Trade centres · pre-1822 and continuing
Country cloth
Narrow-strip cotton woven on the men's horizontal loom, sewn into gowns and blankets — a currency and a mark of rank.
Biography
Cotton was grown, spun by women on the drop spindle, and woven by men on narrow horizontal treadle looms producing strips four to six inches wide. The strips were sewn edge to edge into cloths whose patterns identified the weaver's country.
Indigo, camwood and kola dyes gave blue, red and brown. A fine gown was a form of savings, a burial requirement, a chief's gift and a unit of account.
Historical significance
A textile industry with its own division of labour, technology and export market — visible in every inventory of pre-1822 wealth.
Timeline
- pre-1500Narrow-strip weaving established in the forest belt
- 17th c.Country cloth exported along the coast by European traders
- 19th c.Competes with imported European cloth
Related entries
References
- Johnston, Harry (1906). Liberia.
- Rodney, Walter (1970). A History of the Upper Guinea Coast.
Suggested reading
- Dunn, Beyan & Burrowes (2000), 'weaving'.