Gold, Currency and Stamps: The Rejected Plans for a State and Public Bank in Early Colonial Zimbabwe (1896–1907)

The chapter examines the process of establishing a colonial monetary system. In particular, it looks at how the Legislative Council (Leg.Co) of colonial Zimbabwe (Southern Rhodesia) attempted to pass an ordinance to regulate banking and note issue between 1899 and 1907. The study considers the ways that colonial money was intrusive, displaced indigenous exchange traditions and incorporated African colonies into Britain’s sterling area and international gold standard system. But, as the experiences of early Southern Rhodesia illustrate, the sterling system was imperfect when imposed in the colonies. It was challenged by the indigenous people and settler community. While the narrative of colonial resistance against imperial designs has predominantly focused on African struggles, the use of money in Southern Rhodesia reveals how it became a site of struggle for white settlers seeking autonomy from Britain. This chapter traces the fault lines between early settler colonial experiences and demands that conflicted with British imperial interests, examining to what extent the disconnect informed colonial economic development and local white obduracy. It also demonstrates the limits of colonial authority in the face of British imperialism.