Commerce and Economic Change in West Africa: The Palm Oil Trade in the Nineteenth Century

by Martin Lynn

Overview

A key theme in the West African trading system of the nineteenth century is the transition from the slave trade to "legitimate" commerce, and its significance for the African societies of the region. In this period of transition, trade in palm oil was at the core of relations between Britain and West Africa in the nineteenth century, and of immense importance to the economies of large parts of West Africa. Filling a major gap in the literature, Martin Lynn's authoritative study of the trade covers the whole of this critical period for all of West Africa.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521590747
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	12/11/1997
Series:	African Studies , #93
Pages:	290
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.98(d)

Table of Contents

Introduction; Part I. The Development of the Palm Oil Trade in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century: 1. The West African trade in transition; 2. African producers and palm oil production; 3. African brokers and the growth of the palm oil trade; 4. British traders, British ports, and the expansion of the palm oil trade; Part II. Restructuring of the Palm Products Trade in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century: 5. Technological change, the British market, and African producers; 6. British traders and the restructuring of the palm products trade; 7. African brokers and the struggle for the palm products trade; 8. The coming of colonial rule and the ending of legitimate trade; Conclusion.

Editorial Reviews

"Lynn's command and interpretation of the various sources is most impressive. A significant contribution to the economic history of both West Africa and the British Empire. Undergraduates and above." Choice

"...Martin Lynn has provided a definitive study of the palm oil trade that is likely to prove a lasting one." Jan Hogendorn, American Historical Review

From the Publisher