From Slave Trade to 'Legitimate' Commerce: The Commercial Transition in Nineteenth-Century West Africa

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511523861

This edited collection, written by eleven leading specialists, examines the nineteenth-century commercial transition in West Africa: the ending of the Atlantic slave trade and the development of alternative forms of 'legitimate' trade, mainly in vegetable products. Approaching the subject from an African, rather than a European or American, perspective, the case studies consider the effects of transition on the African societies involved. They offer significant insights into the history of pre-colonial Africa and the slave trade, the origins of European imperialism, and longer-term issues of economic development in Africa.

"The volume nicely marks the maturation in African historiography since Hopkins first raised the question inspiring it." Historian

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-vi
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Contents
pp vii-viii
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List of contributors
pp ix-x
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List of abbreviations
pp xi-xii
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Introduction
pp 1-31
- By Robin Law
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1 - The initial ‘crisis of adaptation’: the impact of British abolition on the Atlantic slave trade in West Africa, 1808–1820
pp 32-56
- By Paul E. Lovejoy, David Richardson
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2 - The West African palm oil trade in the nineteenth century and the ‘crisis of adaptation’
pp 57-77
- By Martin Lynn
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3 - The compatibility of the slave and palm oil trades in Dahomey, 1818–1858
pp 78-92
- By Elisée Soumonni
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4 - Between abolition and Jihad: the Asante response to the ending of the Atlantic slave trade, 1807–1896
pp 93-118
- By Gareth Austin
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5 - Plantations and labour in the south-east Gold Coast from the late eighteenth to the mid nineteenth century
pp 119-143
- By Raya Kea
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6 - Owners, slaves and the struggle for labour in the commercial transition at Lagos
pp 144-171
- By Kristin Mann
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7 - Slaves, Igbo women and palm oil in the nineteenth century
pp 172-194
- By Susan Martin
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8 - ‘Legitimate’ trade and gender relations in Yorubaland and Dahomey
pp 195-214
- By Robin Law
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9 - In search of a desert-edge perspective: the Sahara-Sahel and the Atlantic trade, c. 1815–1900
pp 215-239
- By E. Ann McDougall
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10 - The ‘New International Economic Order’ in the nineteenth century: Britain's first Development Plan for Africa
pp 240-264
- By A. G. Hopkins
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Appendix The ‘crisis of adaptation’: a bibliography
pp 265-271
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Index
pp 272-279
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From Slave Trade to 'Legitimate' Commerce

The Commercial Transition in Nineteenth-Century West Africa

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-vi

Contents
pp vii-viii

List of contributors
pp ix-x

List of abbreviations
pp xi-xii

Introduction
pp 1-31

1 - The initial ‘crisis of adaptation’: the impact of British abolition on the Atlantic slave trade in West Africa, 1808–1820
pp 32-56

2 - The West African palm oil trade in the nineteenth century and the ‘crisis of adaptation’
pp 57-77

3 - The compatibility of the slave and palm oil trades in Dahomey, 1818–1858
pp 78-92

4 - Between abolition and Jihad: the Asante response to the ending of the Atlantic slave trade, 1807–1896
pp 93-118

5 - Plantations and labour in the south-east Gold Coast from the late eighteenth to the mid nineteenth century
pp 119-143

6 - Owners, slaves and the struggle for labour in the commercial transition at Lagos
pp 144-171

7 - Slaves, Igbo women and palm oil in the nineteenth century
pp 172-194

8 - ‘Legitimate’ trade and gender relations in Yorubaland and Dahomey
pp 195-214

9 - In search of a desert-edge perspective: the Sahara-Sahel and the Atlantic trade, c. 1815–1900
pp 215-239

10 - The ‘New International Economic Order’ in the nineteenth century: Britain's first Development Plan for Africa
pp 240-264

Appendix The ‘crisis of adaptation’: a bibliography
pp 265-271

Index
pp 272-279

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From Slave Trade to 'Legitimate' Commerce

The Commercial Transition in Nineteenth-Century West Africa

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