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La Pratique Des Échanges Commerciaux Dans La Société Précoloniale Du Gabon : Xvie-[Xixe] Siècles Laure Cynthia Mboyi Moukanda

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La Pratique Des Échanges Commerciaux Dans La Société Précoloniale Du Gabon : Xvie-[Xixe] Siècles Laure Cynthia Mboyi Moukanda La pratique des échanges commerciaux dans la société précoloniale du Gabon : XVIe-[XIXe] siècles Laure Cynthia Mboyi Moukanda To cite this version: Laure Cynthia Mboyi Moukanda. La pratique des échanges commerciaux dans la société précoloniale du Gabon : XVIe-[XIXe] siècles. Histoire. Université Michel de Montaigne - Bordeaux III, 2013. Français. NNT : 2013BOR30014. tel-00984318 HAL Id: tel-00984318 https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00984318 Submitted on 28 Apr 2014 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Université Michel de Montaigne Bordeaux 3 École Doctorale Montaigne Humanités (ED 480) THÈSE DE DOCTORAT EN « HISTOIRE » LA PRATIQUE DES ECHANGES COMMERCIAUX DANS LA SOCIETE PRECOLONIALE DU GABON XVIe-XIVe SIECLES Présentée et soutenue publiquement le 12 Septembre 2013 Par Laure Cynthia MBOYI MOUKANDA Sous la direction de M. Jean-Paul JOURDAN La co-direction de M. Wilson André NDOMBET Membres du jury M. Jean-Paul JOURDAN, Professeur, Université Bordeaux 3. M. André-Wilson NDOMBET, Professeur, Université Omar Bongo Libreville. M. Jean-Pierre DUTEIL, Professeur, Université Paris 8 Vincennes. M. Michel FIGEAC, Professeur, Université Bordeaux 3. 1 Cette thèse porte sur la pratique des échanges et du commerce dans la société précoloniale du Gabon. L’enjeu est d’étudier cette pratique en privilégiant un angle d’approche général au départ, et en mettant en œuvre une démarche analytique progressive, afin de saisir les acteurs, les modes de production mais également les produits faisant l’objet de ces échanges. L’objet « La pratique des échanges commerciaux dans la société précoloniale du Gabon : XVIe-XIXe siècles » se situe à la croisée des relations internationales, de l’analyse des contacts avec les peuples de « l’extérieur », de processus d’européanisation et peut donc faire l’objet d’approche différentes selon les variables qu’on entend privilégier. Nous avons choisi de l’étudier selon une démarche non seulement historique mais anthropologique et sociologique qui nous conduisent à privilégier certains concepts clés : historique des peuples, étude de leur milieu et mode de vie, configurations de relations entre acteurs structurant un nouvel espace social d’interactions. D’un point de vue méthodologique, cette étude s’appuie sur une démarche qualitative et privilégie l’usage des entretiens : le corpus se compose d’une cinquantaine d’entretiens, complétés par l’audio-visuel, la littérature spécialisée et grise sur le sujet. Elle se compose de deux parties, découpées en six (6) chapitres totaux. Dans une première partie, la thèse se concentre sur l’historique des peuples du Gabon précolonial en prenant en compte les facteurs, les circuits et les dénouements des migrations, en l’occurrence les implantations de ces groupes ethniques dans leur habitat actuel. Elle s’étend ensuite sur l’étude de l’organisation sociale, politique et culturelle des peuples à travers l’analyse des structures parentale, matrimoniale, juridique et culturelle. Enfin, cette partie précise le contexte et le jeu des différents acteurs à l’origine du développement de ces échanges : la production agricole et artisanale favorisée d’une part par la division sociale du travail et la spécialisation des groupes et, d’autre part, par les failles écologiques (l’inégale répartition de ressources, aridité des sols, animaux dévastateurs des cultures). 2 Dans un second temps, la thèse fait porter l’analyse sur le déroulement des activités d’échange d’une part et de commerce d’autre part. Elle met en relief les différents circuits empruntés par les acteurs et les produits ainsi que les zones d’approvisionnées. D’abord, elle fait une description des échanges en milieu local mettant en scène les membres des mêmes milieux ou des milieux proches les uns des autres. Cette interdépendance observée au sein des groupes avait comme base les liens de familiarité ou d’amitié entre ces différents groupes d’acteurs concernés. Ensuite, est évoqué le système d’échange hors des territoires, quoi que le concept territoire ne soit qu’employé de façon péjorative. Cette catégorie d’échange fait naître des contacts entre les populations avec celles des localités environnantes du nord au sud, de l’est à l’ouest. Enfin, le poids de l’abolition de la traite des noirs joue à un niveau macro comme obstacle des activités économiques des européens, ce qui soulève dès lors des enjeux capitalistes pour ces derniers. La naissance de cette économie de traitre, mais également son déroulement et son ascendance sur l’économie traditionnelle préexistante font l’objet du troisième et dernier chapitre de cette seconde partie. Entre héritage et ajustements de nature, ces politiques économiques vont mettre en place de types de monnaies, de produits et d’habitudes. Là encore, le poids des cultures et des habitudes étrangères à ces peuples, limitaient la pratique des échanges traditionnels, développant les effets d’apprentissage aux métiers pourvoyeur du gain. Mots clés Histoire économique, Afrique, Gabon, Echanges commerciaux, Epoque précoloniale, Gabon précolonial, Troc, République du Cameroun, République populaire du Congo, Monde Européen, Sources orales, Histoire en Afrique, Histoire de l’Afrique. 3 This thesis deals with the practice of the exchanges and some trade in the pré- colonial society of the Gabon. The stake is to study this practice by favoring an angle of general approach at first, and by operating a progressive analytical approach, to seize the actors, the modes of production but also the products being the object of these exchanges. The object " the practice of the trades in the pré-colonial society of the Gabon: XVI- XIX century " is situated between the international relations, between the analysis of the contacts with the peoples of " the outside ", process of Europeanization and can thus be the object of different approaches according to the variables which we intend to favor. We chose to study it according to an approach not only historic but anthropological and sociological which leads us to favor certain key concepts: history of the peoples, the study of their middle and lifestyle, configurations of relations between actors structuring a new social space of interactions. From a methodological point of view, this study leans on a qualitative approach and favors the use of the conversations: the corpus of composes of about fifty conversations, completed by the broadcasting, the specialized and grey literature on the subject. It consists of two parts, cut in six (6) total chapters. In a first part, the thesis concentrates on the history of the peoples of the pre- colonial Gabon by taking into account factor, circuits and outcomes of the migrations, in this particular case the setting-up of these ethnic groups in their current housing environment. It extends then over the study of the political and cultural social organization of the peoples through the analysis of the parental, marital, legal and religious structures. Finally, this part specifies the context and the game of the various actors at the origin of the development of these exchanges: the agricultural and craft production favored on one hand by the social division of the work and the specialization of groups and on the other hand by the ecological weaknesses uneven distribution of resources, aridity of grounds, devastating animals. Secondly, the thesis makes concern the analysis the progress of the activities of exchange on one hand and trade on the other hand. It accentuates the various circuits borrowed by the actors and the products as well as the zones of outcome. At first, It 4 makes a description of the exchanges in local environment stage the members of the same circles or the close circles from each other. This interdependence observed within the groups had for basis the links of familiarity or friendship between these various groups of concerned actors. Then, is evoked the system of exchange outside territories, whatever the concept territory is only used in a pejorative way. This category of exchange creates contacts between the populations with those of the surrounding localities from north to south, from east to west. Finally, the weight of the abolition of the slave trade plays a level macro as obstacle of the economic activities of the European, what lifts from then on capitalist stakes for the latter. The birth of this economy of traitor, but also its progress and its ancestry on the pre- existent traditional economy are the object of our third and last chapter of this second part. Between inheritance and natural adjustments, these economic policies are going to set up of types of currencies, products and habits. Even there, the weight of the cultures and the habits foreign to these peoples, limited the practice of the traditional exchanges, developing the effects of apprenticeship in the jobs supplier of the earnings. Keywords Economic history, Africa, Gabon, Trades, pre-colonial Period, pre-colonial Gabon, Barter, Republic of Cameroon, People's Republic of the Congo, European World, oral Sources, History in Africa, History of Africa. 5 DEDICACE À la mémoire de mes Mamans Albertine KOUNDI, Béatrice BANGAGNA. À la mémoire de mes Grands-parents Isidore MALADI, Norbert BIYAMBA, Bernard BIYOKALA, KOUEDE Marc, Caroline MAKOBOUGHA, Martine MOUSSANGA. À mes Papas Georges MBOYI, Antoine BIYAMBA pour les efforts consentis dans mon éducation. À René LOEMBET. Autant de phrases et d’expressions aussi éloquentes soient-elles ne sauraient exprimer ma gratitude et ma reconnaissance. À mes filles Lyxe-Yanelle LOEMBET KOUNDI, Yonah Kandelle LOEMBET ESSONGUE pour toutes ces années de séparation et en témoignage de mon amour.
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