Imperial money and the making of currency hierarchies : evidence from Nigeria
- Title
- Imperial money and the making of currency hierarchies : evidence from Nigeria
- Publication type
- Article
- Author(s)
- Coburger, Carla
- Year
- 2026
- Abstract
- The contemporary currency hierarchy is neither natural nor neutral: It’s an imperial construct. This paper traces the origins of today’s currency hierarchy back to the violent imposition of imperial money. Through a longue durée analysis of Nigeria (1861–1960), this paper demonstrates how British imperialism dismantled pre-colonial monetary plurality and imposed Sterling, institutionalised in 1912 via the West African Currency Board (WACB), an institution requiring 100% Sterling reserves. Archival evidence reveals three mechanisms to establish imperial money: (1) legal demonetisation of pre-colonial currencies; (2) overvalued Sterling distorting domestic prices; (3) tax collection and wage payment. These processes restructured labour and production across the colonised regions, birthing a disarticulated economy, where Nigeria exported raw materials and cash-cropss but relied on imports for basic needs - a template replicated globally then and now. Key findings include first, how imperial money’s monopoly relied on violent demonetization; second, the WACB’s reserves prefigured modern foreign exchange traps; and last, people have continuously resisted to preserve monetary sovereignty. By reframing currency hierarchies as products of imperial extraction, the study challenges IPE’s presentist focus and charts a path for decolonial monetary alternatives.
- Language
- English
- Journal
- Review of International Political Economy
- volume
- 33
- issue
- 1
- Page start
- 98
- Page end
- 130
- Source ID (eref-/epub-)
- eref-96937
- Repository URL
- https://eref.uni-bayreuth.de/id/eprint/96937/
- ISSN
- 1466-4526
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