9 Stuivers – Curaçao

In 1799, Curaçao found itself in a state of severe economic and monetary distress, a direct consequence of the wider Atlantic turmoil of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. As a Dutch colony, its fortunes were tied to the Netherlands, which had been invaded by France in 1795, leading to the establishment of the French-satellite Batavian Republic. This political upheaval severed Curaçao's reliable financial and administrative links to Amsterdam, crippling trade and cutting off the supply of official coinage. The island's economy, heavily dependent on its role as an entrepôt and its Willemstad harbor, stagnated under the British naval blockade, which aimed to isolate French and Dutch territories.

The currency situation on the island became chaotic and inflationary. With official coins (Spanish pieces of eight, Dutch ducats) hoarded or scarce, a proliferation of low-value, often debased foreign coins and crude local tokens flooded the market to facilitate small daily transactions. Most significantly, the colonial government resorted to issuing paper money, known as "receipts" or negotiepenningen, to pay its bills and soldiers. This paper was not backed by specie (precious metal) and was essentially a fiat currency born of necessity. Public confidence in this paper was low, and it rapidly depreciated, leading to a disconnect between official prices and actual market value.

This monetary crisis exacerbated social tensions in a society built on slavery and stark racial hierarchies. The declining value of money hurt wage laborers, soldiers, and small traders, while the wealthy protected their assets in tangible goods or stable foreign coin. The instability contributed to the broader social unrest that culminated in the major slave uprising of 1799, led by Tula. Thus, the currency situation of 1799 was not merely an economic issue but a key symptom of the colony's political isolation and a contributing factor to the profound social upheaval that threatened Dutch authority on the island.