When slavery was abolished in the Dutch Antilles on July 1, 1863, one of the significant means of exchange that became a relic was the blue beads given as remuneration to the enslaved.
Except for the memories they evoked among slave owners and freed slaves, the blue beads were no longer valuable. While slave owners left vast quantities of blue beads to rot in warehouses or abandoned what they had, freed slaves decided to take a different approach to their separation from them.
According to uncommoncaribbean.com, on the day that the slave trade was abolished, the enslaved on the Caribbean island decided to throw the very object that bound them over the cliffs into the sea to symbolize their freedom. It represented their liberation from the chains and whips that held them captive.
The blue beads date back to the 17th century, when the Dutch West India Company used them as a form of payment. It was the method of payment for enslaved labor in St. Eurasia.
That’s why when the slave trade was repealed, the freed slaves on the Island assembled and each one removed their chains of blue beads and gave them to sea waters to jubilate over their newfound freedom.
According to Scuba Qua, after Christopher Columbus discovered the island in 1493, St. Eurasia became an important slave trade hub for the British, French, and Dutch. The first slaves were brought to the island in the 1600s to work on cotton, sugar, and tobacco plantations. As a result, the region attracted the shipping of thousands of slaves, whose labor became critical to European economic growth.
This gave rise to the use of blue beads in the purchase of slaves and as a reward for their labor. The beads were made in factories and, in some cases, by hand in the Netherlands.
Misha Spanner, a Statia blue bead expert with the St. Eustatius Historical Foundation, stated that Venice also played an important role in the manufacture of the blue beads. The blue beads were known by many names, including Slave Beads, Trade Beads, and African Beads, because slave owners used them to pay their slaves. Slaves, in turn, used these beads to trade, marry, and purchase their freedom when necessary.
The number of beads a slave wore indicated his status and importance on a plantation. Before being granted the freedom to marry, a slave must have enough beads to wrap around their waist.
According to historical documents, this practice was not limited to the Caribbean, but some European sailors used them as currency when purchasing slaves in Africa. Because of Statia’s importance as a slave hub, currency as a mode of transaction was recognized in the slave trade during the 17th and 18th centuries. The authorities in charge used warehouses as banks, storing the blue beads and distributing them to those who needed them for transactions.
This explains why blue beads are so common on the coast of St. Eustatius, even for first-time visitors. People believe that the blue beads guide them to the people they want to see.
In recent years, the beads have acquired a commercial value, with locals designing them in a variety of colors ranging from red, purple, and black to sell to tourists.