Capitalism and Africa

Scholars of capitalism have been debating the connection between mercantilism, colonialism, slavery, the slave trade, and capitalism for several decades.1 Much attention has been devoted to the plantation economy, industrialization, financial risks, and markets, mostly focusing on the Anglo-American world. Most studies only refer to societies in the Global South, particularly African societies, as arenas for the global expansion of capitalism.2 African markets and the credit system continue to be ignored in capitalism studies despite their efficient, profitable, and dynamic natures. This exclusion is ironic given that more than thirty years ago, the late Joseph Miller examined the link between merchant capitalism, risks, and profits associated with the slave trade in Angola.3 In fact, his book Way of Death: Merchant Capitalism and the Angolan Slave Trade, 1730–1830 continues to be relevant. It is an important book that has shaped African history, including debates on the impact of the slave trade on local societies, the profits associated with slavery, and the links between the European and African economies.4Way of Death needs to be read more closely and more frequently, particularly by scholars of capitalism and Atlantic history

Atlantic slave trade · Capitalism · Colonialism · Economic history · Economics · Economy · Industrialisation · Market economy · Mercantilism · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Law

• Merchant capital and labor migration in the colonial Indian Ocean world

  Open Access•Richard B Allen•Historia Crítica•2023

  Añadir item

• Capitalismos del "Sur Global" (c. siglos X-XIX) - Viejos y nuevos aportes y debates

  Open Access•Kaveh Yazdani, Constanza Castro Benavides et al.•Historia Crítica•2023

  Añadir item