The African Poor: A History (African Studies)

397 Pages·1987·9.84 MB·English

by  John Iliffe

THE AFRICAN POOR
AFRICAN STUDIES SERIES 58
GENERAL EDITOR
J. M. Lonsdale, Lecturer in History and Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge
ADVISORY EDITORS
J. D. Y. Peel, Charles Booth Professor of Sociology, University of Liverpool
John Sender, Faculty of Economics and Fellow of Wolf son College,
Cambridge
Published in collaboration with
THE AFRICAN STUDIES CENTRE, CAMBRIDGE
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20 Liberia and Sierra Leone: An Essay in Comparative Politics Christopher Clapham
23 West African States: Failure and Promise: A Study in Comparative Politics John Dunn
24 Afrikaners of the Kalahari: White Minority in a Black State Margo and Martin Russell
25 A Modern History of Tanganyika Johnlliffe
26 A History of African Christianity 1950-1975 Adrian Hastings
28 The Hidden Hippopotamus: Reappraisal in African History: The Early Colonial Experience
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29 Families Divided: The Impact of Migrant Labour in Lesotho Colin Murray
30 Slavery, Colonialism and Economic Growth in Dahomey 1640-1960 Patrick Manning
31 Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires: The Evolution and Dissolution of the Nineteenth-
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42 Industrialisation and Trade Union Organisation in South Africa 1924-55 Jon Lewis
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44 Slavery in Dutch South Africa Nigel Worden
45 Law, Custom and Social Order: The Colonial Experience in Malawi and Zambia
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46 Salt of the Desert Sun: A History of Salt Production and Trade in the Central Sudan
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52 Islam and Urban Labor in Northern Nigeria: The Making of a Muslim Working Class
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53 Horn and Crescent: Cultural Change and Traditional Islam on the East African Coast,
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THE AFRICAN POOR
A history
JOHN ILIFFE
Reader in African History, University of Cambridge,
and Fellow of St John's College
The right of the
University of Cambridge
to print and sell
all manner of books
was granted by
Henry VIII in 1534.
The University has printed
and published continuously
since 1584.
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
CAMBRIDGE
NEW YORK NEW ROCHELLE MELBOURNE SYDNEY
Published by the Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge
The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1RP
32 East 57th Street, New York, NY 10022, USA
10 Stamford Road, Oakleigh, Melbourne 3166, Australia
© Cambridge University Press 1987
First published 1987
British Library cataloguing in publication data
Iliffe, John, 1939-
The African poor: a history. - (African
studies series; 58).
1. Poor - Africa - History
I. Title II. Series
305.5'69'096 HC800.Z9P6
Library of Congress cataloguing in publication data
Iliffe, John.
The African poor.
(African studies series)
Bibliography.
Includes index.
1. Poor - Africa - History. I. Title. II. Series.
HC800.Z9P625 1987 305.5'62'096 87-14622
ISBN 0 521 34415 8 hard covers
ISBN 0 521 34877 3 paperback
Transferred to digital printing 2003
RB
In memory of my mother, Violet Evelyn Iliffe

Contents
Preface page ix
1 The comparative history of the poor 1
2 Christian Ethiopia 9
3 The Islamic tradition 30
4 Poverty and power 48
5 Poverty and pastoralism 65
6 Yoruba and Igbo 82
7 Early European initiatives 95
8 Poverty in South Africa, 1886-1948 114
9 Rural poverty in colonial Africa 143
10 Urban poverty in tropical Africa 164
11 The care of the poor in colonial Africa 193
12 Leprosy 214
13 The growth of poverty in independent Africa 230
14 The transformation of poverty in southern Africa 260
Notes 278
Bibliography 356
Index 371
vn

Preface
This book draws largely on the magnificent resources of the University of
Cambridge Library. The Managers of the African Studies Centre,
Cambridge, and its Librarian, Dr Janet Seeley, were also especially helpful
in obtaining materials. I am indebted to archivists and librarians at many
institutions: Archives Nationales (Section Outre-Mer), Paris; Bayero
University Library, Kano; University of Birmingham Library; British
Library; British Newspaper Library; Chancellor College Library, Zomba;
Church Missionary Society Archives, London; University of Edinburgh
Library; Institute of Development Studies, Nairobi; Malawi National
Archives; National Library of Scotland; Rhodes House, Oxford; School of
Oriental and African Studies, London; Seeley Historical Library,
Cambridge; Tanganyika African National Union; Tanzania National
Archives; University Library, Dar es Salaam; and Zimbabwe National
Archives. The British Council financed a visit to Malawi. David Beach, Ms
Alison Izzett, Steven Kaplan, Paul Richards, Robert Ross, Megan
Vaughan, Dr Jean-Luc Vellut, and Nigel Worden supplied unpublished
material. Books by Dr Polly Hill and Professor Olwen Hufton provided
many ideas. Seminars at Birmingham, Cambridge, London, and Zomba
made suggestions. Peter Kinyanjui, Lome Larson, and John McCracken
helped with travel in Africa. Tony Hopkins, Gilbert Lewis, and Michael
Twaddle gave advice. Jack Goody provided the stimulus. John Lonsdale
and the Cambridge University Press showed me their habitual kindness. I
am grateful to all those who have helped me.
St John's College, Cambridge JOHN ILIFFE
October 1986
IX