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Pawns on the Gold Coast: the rise of Asante and shifts in security for debt, 1680-1750

Spicksley, Judith

Authors



Abstract

In the seventeenth century, Europeans on the Gold Coast took gold pawns as security for debt, but from the early eighteenth century, they turned increasingly toward the use of human pawns. This shift was the result of a transformation in levels of demand for gold amongst African sellers, most notably the Asante, who began to secure control over local gold sources from c. 1700. The change in demand for gold was accompanied by a rise in slave prices on the West African coast, but it was the indigenous system of debt recovery that proved crucial to the success of European trade.

Citation

Spicksley, J. (2013). Pawns on the Gold Coast: the rise of Asante and shifts in security for debt, 1680-1750. Journal of African history, 54(2), 147-175. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021853713000297

Journal Article Type Article
Online Publication Date Jul 31, 2013
Publication Date 2013
Deposit Date Mar 5, 2020
Journal Journal of African History
Print ISSN 0021-8537
Electronic ISSN 1469-5138
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 54
Issue 2
Pages 147-175
DOI https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021853713000297
Keywords Ghana; Credit; Currencies; Economic; Mining; Slavery; Trade
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/1875508
Publisher URL https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-african-history/article/pawns-on-the-gold-coast-the-rise-of-asante-and-shifts-in-security-for-debt-16801750/BE803682FDC0993B05D9394553276E75