History Of Money Flashcards
Did the San bushmen need money?
No, they were self-sufficient nomads, and met their own needs and wants.
What was the effect of the Khoikhoi people moving to Southern Africa about 2000 years ago?
They exposed the San to a different way of life. Some of the San worked for the Khoikhoi and they also intermarried.
How were the Khoikhoi different from the San in their lifestyle?
Khoikhoi were herders. Their cattle was a sign of wealth, and played an important part in their rituals and social life.
They only killed cattle for special occasions.
Who did the Khoikhoi trade with, and what for?
Europeans
Wants: alcohol, beads, copper
What effect did the trading have on the Khoikhoi?
They lost much of their wealth.
They then started to steal from the settlers, leading to many wars.
When did people start bartering?
Once the first farmers settled in Southern Africa.
What were the disadvantages of bartering?
Difficult to determine what is equivalent to each product
Difficult to find someone with what you want who is interested in what you have to offer
Time-consuming, as a result of the above
What did the disadvantages of bartering lead to?
The development of commodity money.
What is commodity money?
Certain items, like shells and cattle, that were used as a form of money during the trading process.
What factors affected the type of commodity money?
Location of community
Cultural standard of the people
Economic standard of the people
Where did people use Cowry shells as money?
Ancient China and Africa.
Where did people use skins and furs as commodity money?
Alaska and Siberia (cold places)
What is bride money?
Similar to lobola (cattle)
What changed commodity money to metallic money?
Discovery of precious metals like gold, silver, copper, bronze, etc
Why were promissory notes developed?
Before there were banks, people needed a way to keep their gold safe since it was too heavy to carry.
Merchants would look after the gold, and give the notes ‘promising’ gold in exchange for the gold.
