Stamp Story, No. 21 Gourds As Money

Press, Volume C, Issue 29506, 6 May 1961, Page 8

Stamp Story, No. 21 Gourds As Money

(By KEN ANTHONY]

GOURD is a large tropical melon-like fruit, useful not only for eating but also for its rind, which is tough enough to serve as a bottle or kitchen utensil But how is it that the value of this stamp from Haiti, in the West Indies, is shown as one gourd? Haiti’s currency of “gourdes” and “centimes de gourde” must surely have the strangest history of any in the world. It goes back to the time of the French Revolution, when Haiti was a French colony. Following the example of the home country, the bulk of the population—the negro slaves—revolted against the French settlers, who were either slaughtered or driven out of the country. In the end Henri Christophe, who had been a slave himself, gained power. At first he was satisfied with the title of president, but in 1812 he had himself crowned King of Haiti. Unfortunately, the departure of the French also meant the end of prosperity. French currency was worthless. Suddenly it occurred to Christophe to commandeer all stocks of gouds, put them in his “treasury.” and use them as currency against

the produce of the plantations. The fantastic idea worked. Starvation was avoided and Haiti gradually recovered from the years of upheaval. But in spite of his capable rule. King Christophe soon lost support because of his cruelty. Nowhere was this more dramatically shown than in the construction of his citadel, 3000 feet up in the mountains, which is illustrated on the stamp. The King did not hesitate to shoot any slaves who did not work quickly enough to satisfy him, and it has been estimated that between 10,000 and 20,000 lives were lost during the building. The King’s reign came to an inglorious end in 1820 His troops mutinied, and he shot himself rather than fall into their hands. But to this day, in memory of a unique episode of history, the principal unit of Haiti’s currency is known as the gourde.—(Central Press Feature, Ltd. All rights reserved).