What was the currency of King Henri I?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
February 28, 2003
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killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
Suggested Reading: Click here.
The bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standley) had a myriad of uses in human history, evidence the thousands of containers humans use today. People have always needed 'stuff' in which to put their 'stuff'. The gourd was ready-made.
The genus, Lagenaria, was taken from the Greek, lagynos, meaning a flagon or flask. The specific epithet, siceraria, came from the Latin, sicera, taken the Greek, sikera, meaning a spirituous drink. The Greek word came from the Hebrew, shekar, a fermented liquor.
derivation of cider, juice pressed from fruit and often fermented.
The 1889 Century Unabridged Dictionary traces the common name, gourd, from the Middle English/Old French, gourde, which is believed a contraction of gouhourde or cougourde. The names are equivalent to the Middle High German, kürbez, the Swedish, kurbits, and the Italian, cucuzza. All are considered derived from the Latin, cucurbita.
In the 1800s, the Franco-American slang for a dollar was gourde. The term was used in Louisiana, Cuba, and Haiti; the Haitian dollar is still called the gourde. The Century Unabridged gives the derivation as the feminine of the French, gourd, meaning numb, slow, heavy, and dull. This gourd is a derivation of the Latin, gurdus, a dolt or numbskull.
But another explanation for the Haitian gourde states that in 1811 (the early days of the Haitian Republic) Henri Christophe, ex-slave and governor of Haiti, declared himself King Henri I. Henri's rule was distinguished by ludicrous magnificence and compulsory peasant labor since slavery had been abolished. Henri sent his military around the countryside collecting all the peasants' gourds. The king demanded the peasants bring in a harvest of coffee beans. The coffee was sold to Europe for gold and the peasants were paid. In gourds!
BankNotes has scanned images of Haitian bills or "gourdes". To view the images, click on the link: http://www.banknotes.com/ht.htm
Select the scan from the "image" column.
Series: | 1 | | 2 | | 3 | | 4 | | 5 |
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
Suggested Reading:
Calabash Tree (Crescentia cujete) Plant of the Week - January 31, 2005
Bitter Melon (Momordica charantia) Plant of the Week - September 27, 2004
What fruit crop may pre-date agriculture? Plants that Changed History - February 25, 2003
How did gourds end up in Peru? Weird Plants - February 27, 2003
What is the origin of coffee? What's in a Name? - December 20, 2002
What does café mean? Plants that Changed History - December 17, 2002
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