Roger Williams’s Wallet
This leather wallet belonged to Roger Williams (1603-1683) around the year 1664. In the 17th century, wallets were used to store paper items, including letters, diaries and other documents, unlike today’s wallets which mainly hold money. The wallet is currently on view at The Charter Museum at the Rhode Island State House (on loan from the Newport Historical Society).
Close Looking Questions:
What do you notice first? Do you see any colors or markings?
How would someone have used this object?
What might this object tell us about the person who owned it?
Wampum: The King of Currency
Essay by Ann Daly, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of History, Mississippi State University
Roger Williams owned a small leather purse called a wallet. It was closed with a leather strap. Inside, there was a piece of paper that said, “Roger Williams his Book 1644.” In the 1600s, wallets were not mainly used for holding money like they are today. Back then, money was made of metal, not paper. It came in the form of coins made of copper, silver, and gold. The value of the coin was based on the metal it was made of.
Williams likely used his wallet for things like paper money, letters, small books, a diary, or daybook, and maybe even wampum, which is explained below.
In the English colonies, there wasn’t much gold and silver money, so people traded with other goods. Native people did not value gold and silver coins the same way Europeans did, so coins were not useful for trading with them. Instead, colonists and Native people traded food and goods with each other. They also used something called wampum as a form of money. The Narragansett people made wampum from quahog shells found in Narragansett Bay. They carved the shells into small, shiny, purple and white beads and put them on strings. They made wide belts, capes, and aprons with these beads. Before Europeans arrived, Native people valued wampum for its spiritual meaning. Its shiny surface was sacred, like a window into the soul. They used it as a gift, to show social status, and to make political alliances.
As Europeans traded with Native people, wampum became valuable as a form of money. It was a medium of exchange that both colonists and Native people accepted. Wampum became money because both groups agreed on its value, not because it changed the meaning of a sacred object.
As wampum became important for trade, some Native people settled in permanent villages near quahog shells to make more wampum. This harmed the environment in Narragansett Bay. The natural resources were overused, and clam populations declined.
Terms:
Wampum: A type of “money” made by Native Americans from clamshell beads
Quahog: Hard clam native to eastern North America
Reading Comprehension Questions:
1) How was money different in colonial Rhode Island than it is today?
2) What made wampum so valuable to Native Americans?
3) How did the increased use of wampum impact the environment?