This belt from the Congo region of Africa is made from cowrie shells. They are the shells of a mollusc found only in certain areas around the Maldives and other Indian Ocean islands. When European traders realized how valued these shells were in Africa, they imported them in vast quantities to trade for slaves and other goods across the continent. The shells were used as a form of currency, as well as decoration to show the wealth and influence of the owner.
© Bristol Museums, Galleries & Archives
Accession reference: Bristol Museums, Galleries & Archives, E1545
Themes
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Trade and Commerce
Understand how the demand for luxury goods and the Industrial Revolution fuelled the transatlantic slave trade, and how the British…
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Africa before Transatlantic Enslavement
The history of Africa and African people does not begin nor end with transatlantic slavery. Understand what Africa was like and what the continent lost as a result of the trade.
Background Reading
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The Lost Libraries Of Timbuktu
Until recently, many commentators on Africa claimed that African societies had no tradition of writing. With the rediscovery of ancient manuscript collections, some dating back to the 8th century AD, this perception is changing.
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Introduction To Various African Kingdoms