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Brass manilla recovered in c.1979 from the wreck of the DOURO at Round Rock, Western Rocks, Scilly Isles. The wreck is well recorded in contemporary accounts as having occurred on 28 January 1843 on a voyage from Liverpool to Oporto, the vessel being a snow of 219 tons built in Sunderland.

The manilla would have been loaded for export in Liverpool, and is almost certainly British-manufactured. In this period Welsh smelters overwhelmingly dominated the UK copper industry, so the copper that with zinc makes up the brass was very likely Welsh-smelted. In earlier periods manillas had been a significant product of both the north Wales and south Wales copper and brass industries, and these examples are wholly typical and representative.

Brass manilla recovered in c.1979, possibly from the wreck of the DOURO in the Scilly Isles. The ship wrecked in 1843 on a voyage from Liverpool to Oporto, the vessel being a snow of 219 tons built in Sunderland.

Manillas were used as currency in the transatlantic trade in enslaved African people, where enslaved people were traded for between 10 and 60 manillas. Manillas are also known as okpogho, ejemma, igbiki and kpugi.

They were sometimes worn in African communities as body decoration, such as along the coast between modern-day Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire. Europeans later produced manillas to trade for enslaved African people and they became a form of currency. This currency was used in parts of West Africa until it was demonetised in 1948, though manillas were still used sporadically as currency in some local communities until the 1960s.

It’s likely the copper in this manilla was smelted in Wales - a process involving heating and melting ore to obtain the metal it contains - then alloyed with zinc to create brass. This manilla was likely produced in England, however in earlier periods, manillas had been a significant product of both the north Wales and south Wales copper and brass industries. Many of the manillas in this collection have barnacles and some have a green colour, caused by corrosion of the copper during its long period at the bottom of the sea.

Britain had abolished slavery in 1807, however other countries such as Brazil, Cuba and the USA continued to use enslaved people for labour. It’s likely that this manilla was produced in Britain for use in Portugal’s trade in enslaved people, demonstrating that despite abolition, Britain continued to play a role in the trade.

[Description developed in collaboration with members of Chai & Chat (Swansea CVS), July 2024]