1st Edition
Labour and Living Standards in Pre-Colonial West Africa The case of the Gold Coast
Sub-Saharan Africa is the poorest region in the world. But its current status has skewed our understanding of the economy before colonization. Rönnbäck reconstructs the living standards of the population at a time when the Atlantic slave trade brought money and men into the area, enriching our understanding of West African economic development.
1. Introduction: theory and method 2. The Gold Coast in African economic history 3. Sources and source criticism 4. Work ethic and the division of labour 5. Work and wages at the Cape Coast Castle 6. Domestic markets for goods 7. Housing and material wealth 8. Living standards in a comparative perspective 9. Concluding discussion 10. References
Biography
Klas Rönnbäck is an Associate Professor of Economic History at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
