Settler Colonialism in Africa

Bibliographic Data

ID20056016
AuthorsClaude Lützelschwab (corresponding author)
Year2013
Pages141-167
Publication date2013-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeCHAPTER
VenueSettler Economies in World History (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/9789004232655_007
OpenAlexW2478023851
ISBN9789004232655
LanguageEN
Citations received9

This chapter explains how European settlers came to establish themselves in four African territories - South Africa, Algeria, Kenya and Southern Rhodesia - in spite of the fact that these lands were not uninhabited and that their populations neither eclipsed themselves, nor disappeared in the face of European intrusion. Three distinctive features emerge clearly from this overview of European settler colonies in Africa. First, the possibilities for the mass settlement of Europeans in temperate agriculture were very limited. Second, the implantation of settlers and their survival on African soil was dependent to a large extent on their being able to appropriate large swathes of land, as well as the availability of cheap labor. Finally, the result of these mechanisms was to create extremely unequal economic structures. The dominant position enjoyed by the European settlers was both vulnerable to and a tributary of the almost uninterrupted adoption of “protectionist” measures. Keywords:African territories; European settler colonies; South Africa; temperate agriculture

Archaeology · Colonialism · Ethnology · Geography · African history and culture studies · History

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