The currency of power and pain
Unpacking the materialistic content of commodities in the Gold Coast transatlantic slave trade, c. 1650–1900
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22433926 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Peter Amoako (0009-0000-6611-0841, Durban University of Technology), Folasayo Enoch Olalere (0000-0003-1083-7907, Durban University of Technology, corresponding author), Richard Acquaye (0000-0003-4986-4670, Takoradi Technical University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2026-12-31 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Cogent Arts and Humanities (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2331-1983 • E-ISSN: 2331-1983 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/23311983.2026.2689289 |
| OpenAlex | W7168035864 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 43 |
This article aims to unpack and analyse the historical manifestations of slavery and the material content of commodities employed during the transatlantic slave trade in the Gold Coast, Ghana, from around 1650–1900. The exchange commodities were not simply economic tools; they held significant ‘materialistic content’ that actively influenced and mirrored the social, political, and cultural contexts of selected Ghanaian communities. The analysis includes reminiscing about the historical manifestation of the slave trade in Ghana, focusing on various imported and exported goods/items. This study utilises document review and interviews through a material culture theoretical framework to examine how Ghanaian scholars actively interpreted, contested, and assigned meaning to these commodities. The findings confirmed that the historical narratives of the transatlantic slave trade serve as a significant testament to the deep inequalities and the reflective suffering endured by millions of people in Ghana. Furthermore, the article indicates that the materialistic aspects of these commodities had a substantial impact on social stratification, political power dynamics, and local industries, while being closely associated with the harsh realities of enslavement. It also highlights the intricate exchanges between the European traders and Ghanaian traditional rulers, where a variety of commodities were exchanged for individuals.
Currency · Gold coast · Materialism · Unpacking · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies · Historical Economic and Social Studies
The Atlantic Slave Trade
Commodities and the politics of value
Atlantic Cataclysm
Systematic Synthesis of Qualitative Research
The Long-Term Effects of Africa's Slave Trades
The cultural biography of things
Way of Death
English Versus Indian Cotton Textiles
Gold Coast Diasporas
Indigenous Gold Mining in Southern Africa
Archaeology of Historic Kormantse and the Colonial Trans-Atlantic Encounter
The tools of tailoring as technologies-in-use in twentieth century Benin, West Africa
The ‘bullets to water’ belief complex
Race and policing in historical context
The Transatlantic Slave Trade and Social Stratification on the Gold Coast
The Objects of Life in Central Africa
The business of barter on the pre-colonial Gold Coast
A long Atlantic in a wider world
Rum, Gin and Maize
What Africans Got for Their Slaves
The Man That Was a Thing
Pawnship, Debt, and ‘Freedom’ in Atlantic Africa During the Era of the Slave Trade
A Microcosm of Why Africans sold Slaves
Voyage Iron
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Alcohol Diplomacy, Gender and Power in the Late Seventeenth-Century Gold Coast Slaving Complex
Global commodities
Shipboard Revolts, African Authority, and the Atlantic Slave Trade
Chronicles From the Classroom
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |