Endogenous processes of colonial settlement. the success and failure of european settler farming in sub-saharan africa

Ewout Frankema*, Erik Green, Ellen Hillbom

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper comments on studies that aim to quantify the long-term economic effects of historical European settlement across the globe. We argue for the need to properly conceptualise «colonial settlement» as an endogenous development process shaped by the interaction between prospective settlers and indigenous peoples. We conduct three comparative case studies in West, East and Southern Africa, showing that the «success» or «failure» of colonial settlement critically depended on colonial government policies arranging European farmer’s access to local land, but above all, local labour resources. These policies were shaped by the clashing interests of African farmers and European planters, in which colonial governments did not necessarily, and certainly not consistently, abide to settler demands, as is often assumed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)237-265
JournalRevista de Historia Economica - Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History
Volume34
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016

Keywords

  • cash-crop production
  • colonial history
  • settler farming
  • Sub-Saharan Africa

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