What East Africans Got for Their Ivory and Slaves: The Nature, Working and Circulation of Commodity Currencies in Nineteenth-Century East Africa

During the nineteenth century, the significant increase in the commercialization and export of ivory and slaves resulted in the commodification of the East African economies through the import of new goods: glass beads, cowrie shells, imported cloth and metal wires started to be invested with new exchange value and emerged as new currencies. The adoption of imported currencies throughout the Zanzibar commercial hinterland facilitated transactions where indigenous and external economies intersected. This chapter argues that the monetary systems of nineteenth-century East Africa were integrated through the external demand for ivory and slaves, the use of imported currencies and a shared value system based on cattle. The chapter contends that the co-existence of regional and imported currencies created opportunities for traders who operated across currency zones.