XVIIIᵉ siècle – XIXᵉ siècle
Lake Kivu and Rwanda
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Lake Kivu trade circuit was a regional network connecting markets along Lake Kivu, Ijwi Island, Butembo, and Rwanda. Its exchanges included cattle, foodstuffs, and other goods, supported in the nineteenth century by the circulation of Butembo’s woven butega bracelets as a currency-like medium. The circuit formed part of the wider commercial integration of the western Great Lakes region.
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Le récit
Lake Kivu supported a commercial circuit linking markets on its littoral, the island of Ijwi, Butembo to the west, and communities in Rwanda. The network depended on differences in production between neighbouring zones. Cattle, foodstuffs, and other goods moved through a series of exchanges that connected producers and consumers over a broad regional area.
Butembo’s woven bracelets provided the circuit with an increasingly important medium of exchange. Known as butega, these objects circulated widely by the second half of the nineteenth century and acquired currency-like characteristics. Their use helped marketeers in Ijwi and manufacturers in Butembo participate in exchanges extending across Kivu and Rwanda.
The circuit was not merely a commercial channel detached from production. Its operation may have stimulated production throughout the region by making it easier to exchange food, livestock, and other goods. It also complemented the inter-zonal exchanges that helped offset fragile agriculture in the western Lakes Plateau.
XVIIIᵉ siècle – XIXᵉ siècle
Lake Kivu and Rwanda
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Lake Kivu trade circuit was a regional network connecting markets along Lake Kivu, Ijwi Island, Butembo, and Rwanda. Its exchanges included cattle, foodstuffs, and other goods, supported in the nineteenth century by the circulation of Butembo’s woven butega bracelets as a currency-like medium. The circuit formed part of the wider commercial integration of the western Great Lakes region.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
Lake Kivu supported a commercial circuit linking markets on its littoral, the island of Ijwi, Butembo to the west, and communities in Rwanda. The network depended on differences in production between neighbouring zones. Cattle, foodstuffs, and other goods moved through a series of exchanges that connected producers and consumers over a broad regional area.
Butembo’s woven bracelets provided the circuit with an increasingly important medium of exchange. Known as butega, these objects circulated widely by the second half of the nineteenth century and acquired currency-like characteristics. Their use helped marketeers in Ijwi and manufacturers in Butembo participate in exchanges extending across Kivu and Rwanda.
The circuit was not merely a commercial channel detached from production. Its operation may have stimulated production throughout the region by making it easier to exchange food, livestock, and other goods. It also complemented the inter-zonal exchanges that helped offset fragile agriculture in the western Lakes Plateau.
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