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An Economic Rationale for the West African Scramble? The Commercial Transition and the Commodity Price Boom of 1835–1885

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  • Frankema, Ewout
  • Williamson, Jeffrey
  • Woltjer, Pieter

Abstract

We use a new trade dataset showing that nineteenth century sub-Saharan Africa experienced a terms of trade boom comparable to other parts of the “global periphery.” A sharp rise in export prices in the five decades before the scramble (1835–1885) was followed by an equally impressive decline during the colonial era. This study revises the view that the scramble for West Africa occurred when its major export markets were in decline and argues that the larger weight of West Africa in French imperial trade strengthened the rationale for French instead of British initiative in the conquest of the interior.

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  • Frankema, Ewout & Williamson, Jeffrey & Woltjer, Pieter, 2018. "An Economic Rationale for the West African Scramble? The Commercial Transition and the Commodity Price Boom of 1835–1885," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 78(1), pages 231-267, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:78:y:2018:i:01:p:231-267_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Bolt, Jutta & Gardner, Leigh, 2020. "How Africans Shaped British Colonial Institutions: Evidence from Local Taxation," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 80(4), pages 1189-1223, December.
    2. Federico Tadei, 2022. "Colonizer identity and trade in Africa: Were the British more favourable to free trade?," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(2), pages 561-578, May.
    3. Ellen Hillbom & Jutta Bolt & Michiel de Haas & Federico Tadei, 2024. "Income inequality and export‐oriented commercialization in colonial Africa: Evidence from six countries," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 77(3), pages 975-1004, August.
    4. Selhausen, Felix Meier zu & Weisdorf, Jacob, 2024. "Gender Inequality and the Colonial Economy: Evidence from Anglican Marriage Registers in Urban British Africa," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 711, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    5. Adeel Malik & Rinchan Ali Mirza & Faiz Ur Rehman, 2023. "Frontier governmentality," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2023-42, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    6. Broadberry, Stephen & Gardner, Leigh, 2022. "Economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1885–2008: Evidence from eight countries," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    7. Roessler, Philip & Pengl, Yannick I. & Marty, Robert & Titlow, Kyle Sorlie & van de Walle, Nicolas, 2022. "The cash crop revolution, colonialism and economic reorganization in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    8. Broadberry, Stephen & Gardner, Leigh, 2019. "Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1885-2008," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 425, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    9. Vibeke Bjornlund & Henning Bjornlund & André Rooyen, 2022. "Why food insecurity persists in sub-Saharan Africa: A review of existing evidence," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(4), pages 845-864, August.
    10. Nogues, Julio, 2020. "Europa, el comercio de esclavos y el subdesarrollo de África [European slave trade and Africa's underdevelopment]," MPRA Paper 102398, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Stephen Broadberry & Leigh Gardner, 2019. "Economic Growth In Sub-Saharan Africa, 1885-2008," Oxford Economic and Social History Working Papers _169, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    12. Remi Jedwab & Felix Meier zu Selhausen & Alexander Moradi, 2022. "The economics of missionary expansion: evidence from Africa and implications for development," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 149-192, June.
    13. Johan Fourie & Nonso Obikili, 2019. "Decolonizing with data: The cliometric turn in African economic history," Working Papers 02/2019, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    14. Bolt, Jutta & Gardner, Leigh, 2019. "African institutions under colonial rule," CEPR Discussion Papers 14198, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    15. Philip Roessler & Yannick I Pengi & Robert Marty & Kyle Sorlie Titlow & Nicolas Van de Walle, 2020. "The Cash Crop Revolution, Colonialism and Legacies of Spatial Inequality: Evidence from Africa," CSAE Working Paper Series 2020-12, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    16. Aslanidis, Nektarios & Martínez Ibáñez, Oscar & Tadei, Federico, 2020. "The Integration of West Africa in the Global Economy, 1842-1938," Working Papers 2072/417678, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Department of Economics.
    17. Gardner, Leigh, 2022. "The collapse of the gold standard in Africa: money and colonialism in the interwar period," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 116665, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

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