O’Keefe and the stone money of Yap
An Irish captain gets rich shipping stone money
In 1871 the Irish-American David O’Keefe washed up on Yap. He began shipping huge stone discs, Yap’s money, from Palau on his own vessel, was paid in copra, and became known as the island’s “king”.
Wikipedia (English) · 19th century
Did you know
On Yap, money takes the form of stone discs up to 3.6 m across. They are not moved; only ownership changes. One sank in transit, yet it kept being used for payment: everyone knew it was there on the seabed. Share →
The Irish captain David O’Keefe got rich as a money carrier, for stone money. He shipped huge discs from Palau to Yap, took payment in copra and became known as “King of Yap”; Hollywood later made a film about him. Share →
Meanwhile around the world (±25 years)
Europe
- 1861 Unification of Italy — 10 years earlier
- 1871 Unification of Germany — same year
- 1871 Paris Commune — same year
- 1886 Benz's first automobile — 15 years later
- 1889 Eiffel Tower — 18 years later
Eastern Europe & Russia
- 1861 Emancipation of the serfs in Russia — 10 years earlier
- 1864 End of the Caucasian War and the Circassian expulsion — 7 years earlier
- 1867 Alaska Purchase — 4 years earlier
- 1869 Tolstoy's War and Peace — 2 years earlier
- 1877 Premiere of Swan Lake — 6 years later
Middle East
- 1876–1878 The first Ottoman constitution — 5 years later
Africa
- 1869 Opening of the Suez Canal — 2 years earlier
- 1879 Battle of Isandlwana — 8 years later
- 1885 The Mahdists take Khartoum — 14 years later
- 1885–1908 The Congo Free State — 14 years later
- 1886 The Witwatersrand Gold Rush — 15 years later
Asia
- 1853–1854 Commodore Perry's Black Ships — 18 years earlier
- 1868 Meiji Restoration — 3 years earlier
- 1876–1878 Great Famine in India — 5 years later
- 1883 Eruption of Krakatoa — 12 years later
- 1885 Founding of the Indian National Congress — 14 years later
Americas
- 1865 Assassination of Abraham Lincoln — 6 years earlier
- 1867 Canadian Confederation — 4 years earlier
- 1869 First transcontinental railroad — 2 years earlier
- 1876 Invention of the telephone — 5 years later
- 1879 Edison's incandescent lamp — 8 years later
Alive at the time
- Charles Darwin (aged 62)
- Karl Marx (aged 53)
- Queen Victoria (aged 52)
- Fyodor Dostoevsky (aged 50)
- Leo Tolstoy (aged 43)
- Dmitri Mendeleev (aged 37)
- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (aged 31)
- Thomas Edison (aged 24)
- Vincent van Gogh (aged 18)
- Nikola Tesla (aged 15)