Legal Definitions - wampum

Wampum refers to a historical form of currency and ceremonial item used by various Indigenous peoples of North America, particularly in the northeastern regions, and later adopted by early European colonists. It typically consisted of polished shells, beads made from shells (often white or purple), or sometimes animal pelts. For a period in the 17th century, wampum was officially recognized and used as a medium of exchange in the New England colonies, especially for smaller transactions, before the widespread introduction of metallic coinage.

• Imagine a settler in 1640 Massachusetts Bay Colony needing to purchase a new deerskin cloak from a local Native American trader. Instead of English coins, which were scarce, the settler might offer a string of carefully crafted shell beads, known as wampum, as payment. This illustrates wampum's role as a recognized form of currency for trade between different communities, facilitating commerce when other forms of money were not readily available.

• Consider a colonial farmer in the 1640s who hired a neighbor to help repair a fence. Lacking small denomination English coins, the farmer could compensate the neighbor with a small quantity of wampum beads. This demonstrates how wampum served as a practical medium of exchange for everyday services and small transactions among the colonists themselves, filling a void left by the scarcity of official metallic currency.

• During a bustling market day in a nascent colonial town, a baker might sell a loaf of bread or a small quantity of flour. A customer, rather than using a rare silver shilling, could pay for these modest purchases with several pieces of wampum. This highlights wampum's function as a common, accessible form of payment for everyday goods when other forms of currency were not readily available.