Ellen Hillbom

Professor, Deputy head of department, Director of third cycle studies, Department of Economic History

Success and Failure of European Settler Farming in Sub-Saharan Africa

Author

Ewout Frankema
Erik Green
Ellen Hillbom

Summary, in English

This paper ties into the growing literature on the long-term economic implications of historical European settlement, by arguing for the need to properly address the role of indigenous agency in endogenously evolving settlement processes. We develop three comparative case-studies in West, East and Southern Africa to show that the success or failure of European settler farming depended crucially on colonial government policies arranging access to local land and labour resources. These policies, in turn, were shaped by the clashing interests of African smallholders and (would be) European planters, in which colonial governments did not necessarily abide to settler demands, as is often assumed.

Department/s