Chintz

In the 17th century, Dutch, French and English trading companies started importing 'chintz'. Chintz is a colourful, flowery cotton fabric from India, which was previously unknown in Europe. It soon became so popular that European wool and silk weavers felt threatened. Especially since chintz was not only colour-fast and washable, but also cheaper than the expensive silk fabrics. France and England banned its import and use, but this could not prevent chintz from leaving its mark on European fashion and paving the way for European cotton printing.

However, chintz also had a dark side. It also appealed to the local leaders on Africa's west coast. There, European powers had built trading posts along the route to Asia, among others in Senegal, Ghana and Benin. The local leaders went into the inner-country to hunt for people they could enslave. At the trading posts, they traded them for chintz from India, among others. The enslaved people were then transported to the American colonies. There they were forced to work on the sugar, tobacco and indigo plantations.