Trade Among the Native Americans and Europeans:
A Convergence of Currenciesby
Rebecca J. Carlson
Different groups of Indians in different areas utilized currencies and trading commodities that were unique to each. From Mexico to California to the Pacific Northwest to the midwest and all the way to the east, Indians and Europeans had a distinctive trading culture that had evolved over years, even before the white man came. In some cases, the Europeans completely took over the manufacture of some of the Indians trading commodities, although, this did not occur until the late 19th century. The five areas mentioned above will be covered here. The currencies particular to each will be described, as well as trade among the Europeans and Indians. In the Stone Age, the Neolithic man was basically a wanderer, who followed his food supply (Taxay 14). Whatever was killed was shared among the clan members (14). This constant wandering never allowed them any feelings of permanence or belonging. This feeling was gained "around the fourth millennium B.C.,...[when] the earliest American groups began to...settle down (14). Land was parceled out among the group members which gave them a sense of permanence and personal property, "pav[ing] the way for barter" (14). The idea of a medium of exchange was not just thought up by some intelligent individual, rather it was a solution to the problem of I-want-what-you-have (Taxay 15). They could have resorted to violence by just taking others property or belongings, but the communalism of these wanderers was still prevalent in their lifestyle. Barter or trade gave them a way to peacefully obtain others belongings. Money, a "medium which we use, by common consent, to pay for goods and services," evolved out of barter which "involves the consent of only the participants" (13). Items commonly used for barter, would eventually be accepted as money (14). Mexico
It seems the Aztecs had the most advanced trading going on around the 1400's. The Spanish soldier Bernal Diaz described the Aztec market "so large a market place and so full of people, and so well regulated and arranged, they [Spanish soldiers] had never beheld before" (Taxay 22). Among the Aztecs, cotton and cacao became stores of value because they were not found everywhere (29). Aztecs could not grow their own cotton because of the high elevation of their land, hence they had to import it (29). Cotton became valuable and could be used to purchase other items such as canoes or slaves (29). Feathers could also be woven and served as a medium of exchange for the rich (30). To the Spaniards, it seemed the Aztecs were a little too eager to trade away their gold for simple glass beads. The Spaniards did not know that their arriving was interpreted by the Indians as the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy; so the Indians though they were right by giving lavishly to the Spaniards. (Taxay 30-31). An Aztec on the first meeting of the Aztecs and Spaniards was quoted as saying that the Spaniards were "like monkeys" in their receiving of gold and that they "stuffed themselves with it, and starved and lusted for it like pigs" (32). There is evidence of gold discs used by the Aztecs as money and also golden animal shapes and jade beads and jade animal shapes. Not many artifacts survived this period because whatever gold the Spaniards received was melted down (34). Jade, also called chalchihuitl, was a precious stone comparable to the value we attribute to emeralds (Taxay 37). There were variations of the chalchihuitl, some had white stripes, some were transparent, but only the pure, "true" jade served as a currency (38). The Spaniards wanted to acquire as much jade and gold as possible to take back to King Charles but much of it was lost in battles with the Aztecs, and the greed of the Spaniards comprised much of the disappearance of the valuables. Among the Mayas, silver which was considered precious, was not used as currency, although, "copper and tin, in certain forms, passed as currency" (Taxay 41). Copper bells in various sizes served as currency while the size of the bell determined its value (41). There is a story of Spanish soldiers trading with the Indians whose goal was to get as much gold as possible. The Indians brought "highly polished copper axes" which the Spaniards thought were gold. The Spaniards acquired more than 600 axes. Later when these axes were presented to the Governor, they were all rusty at which point their true identity was revealed. Bernal Diaz said, "...there was a good laugh at us, and they made great fun of our trading" (44). The most common form of currency among the Mayas was the cacao bean. It was described by Cortes as "a fruit somewhat like almond....This fruit they sell ground, and it is so valued that it is used instead of money all over the country, in the market places and elsewhere" (Taxay 46). They accounted for the beans by counting them. For example, a rabbit could be purchased with 10 beans, and a slave for 100 beans (46). The people of these times were not immune to counterfeit money. There is a story of an Indian who "removed the kernel from each one, and then substituted dirt to compensate for the loss in weight" (47). The Spaniards caught on to this so they hired native counterfeit detectors who could identify a fake by squeezing the bean (47). California
In California, the form of money was different. They had reserves of silver which was represented by white clam or snail shells, and reserves of gold represented by golden-orange magnesite cylinder beads (Taxay 65). These beads were manufactured by the Chumash and Pomo Indians. The Pacific Coast Indians are known as being concerned with wealth and status. The beads, which were strung to certain lengths depending on value, were wrapped around the body and used as necklaces, headware, and armbands. To make the beads among the Chumash, they broke snail shells into pieces, drilled holes, strung them, and sanded then down (66). The value of the beads was measured in poncos, one ponco being "two turns from the wrist to the extended middle finger" (65). The value of the ponco depends also on how highly the beads are esteemed, the difference in fineness and color (65). The Pomo manufactured their beads similar to the Chumash, but the Pomo strung beads of similar size together. The Pomo also polished their beads to be shiny. They valued 160 beads at one dollar (Taxay 68). Another type of shell currency they used were called abalone. They were shells cut into oblong strips of one to two inches in length (Taxay 71). They were drilled at one end and hung as pendants, and were valued at about 25 cents each (71). Olivella was a tiny shell used as money by the Pomo Indians. These small shells were also strung and valued according to length. Dentalium, used by the Yurok Indians was a horn-shaped shell valued also on its length, and size of each shell. It was called allicotsik, meaning "Indians money" (77). With these shells, it was more valuable to have a small number of large shells than a large number of small shells. Northwest Coast
The Northwest coast Indians also used dentalium shells which were measured by the six-foot fathom (Taxay 88). These were known as hiaqua to the Indians of the Northwest (88). Eventually, though, dentalium began to be replaced by the blankets highly demanded by the Indians, and furs demanded by the Europeans (92). Blankets were what became the dominate medium of exchange between the Indians and Europeans (92). Because of the greed and materialistic ways of the Europeans, they managed to convince the Indians to trade away their most precious furs for cheap European commodities (92). One of the furs most demanded by the Europeans was the beaver pelt. They used beaver for hats and other various forms of clothing, but mostly the beaver pelt was a form of currency (Siegel 7-9). Other articles, such as blankets had values based on a certain number of beaver pelts. The Hudson Bay Co. issued copper and silver beaver-shaped tokens which were valued at one skin each (Taxay 93). This is comparable to our gold standard when money was based on the reserve of gold held by the Federal Government. Through extensive trading of beaver skins with the Europeans, the Indians accumulated a great many blankets. Tribes in Vancouver Island sold two hundred square miles for nine-hundred and fifty blankets (Taxay 97). Blankets could also be used as extensions of credit, where interest was usually charged at 100 percent (99). Another use of currency among the Pacific Northwest Indians were copper shields. These shields were usually given as gifts, where the receiver was inclined to give an even bigger shield in return to show wealth (Taxay 99). If no shield was given by the original receiver then he was inferior, and not wealthy (99). If these shields were used in a transaction as payment, then their value went down 50 percent (99). Counterfeits existed among these shields, and it was the Europeans crafting them. The counterfeit could be recognized by the sound it made when striked (103). The original Indian shields had a dull sound while the European counterfeits "rang" (103). Idaho, Montana, Wyoming
East of California, away from the coast and the water, there were less shells, although, they were still valuable. Clam-shell discs circulated down to Arizona, and the Navahos in Colorado used olivella shells (Taxay 104). Because these shells were scarce, their value was higher than on the west coast (104). The shells were used into the 19th century when they were gradually replaced by U.S. coins (104). A form of currency used among Shoshone, Bannock, and Crow tribes was elk's teeth, which were strung and worn by the women (106). In the late 19th century, gold dust was used; one pinch of gold dust equaled 25 cents (106). East Coast
Shell currencies were used on the East coast as well. Wampum, which is the English corruption of the word wampumpeage, is "a string of white shell beads" (Taxay 108). Before wampum, these beads were known as rawrenock or roanoke (107). Wampum could be all white, all purple, or a combination of both. The Iroquois Indians take credit for the invention of wampum (112). Besides being a currency, wampum was also used as messages. Beads would be arranged in a particular order to tell a story or to relay a message. Wampum beads were made from clam shells. Cylinder shaped pieces were broken from the shell and each piece was drilled. They were drilled by spinning a stone point on each end until a hole formed (Taxay 131). These were mostly made by the Nanticoke Indians (Weslager 26). The Indians measured the beads according to the length from the end of their middle finger to their elbow (Taxay 134). Since this was an arbitrary way to measure wampum, the New Englanders changed the value to six beads for a penny (134). In 1735, the Campbell family started a wampum minting company (Taxay 136). The Indians method of creating wampum took a lot of time and patience and the European method commercialized the whole process. The wampum made by the Europeans were longer than the Indian wampum because they were now measured by the length of the string and because "it took less time to make one long bead than three short ones" (143). These beads did not represent any kind of reserve of gold or silver, which is why too many could cause a depreciation of their value. It is interesting to compare their currency production to ours. While ours is closely regulated, they would produce as much as they could in one day. When Europeans came to Delaware, they traded with the Delaware, Minquas, and Nanticoke Indians, The Indians traded away acres of land for things they had never seen before, such as wool cloth, glass beads, guns, steel knives, axes, blankets, scissors, bells, and kettles (Weslager 25). The Europeans also traded alcohol with the Indians which the Indians did not appreciate because it made them act in ways for which they were later sorry (25). Beads were a common form of currency used all over the continent. Perhaps it was because of their portability. They could be wrapped around the body where they were readily available and where the wearer had a constant watch over them. They also served as jewelry. Columbus in 1492 gave the natives "...red caps and some strings of glass beads which they placed around their necks...(Taxay 146). Other Indians such as the Maidu and Nishiman tribes also wore shell currency as jewelry. Showing wealth was one other purpose. By displaying their currency, they let others know who was wealthy and who was not. Different tribes of Indians used different variations of currency, but their main purpose was to acquire something from somebody else without resorting to crime. Works Cited
Highwater, Jamake. Indian America. New York: David McKay Company, Inc., 1975.
Josephy Jr., Alvin M. The Indian Heritage of America. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1974.
Siegel, Beatrice. Fur Trappers and Traders. New York: Walker and Company, 1981.
Taxay, Don. Money of the American Indians. New York: Arco Publishing Company, Inc., 1970.
Weslager, C.A. A Brief Account of the Indians of Delaware. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1973.
Zumwalt, Rosemary Levy. Wealth and Rebellion. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1992.