Slavery, Colonialism and Economic Growth in Dahomey, 1640-1960 (African Studies)

465 Pages·2004·11.94 MB·English

by  Patrick Manning

SLAVERY, COLONIALISM AND ECONOMIC
GROWTH IN DAHOMEY,
1640- 1960
AFRICAN STUDIES SERIES 30
Editorial Board
John Dunn, Reader in Political Science and Fellow of King's
College, Cambridge
J. M. Lonsdale, Lecturer in History and Fellow of Trinity
College, Cambridge
David M. G. Newbery, Lecturer in Economics and Fellow
of Churchill College, Cambridge
A. F. Robertson, Director of the African Studies Centre and
Fellow of Darwin College, Cambridge
The African Studies Series is a collection of monographs and general
studies that reflect the interdisciplinary interests of the African Studies
Centre at Cambridge. Volumes to date have combined historical, anthro-
pological, economic, political and other perspectives. Each contribution
has assumed that such broad approaches can contribute much to our
understanding of Africa, and that this may in turn be of advantage to
specific disciplines.
AFRICAN STUDIES SERIES
1. City Politics: A Study of Leopoldville 1962-63 J. S. La Fontaine
2. Studies in Rural Capitalism in West Africa Polly Hill
3. Land Policy in Buganda Henry W. West
4. The Nigerian Military: A Sociological Analysis of Authority and Revolt
1960-67 Robin Luckham
5. The Ghanaian Factory Worker: Industrial Man in Africa Margaret Peil
6. Labour in the South African Gold Mines, 1911-1969 Francis Wilson
7. The Price of Liberty: Personality and Politics in Colonial Nigeria Kenneth E. J. Post
and George D. Jenkins
9. Dependence and Opportunity: Political Change in Ahafo John Dunn and A. F.
Robertson
10. African Railwaymen: Solidarity and Opposition in an East African Labour
Force R. D. Grillo
11. Islam and Tribal Art in West Africa Rene A. Bravmann
12. Modern and Traditional Elites in the Politics of Lagos P. D. Cole
13. Asante in the Nineteenth Century: The Structure and Evolution of a Political
Order Ivor Wilks
14. Culture, Tradition and Society in the West African Novel Emmanuel Obiechina
15. Saints and Politicians: Essays in the Organisation of a Senegalese Peasant
Society Donal B. Cruise O'Brien
16. The Lions of Dagbon: Political Change in Northern Ghana Martin Staniland
17. Politics of Decolonisation: Kenya Europeans and the Land Issue 1960-1965 Gary
Wasserman
.18. Muslim Brotherhoods in Nineteenth-century Africa B. G. Martin
19. Warfare in the Sokoto Caliphate: Historical and Sociological Perspectives Joseph
Smaldone
20. Liberia and Sierra Leone: An Essay in Comparative Politics Christopher Clapham
21. Adam Kok's Griquas: A Study in the Development of Stratification in South
Africa Robert Ross
22. Class, Power and Ideology in Ghana: The Railwaymen of Sekondi Richard Jeffries
23. West African States: Failure and Promise John Dunn
24. Afrikaners of the Kalahari: White Minority in a Black State Margo Russell and
Martin Russell
25. A Modern History of Tanganyika John Iliffe
26. A History of African Christianity 1950-1975 Adrian Hastings
27. Slaves, Peasants and Capitalists in Southern Angola 1840-1926 W. G. Clarence-
Smith
28. The Hidden Hippopotamus: Reappraisal in African History: The Early Colonial
Experience in Western Zambia Gwyn Prins
29. Families Divided: The Impact of Migrant Labour in Lesotho Colin Murray
SLAVERY, COLONIALISM
AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
IN DAHOMEY, 1640-1960
PATRICK MANNING
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
CAMBRIDGE
LONDON NEW YORK NEW ROCHELLE
MELBOURNE SYDNEY
PUBLISHED BY THE PRESS SYNDICATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
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http://www.cambridge.org
© Cambridge University Press 1982
This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without
the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 1982
First paperback edition 2002
Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 81-7684
ISBN 0 52123544 8 hardback
ISBN 0 521 52307 9 paperback
a Damien d'Almeida, Guillaume da Silva
et Clement da Cruz, qui ont travaille
pour garder le passe du Dahomey, et qui
ont ainsi consacre leurs vies a
l'avenir du Benin

Contents
Maps viii
Tables ix
Figures xi
Preface xiii
1 Slavery, colonialism and economic growth, 1640-1960 1
2 The Dahomean economy, 1640-1890 22
3 Struggles with the gods: economic life in the 1880s 57
4 Production, 1890-1914 85
5 Demand, 1890-1914 114
6 Exchange, 1890-1914 137
7 The alien state, 1890-1914 162
8 Social struggles for economic ends, 1890-1914 187
9 The mechanism of accumulation 217
10 Capitalism and colonialism, 1915-60 230
11 The Dahomean national movement 261
12 Epilogue 281
Notes 286
Appendix 1. Export revenue from Dahomey, 1640s-1950s 332
Appendix 2. Slave exports by ethnic origin 335
Appendix 3. Population loss due to slave exports 340
Appendix 4. Foreign trade of Dahomey 344
Appendix 5. Foreign trade indices 394
Appendix 6. Rainfall 402
Appendix 7. Fiscal flows 404
Appendix 8. Money supply of colonial Dahomey 411
Bibliography 415
Index 435
vii
Maps
1 The Bight of Benin, 1640-1890 23
2 Dahomey, c. 1885 60
3 Dahomey: population, rainfall, oil palms 62
4 Major local markets, 1905-14; export transit limits 140
5 Commercial routes, c. 1912 146
Vlll
Tables
1.1. Average annual growth rates for total exports, at constant
(1913) prices 3
1.2. Per capita export revenue, in 1913 pounds 3
1.3. Comparative growth rates of real national income 4
1.4. Per capita domestic product, in 1913 pounds 5
2.1. Slave exports from the Bight of Benin, by purchaser 29
2.2. Slave exports by ethnic origin 31
2.3. Average annual population loss rates due to slave exports,
by ethnic origin 33
2.4. Manning and Peukert estimates of slave exports, 1740-97 35
6.1. Estimated transport rates, c. 1910 149
6.2. Estimated interior prices of imports, c. 1910 150
6.3. Estimated porterage limits for exports, c. 1910 150
6.4. Official money supply estimates, in millions of francs 159
7.1. Customs duties, 1887-1908 170
7.2. Colonial expenditures in Dahomey 172
10.1. Exports as percent of current export value 231
10.2. Imports as percent of current import value 236
Al.l. Export revenue from Dahomey, 1640s-1950s 332
A2.1. Slave exports by ethnic origin 335
A2.2. Estimated ethnic distribution of slave exports, by decade 336
A2.3. Slave samples giving ethnic identity 338
A3.1. Yoruba and Voltaic loss rates due to slave exports 341
A3.2. Nupe and Hausa loss rates due to slave exports 342
A3.3. Aja loss rates due to slave exports 343
A4.1. Lagos exports to Porto-Novo, 1863-96 347
A4.2. Exports by port, 1884-95 352
A4.3. Imports by port, 1884-95 356
A4.4. Exports, 1889-1914 365
A4.5. Imports, 1889-1914 370
ix