Paper Instruments in Early African Economies and the Debated Role of the Suftaja

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3631301
AutoresGhislaine Lydon (autor de correspondencia)
Año2019
Volumen236
Número236
Páginas1091-1118
Fecha de publicación2019-12-05
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaCahiers d études africaines (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0008-0055 • E-ISSN: 1777-5353
EditorialOpenEdition (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.4000/etudesafricaines.27569
OpenAlexW2990602874
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas35

This article provides a longitudinal reflection on the institutional history of African economies from the earliest times until the 1300s. It examines paper instruments or documents that facilitated exchange and the delegation of obligations, property and capital. The essay analyses the evidence from Pharaonic Egypt to medieval Northwest Africa, with a focus on paper instruments used in long-distance financial transfers. Medieval Muslim legal scholars described and oftentimes rigorously debated the nature of written contracts, including those used in finance. Based on a manuscript composed by a legal scholar from Mauritania, I examine Islamic debates concerning the lawfulness of the suftaja, a form of long-distance payment or check. By reviewing the history of early paper economies, this essay seeks to highlight the contributions of African societies to world economic history

Ancient history · Capital (architecture) · Delegation · Economics · Economy · Islam · Negotiable instrument · Political science · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies · History · Islamic Finance and Banking Studies · Islamic Studies and History · Law