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Why Did the World Stop Using Cowrie Shells as Money? - The Global Journey of Cowrie Shell Money | Sleepy Facts About History
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For centuries, a small white shell harvested from the coral reefs of the Maldives sustained economic trust across Asia, Africa, and the Atlantic. Before the dominance of metal coinage and state-backed banknotes, these natural objects were counted, graded, and strung together to buy rice, pay laborers, and settle debts. But the same trade networks that expanded the reach of cowrie money eventually bound it to one of history’s most devastating enterprises: the Atlantic slave trade.
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