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A Comparative History of Commercial Transition in Three West African Slave Trading Economies, 1630 to 1860

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A Comparative History of Commercial Transition in Three West African Slave Trading Economies, 1630 to 1860 1 A comparative history of commercial transition in three West African slave trading economies, 1630 to 1860 Angus Dalrymple-Smith 2 Thesis committee Promotors Prof. Dr E.H.P. Frankema Professor of Rural and Environment History Wageningen University & Research Prof. Dr E.J.V. van Nederveen Meerkerk Associate professor, Rural and Environmental History Group Wageningen University & Research Co-promotor Dr M. van Rossum Senior Researcher International Institute for Social History, Amsterdam Other members Prof. Dr D. Richardson, University of Hull, United Kingdom Prof. Dr H.J. den Heijer, Leiden University, the Netherlands Dr F. Ribeiro da Silva, International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Prof. Dr J.W.M. van Dijk, Wageningen University & Research This research was conducted under the auspices of the Wageningen School of Social Sciences (WASS) 3 A COMPARATIVE HISTORY OF COMMERCIAL TRANSITION IN THREE WEST AFRICAN SLAVE TRADING ECONOMIES, 1630 - 1860 Angus Edwin Dalrymple-Smith Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of doctor at Wageningen University by the authority of the Rector Magnificus, Prof. Dr A.P.J. Mol, in the presence of the Thesis Committee appointed by the Academic Board to be defended in public on Wednesday 6 September 2017 at 1.30 p.m. in the Aula. 4 Angus E. Dalrymple-Smith A comparative history of commercial transition in three West African slave trading economies, 1630 – 1860, 281 pages. PhD thesis, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands (2017) With references, with summary in English DOI: 10.18174/418497 ISBN: 978-94-6343-619-9 5 Acknowledgments My thanks firstly go to Ewout, for not only getting me through this process but also giving the chance to do so. To Elise and Matthias who waded through innumerable drafts and always provided useful advice that kept me moving in the right direction. This thesis would not have been completed without you all. Throughout the process my colleagues at Wageningen have made these past four years a very enjoyable experience. Kostadis, Michiel and Butter have been there from the start and provided, as needed, advice, feedback, alcohol and humour. Joining them along the way, Babymouse, Kleonikki, Dacil, Jop, Dani, Pim and Harm all helped me keep sane and progressing. Also, a huge thank you to Carry and Sandra for keeping my professional life organised and for their lovely company. I would also like to thank everyone at Stellenbosch for hosting me during my stay and making it both an enjoyable and productive experience. In particular, Johan, Christie, Jeanne and Abel and the rest of the Economics Department and Jan for his continuing friendship. A special thanks to Robin Law for generously giving so much of his invaluable expertise over three very enjoyable days in a Stirling Pub. My friends and family have provided continuous support. In particular, my wonderful parents, Penny and Peter and my lovely step parents, Joke and Egbert for unfailing help with the children. Evie and Morris have grown up with this project and I hope that one day that will be able to read it and understand why it was so important to me. Finally, and most importantly, this is book dedicated to Mirjam, for everything. 6 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND MAPS .......................................................................................... 11 TABLES ............................................................................................................................................... 11 FIGURES ............................................................................................................................................. 13 MAPS ................................................................................................................................................. 15 CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................................. 17 1.1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 17 1.2. ABOLITION AND THE COMMERCIAL TRANSITION IN WEST AFRICA............................................ 18 1.3. METHOD AND APPROACH: A COMPARATIVE HISTORICAL ANALYSIS ......................................... 23 1.4. MAIN ARGUMENT ...................................................................................................................... 26 1.5. EXPLANATORY FRAMEWORK ..................................................................................................... 27 Shared factors that cannot explain regional variation in the commercial transition ................... 27 British slave trade patrols ............................................................................................................. 27 Changing demand for, or changing supply of, African slaves....................................................... 30 Factors that may explain regional variation in the commercial transition .................................. 31 1.6 DATA AND SOURCES .................................................................................................................... 35 1.7. ORGANISATION OF THE THESIS .................................................................................................. 37 CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................................................. 40 REGIONAL PATTERNS OF TRADE IN THE MAJOR WEST AFRICAN SLAVE EXPORTING REGIONS OVER THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY ......................................................................................................... 40 2.1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 40 2.2. TRADE WITH THE ATLANTIC WORLD .......................................................................................... 42 The Gold Coast .............................................................................................................................. 43 The Bight of Biafra ........................................................................................................................ 44 The Bight of Benin ......................................................................................................................... 45 2.3. TRADE IN AFRICA IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY ....................................................................... 46 2.5. CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................. 52 CHAPTER 3 ................................................................................................................................. 53 REGIONAL PATTERNS AND EUROPEAN DEMAND FOR SLAVE SHIP PROVISIONING IN THE LONG EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: DID THE SLAVE TRADE PROVIDE A BOOST TO WEST AFRICAN COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE? ........................................................................................................................... 53 3.1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 53 3.2 DID THE TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE BOOST WEST AFRICAN COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE? 55 3.3 SOURCES AND METHOD .............................................................................................................. 58 3.4. MAIN RESULTS ............................................................................................................................ 65 3.5 CHANGING RELATIVE PRICES AND TRADE RISKS ......................................................................... 71 3.6. REVISED ESTIMATES OF WEST AFRICAN FOOD EXPORTS, 1681-1807 ........................................ 74 3.7. WHY DID BRITISH PROVISIONING STRATEGIES DIFFER AND WHAT WERE THE IMPACTS ON DIFFERENT REGIONS?........................................................................................................................ 75 3.8. CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................. 82 8 CHAPTER 4 ................................................................................................................................. 83 COMMODITIES, PRICES AND RISK: THE CHANGING MARKETS FOR NON-SLAVE PRODUCTS IN PRE- ABOLITION WEST AFRICA ........................................................................................................... 83 4.1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 83 4.2. METHODOLOGY AND DATA ....................................................................................................... 87 Quantum index ............................................................................................................................. 89 Data .............................................................................................................................................. 90 4.3. THE VOLUME AND STRUCTURE OF THE AFRICAN COMMODITY TRADE ..................................... 92 4.4. EXPLAINING THE CHANGES IN THE COMMODITY TRADE FROM THE 1770S .............................. 99 Rising demand in Europe .............................................................................................................. 99 The crowding out of the commodity traders .............................................................................
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