Introduction

Although the focus is on the Yoruba, one of the major ethnic groups in West Africa, the theme of this book is broadly conceived in African financial institutions. This is easily one of the fastest-growing fields in African economic history in recent decades. Money, monetary policies, the main currency types, and the socioeconomic and political impact of money on the major currency zones of North and West Africa are being studied; and so are the rotating savings and credit systems (ROSCAs), which serve principally as banking institutions in many parts of precolonial Africa.