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The Decline of the Kano-Tripoli Caravan Trade: Pre-Colonial Structures, Colonial Impact, Environment and Revolt

Chatterton, Benjamin LU (2018) EKHK18 20181
Department of Economic History
Abstract
The old caravan trade routes across the Sahara Desert largely fell out of use decades before the beginning of the 20th century. The route from Kano to Tripoli however remained active and continued to transport a significant volume of exports and regional trade well into the 20th century. This thesis investigates the resilience and downfall of this trade route against a backdrop of the European ‘Scramble for Africa’, severe drought, revolt and conquest. Through this investigation it hopes to contribute to the debate on colonial impact by examining the trades decline and its effects on the three groups who contributed to and relied upon it most.
Using colonial export data, the thesis will explore the current assumptions of how the trade... (More)
The old caravan trade routes across the Sahara Desert largely fell out of use decades before the beginning of the 20th century. The route from Kano to Tripoli however remained active and continued to transport a significant volume of exports and regional trade well into the 20th century. This thesis investigates the resilience and downfall of this trade route against a backdrop of the European ‘Scramble for Africa’, severe drought, revolt and conquest. Through this investigation it hopes to contribute to the debate on colonial impact by examining the trades decline and its effects on the three groups who contributed to and relied upon it most.
Using colonial export data, the thesis will explore the current assumptions of how the trade route came to vanish and utilise new understandings of the linkages between the political and economic spheres to test their credibility. Following this discussion, the thesis will further explore how the often-isolated Saharan economies managed to compensate for the loss of such an important source of income. It is hoped that overall the thesis will contribute to the understanding of how these isolated desert economies have flourished and faltered in the past to better integrate what are among the most marginalised areas of the planet. (Less)
Popular Abstract
The old caravan trade routes across the Sahara Desert largely fell out of use decades before the beginning of the 20th century. The route from Kano to Tripoli however remained active and continued to transport a significant volume of exports and regional trade well into the 20th century. This thesis investigates the resilience and downfall of this trade route against a backdrop of the European ‘Scramble for Africa’, severe drought, revolt and conquest. Through this investigation it hopes to contribute to the debate on colonial impact by examining the trades decline and its effects on the three groups who contributed to and relied upon it most.
Using colonial export data, the thesis will explore the current assumptions of how the trade... (More)
The old caravan trade routes across the Sahara Desert largely fell out of use decades before the beginning of the 20th century. The route from Kano to Tripoli however remained active and continued to transport a significant volume of exports and regional trade well into the 20th century. This thesis investigates the resilience and downfall of this trade route against a backdrop of the European ‘Scramble for Africa’, severe drought, revolt and conquest. Through this investigation it hopes to contribute to the debate on colonial impact by examining the trades decline and its effects on the three groups who contributed to and relied upon it most.
Using colonial export data, the thesis will explore the current assumptions of how the trade route came to vanish and utilise new understandings of the linkages between the political and economic spheres to test their credibility. Following this discussion, the thesis will further explore how the often-isolated Saharan economies managed to compensate for the loss of such an important source of income. It is hoped that overall the thesis will contribute to the understanding of how these isolated desert economies have flourished and faltered in the past to better integrate what are among the most marginalised areas of the planet. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Chatterton, Benjamin LU
supervisor
organization
course
EKHK18 20181
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Caravan trade Libya Niger Agadez Tripoli Colonialism
language
English
id
8949028
date added to LUP
2018-06-25 10:45:17
date last changed
2018-06-25 10:45:17
@misc{8949028,
  abstract     = {{The old caravan trade routes across the Sahara Desert largely fell out of use decades before the beginning of the 20th century. The route from Kano to Tripoli however remained active and continued to transport a significant volume of exports and regional trade well into the 20th century. This thesis investigates the resilience and downfall of this trade route against a backdrop of the European ‘Scramble for Africa’, severe drought, revolt and conquest. Through this investigation it hopes to contribute to the debate on colonial impact by examining the trades decline and its effects on the three groups who contributed to and relied upon it most.
Using colonial export data, the thesis will explore the current assumptions of how the trade route came to vanish and utilise new understandings of the linkages between the political and economic spheres to test their credibility. Following this discussion, the thesis will further explore how the often-isolated Saharan economies managed to compensate for the loss of such an important source of income. It is hoped that overall the thesis will contribute to the understanding of how these isolated desert economies have flourished and faltered in the past to better integrate what are among the most marginalised areas of the planet.}},
  author       = {{Chatterton, Benjamin}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Decline of the Kano-Tripoli Caravan Trade: Pre-Colonial Structures, Colonial Impact, Environment and Revolt}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}