History·28 February 2026·4 min read
Manillas — the bracelets that were money in Africa
Horseshoe-shaped metal rings were money in West Africa for centuries — and the currency of the slave trade.
Manillas were bronze or copper bracelets, horseshoe-shaped, used as money in West Africa. Europeans mass-produced them to buy goods — and, tragically, people.
A currency with a heavy history
The manilla circulated as money into the 20th century, when it was officially withdrawn. It's a reminder that money is not neutral: it served both trade and some of history's darkest chapters.
