approximately 150,000 manillas entering West African markets annually during the height of European trade, driving depreciation such that by the early , the quantity needed to acquire a slave escalated from 4 to 57 units. In southeastern between 1900 and 1948, manilla exchange rates fluctuated sharply in tandem with global palm product prices, appreciating during wartime booms in the —which eroded wage-earners' amid rising costs—and depreciating during interwar slumps, which diminished producers' incomes and impeded agricultural exports. This instability disrupted local trade, complicated colonial tax collection, and fueled social unrest, including the 1929 , where protests targeted warrant chiefs' authority over currency-related levies. Coexistence with British silver coins, introduced from 1901 but chronically scarce, generated dual-currency frictions; the 1902 Native Currency Proclamation reluctantly legalized manillas to facilitate commerce, yet persistent shortages of official money perpetuated inefficiencies and speculative distortions in markets until demonetization in 1948.

Role in Transatlantic Commerce

Manillas served as a primary form of commodity money in transatlantic commerce, facilitating European exchanges for African slaves and raw materials during the 16th to 19th centuries. European traders, starting with the Portuguese and later dominated by the British, shipped these copper or brass bracelets to West African coastal regions, particularly the Bight of Biafra and Benin, where they were redeemed for enslaved individuals destined for American plantations, as well as ivory, palm oil, and other exports. This integration into the triangular trade system—Europe to Africa with manufactured goods including manillas, Africa to Americas with slaves and commodities, and Americas to Europe with plantation products—underscored their role in enabling the scale of Atlantic exchanges. Birmingham, England, emerged as a key production hub for manillas in the 18th and 19th centuries, leveraging local brassworking expertise to manufacture standardized horseshoe-shaped bracelets from imported alloys, which were then exported in bulk to African markets. British trading vessels typically carried manillas alongside textiles, firearms, and spirits, using them as a portable, locally valued to negotiate purchases directly with African intermediaries. Their durability and familiarity in West African economies allowed for efficient transactions, with historical accounts noting that manillas became the de facto standard for slave pricing, though exchange rates varied by region and period—for example, early 15th-century records suggest around four manillas per slave in some contexts. Even after the British abolition of the slave in , manillas retained utility in "legitimate" commerce, supporting exports of and other goods to and the amid shifting dynamics. Their widespread acceptance bridged European industrial output with African valuation systems, contributing to the economic interdependence of the transatlantic network until colonial demonetization efforts in the early diminished their prominence. This role highlights manillas' function not merely as adornments but as instrumental enablers of cross-continental value transfer, rooted in empirical practices rather than abstract monetary theory.

Involvement in the Slave Trade

Mechanisms of Use in Slave Exchanges

European traders utilized manillas as a standardized form of to purchase enslaved individuals from African suppliers during the transatlantic slave trade, primarily at fortified coastal trading posts in regions such as the and . Ships arriving from Europe carried cargoes of these brass or copper bracelets, produced to consistent weights—typically 70 to 100 grams for standard varieties—and shapes mimicking pre-existing African preferences, enabling seamless integration into local exchange systems. The core mechanism involved barter negotiations between European agents stationed at forts like those on the Gold Coast or Slave Coast and African intermediaries, including merchants and rulers, who delivered captives acquired through warfare, raids, or internal slave systems. Upon arrival of slave caravans, European factors conducted physical inspections to assess age, , , and strength, followed by haggling over the quantity of manillas required per individual, often supplemented by other commodities such as guns, cloth, or spirits to finalize deals. Manillas were counted or weighed in bundles during these transactions, leveraging their portability and intrinsic metal value to expedite exchanges that could involve dozens to hundreds of slaves per voyage. Valuation in manillas fluctuated based on market conditions, slave quality, and temporal factors, with early 15th-century records indicating as few as four manillas sufficed for a slave, rising to 12-15 by the amid growing European demand. accelerated in the due to mass manilla imports, eroding purchasing power and prompting interventions to cap prices, such as limiting female slaves to around 40 manillas in by the early 1500s. Larger "king" manillas, weighing up to 300 grams, commanded higher equivalents, sometimes equating to multiple standard units in pricing. This system persisted because manillas doubled as wearable jewelry and recyclable metal, allowing African traders to recirculate them inland for bridewealth, fines, or further purchases, thus sustaining the trade's efficiency. Over the trade's duration from the 15th to 19th centuries, billions of manillas in value facilitated the export of millions of slaves, with annual imports peaking in the thousands of tons during the .

Scale and Regional Impact

European imports of manillas into reached substantial volumes during the transatlantic slave trade, serving as the primary medium for slave purchases. Portuguese shipments included 150,000 manillas to between 1519 and 1522, with annual deliveries exceeding 100,000 by 1531; later, contracts supplied up to 150,000 per year starting in 1529. British production peaked at over 300 tons annually in , equivalent to approximately 3 million pieces assuming an average weight of 100 grams each. By the early , British colonial authorities in redeemed over 32 million manillas during demonetization efforts between 1911 and 1948, reflecting cumulative imports tied to centuries of trade, including slave exchanges. In the , manillas facilitated the embarkation of over one million enslaved Africans, with individual slave prices evolving from 8–10 pieces at in 1505 or 12–15 in the 1490s to around 50 for a female slave in by 1522, indicating early inflationary pressures from increased demand and supply. The influx distorted local economies in regions like the Benin River, Igbo territories, Old , and , where manillas integrated into broader commerce but led to devaluation; by 1858 in , a manilla's value had fallen to three pence amid oversupply and introduction of lower-quality, lead-adulterated variants comprising up to 25% impurities. This dependency on imported currency fostered economic reliance on European trade networks, exacerbating internal and commodity exchanges while eroding the bracelets' intrinsic value over time.

Comparative Value Assessments

In the context of West African trade during the transatlantic slave era, manillas served as a high-denomination , with their value often assessed relative to slaves, the primary . Historical accounts from the early indicate that a male slave typically commanded 12 to 15 manillas, reflecting initial European scales calibrated to preferences for copper-alloy bracelets. This equivalence positioned manillas as more valuable per unit than shell-based cowries, which dominated smaller transactions; for instance, one early record equates approximately 50 manillas to 6,370 cowries, underscoring manillas' role in bulk exchanges. As slave demand intensified with colonial economies, prices escalated, reaching 57 manillas per slave by 1517 in some regions, driven by supply constraints and speculative rather than intrinsic metal content alone. Comparisons to other trade goods highlight manillas' versatility but also their contextual valuation. In local markets, a single manilla could procure agricultural staples like yams or in quantities equivalent to weeks of subsistence, far exceeding cowries' granular utility for daily . Relative to European imports such as cloth or iron bars, manillas held parity in mid-tier exchanges—often bundled with textiles for slaves—but depreciated against premium goods like firearms, where multiple manillas supplemented lower-value items to meet African elites' demands. Quality variations amplified these assessments: reddish-copper manillas, prized for perceived purity, fetched 20-50% premiums over variants in slave auctions, as metal assays and visual cues informed . Over the 18th and early 19th centuries, inflationary pressures from mass European production eroded manillas' comparative stability. Initial low slave equivalences—occasionally as few as four manillas in 15th-century outliers—gave way to sustained hikes, mirroring broader dynamics where oversupply decoupled face value from copper's base worth (typically under 1 sterling per piece in equivalents). This volatility contrasted with gold dust's scarcity-driven steadiness in northern trades but aligned with cowries' eventual , rendering manillas a speculative asset in slave ports like and , where regional differentials could halve or double values based on shipment provenance.

Decline and Transition

Post-Slave Trade Shifts to Legitimate Trade

Following the British abolition of the slave trade in 1807, West African commerce pivoted toward "legitimate" exports like , kernels, , and spices, with manillas retaining their role as a stable, widely accepted in these exchanges. British traders imported manillas manufactured in Birmingham to southern Nigerian ports such as New Calabar, where they were directly bartered for cargoes, enabling the rapid expansion of this industry amid declining slave exports. This continuity bridged the economic void left by abolition, as manillas' intrinsic copper value and cultural familiarity among Igbo, Ibibio, and other groups facilitated transactions without immediate disruption. By the mid-19th century, had supplanted slaves as the dominant export from the , with manillas comprising a key import good; European vessels carried thousands of these bracelets specifically for oil procurement, often valuing one standard piece at equivalents of local goods like yams or cloth. Their horseshoe design allowed easy portability and division, suiting bulk trades where casks were weighed against stacks of manillas, though fluctuating metal prices occasionally prompted local assays for purity. In regions like the Kingdom of hinterlands, manillas also funded internal palm processing and transport, integrating into supply chains that exported over 20,000 tons annually by the 1850s. Into the late , manillas anchored the palm oil economy despite colonial encroachments, with their use peaking around the as export volumes surged to meet European industrial demand for , lubricants, and . This era saw manillas' value stabilize relative to sterling, reflecting their entrenched trust over alternatives, though British authorities began critiquing their inefficiency for modern taxation. Production centers like and Birmingham scaled output accordingly, shipping millions of units yearly until disruptions, underscoring manillas' instrumental role in sustaining colonial commerce's profitability post-slave trade. Demonetization efforts accelerated after 1900, yet manillas circulated robustly until the 1940s, with redeeming over 32 million pieces in 1948 for £401,135, marking the formal end of their trade utility. This prolonged lifespan highlighted their economic resilience, as local preferences for tangible, meltable delayed adoption of paper notes amid persistent rural palm production.

Colonial Policies and Demonetization

British colonial authorities in Southern initiated efforts to curtail the use of manillas as in the late , viewing them as incompatible with the imposition of a uniform sterling-based that facilitated taxation, , and economic control. As early as 1891, regulations outlawed manillas in official transactions, but enforcement proved challenging due to their entrenched role in local palm oil economies and resistance from traders accustomed to their divisibility and cultural familiarity. By 1902, systematic policies targeted brass rods and manillas through undervaluation tactics, import prohibitions, and incentives for colonial adoption, forming a "policy triangle" to undermine indigenous currencies without immediate full redemption costs. The Currency Ordinance of 1904 (No. 1) further entrenched British monopoly by amending prior laws to penalize non-sterling media and promote silver coins, though manillas persisted in southeastern Nigeria's rural markets into the , prompting repeated colonial reports on their inflationary tendencies and hindrance to . Demonetization efforts accelerated post-World War II amid broader modernization drives; in 1948, the Nigerian colonial government executed a comprehensive redemption program, exchanging manillas at a fixed rate of one per three pence (or four per ), incurring £240,000 in expenditures to withdraw an estimated millions of pieces from circulation. This rate reflected prevailing market depreciation rather than original trade values, transferring wealth from holders to the state via on newly issued currency, though it avoided outright to mitigate social unrest. In , where manillas saw limited adoption compared to cowries or rods, colonial policies emphasized assimilation from the early 1900s, with decrees prohibiting "inferior" metals and promoting metropolitan coins, but without the large-scale redemptions seen in British territories due to lesser prevalence. Overall, these measures prioritized imperial monetary hierarchies, often disregarding local economic disruptions, as evidenced by sustained black-market use and debates in colonial archives over the causal links between demonetization delays and persistent systems.

Factors Contributing to Obsolescence

The obsolescence of manillas as stemmed primarily from their structural inefficiencies as a system, which became increasingly maladaptive amid economic modernization. Variations in size, weight, and alloy composition—ranging from high-quality to debased imports—fostered disputes over valuation and undermined confidence in their reliability as a . European traders exacerbated this through inconsistent production standards, with analyses of 17th- and 18th-century specimens revealing impurities like and lead that reduced intrinsic value and facilitated . Exchange rate volatility further eroded manillas' viability, as they floated unpredictably against colonial silver coins and , manipulated by European palm-oil firms to their advantage. In southeastern from 1900 to 1948, these fluctuations depressed peasant producers' real incomes during export booms while inflating workers' , generating social tensions and hindering stable market integration. Oversupply from historical imports, peaking in the millions during the , induced chronic depreciation, with early records showing value erosion traceable to the despite intermittent demand spikes. Practical limitations compounded these issues: manillas' horseshoe shape and bulk rendered them cumbersome for subdivision, storage, and transport, ill-suited to the granular transactions of expanding economies or the precise required for colonial taxation and global . Their reliance on melting for alternative uses, rather than intrinsic divisibility, limited scalability, contrasting sharply with fungible coins that enabled efficient in commercial hubs like and . These inherent flaws, independent of policy interventions, rendered manillas progressively obsolete as West African societies shifted toward monetized and wage labor post-1900.

Cultural and Modern Legacy

Symbolic and Social Significance

Manillas transcended their role as currency to embody wealth and social prestige in West African societies, particularly among groups in present-day such as the Igbo and Ibibio. Worn as bracelets or decorative ornaments, they served as visible markers of affluence and authority, often adorning village elders, military figures, and religious leaders to signal status and . This adornment function reinforced social hierarchies, as the accumulation and display of manillas—derived from trade in metals like and —reflected an individual's economic prowess and ties to broader exchange networks. In ceremonial contexts, manillas facilitated key social transactions and rituals, underscoring their embeddedness in community life. They were commonly used as payments in traditional marriages, symbolizing the groom's commitment and capacity to sustain a , a practice documented in southeastern Nigerian customs from the 15th century onward. Additionally, manillas featured in as inclusions in graves to denote the deceased's rank and accomplishments, and they were exchanged for services from diviners or incorporated into rituals, linking economic value to spiritual and communal obligations. These uses highlight how manillas bridged material wealth with intangible social bonds, persisting in cultural practices even after formal demonetization efforts by British colonial authorities in the early , such as the 1902 import ban and the 1948 recall of approximately 32 million pieces.

Collectibility and Numismatic Interest

Manillas hold appeal for collectors of primitive currencies and ethnographic artifacts, valued for their tangible connection to pre-colonial West African economic systems spanning from the 15th to mid-20th centuries. Primarily sought by numismatists specializing in non-coinage forms of money, such as ethno-monies, they are distinguished from mere jewelry by their standardized production for trade, often in brass, bronze, or copper. The term "Manilla" encompasses a range of bracelet-like forms, including horseshoe-shaped and penannular types, with collectors differentiating subtypes based on regional variations like Nigerian or Benin origins. Numismatic interest stems from their role as , melted and recast in rituals or trade, which affects preservation and rarity; well-worn examples evidencing heavy circulation command higher premiums due to authenticity markers like and flaws. records illustrate market dynamics: a 19th-century Nigerian Manilla group fetched prices around $200 per piece in 2025 sales, while rarer large "king" variants from West African have estimated values exceeding $15,000. from documented collections, such as those acquired before 2000 via markets, enhances desirability and mitigates concerns over illicit trade. Factors influencing collectibility include material composition—bronze specimens often prized for —and historical context, with early Portuguese-influenced pieces from the 16th-17th centuries rarer than later mass-produced imports. Condition plays a key role, as intact, un-melted examples are scarcer given traditional recasting practices, leading to premiums for artifacts showing minimal alteration. Collector communities, including those focused on African ethno-currencies, emphasize verification through metallurgical analysis or stylistic comparison to avoid fakes, which proliferate on secondary markets like . Overall, values fluctuate with demand from institutional buyers and private enthusiasts, reflecting broader interest in tangible histories of global exchange beyond their association with the slave trade.

Contemporary Historiographical Perspectives

Recent scholarship portrays manillas as a pivotal that bridged European imperial ambitions and West African economic systems, emerging in the mid-15th century through Portuguese interactions with the Kingdom of Kongo, with documented shipments recorded as early as 1514. Historians such as those in a 2024 analysis emphasize their role in facilitating exchanges for gold, ivory, and especially slaves, with Portuguese exports exceeding 100,000 units annually by 1531 and British production peaking at 300 tons per year from Birmingham by 1855, underscoring a causal link to the transatlantic slave trade that displaced an estimated 12 million Africans between the 15th and 19th centuries. This perspective challenges earlier colonial-era dismissals of manillas as rudimentary, instead highlighting their by weight and composition, which enabled scalable trade but also invited manipulations like the use of impure Cornish copper alloys by English traders to reduce costs in slave purchases. Debates persist on origins, with some evidence suggesting pre-existing African bracelet designs adapted by Europeans, though consensus attributes the mass proliferation to Atlantic trade dynamics rather than indigenous invention, countering unsubstantiated claims of Igbo origins propagated in non-academic sources. Contemporary economic historians, drawing on and oral histories, critique mid-20th-century models like Paul Bohannan's "currency revolution" for oversimplifying transitions from multi-form monies (e.g., manillas alongside cowries) to colonial , arguing instead for persistent multiplicity and local agency in valuation. In southeastern , studies document manilla value fluctuations from 1900 to 1948—exacerbated by palm oil price volatility and colonial influxes—as drivers of social unrest, including women's movements in the , with redemption of 32 million pieces in 1948 marking forced demonetization to impose British sterling . Material science advancements, such as portable (pXRF) analyses of artifacts, have informed recent typologies distinguishing types like "tacoais," "popo," and Birmingham variants, linking them to specific imperial phases and even recycling into . These approaches reveal manillas' dual legacy as "metastasizing symbols" of exploitation—often termed "blood money" in public discourse—and enduring cultural , persisting post-1807 slave abolition into legitimate commerce until obsolescence. While academic narratives increasingly stress African adaptive strategies to avoid victimhood tropes, empirical volumes affirm European demand, via slave exchanges, as the primary causal engine of manilla proliferation, with post-colonial monetary instability in echoing unresolved legacies of such imported systems.

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