reconnecting

When we talk about colonial imports during the slave trade, we often talk about sugar, coffee, tobacco and cotton. Silver - the metal - is rarely mentioned. Extracted from the mines of "Spanish America" (Bolivia, Mexico, Guatemala and Peru), silver was then traded to French merchants and shipowners. It was at the corner of the Place du Bouffay - where the mint once stood, renamed the Rue de l'Ancienne-Monnaie after it was demolished in 1820 - that the silver was converted into French currency. This little-known story of how France became richer in silver is nonetheless crucial to understanding the mechanisms of international trade at the time. Talking about the arrival of silver during the period of the slave trade allows us to look beyond the individual responsibilities of shipowners and to consider the responsibility of the State and its mercantile logic, which also influenced the thinking of Colbert, the author of the famous "Code Noir".

Pour aller plus loin:

Gildas Salaün, «Traite des Noirs pour métal blanc», Monnaie Magazine [Online], 2018.