The African Colonial State in Comparative Perspective

by M. Crawford Young

34 Members (2.00) 1 Award

On This Page

Quick Facts

Description

In this comprehensive and original study, a distinguished specialist and scholar of African affairs argues that the current crisis in African development can be traced directly to European colonial rule, which left the continent with a "singularly difficult legacy" that is unique in modern history.Crawford Young proposes a new conception of the state, weighing the different characteristics of earlier European empires (including those of Holland, Portugal, England, and Venice) and distilling show more their common qualities. He then presents a concise and wide-ranging history of colonization in Africa, from the era of construction through consolidation and decolonization. Young argues that several qualities combined to make the European colonial experience in Africa distinctive. The high number of nations competing for power around the continent and the necessity to achieve effective occupation swiftly yet make the colonies self-financing drove colonial powers toward policies of "ruthless extractive action." The persistent, virulent racism that established a distance between rulers and subjects was especially central to African colonial history.Young concludes by turning his sights to other regions of the once-colonized world, comparing the fates of former African colonies to their counterparts elsewhere. In tracing both the overarching traits and variations in African colonial states, he makes a strong case that colonialism has played a critical role in shaping the fate of this troubled continent. show less

Tags

Art Pictural Zairois. Jewsiewicki (1) Asian Bureaucratic Systems Emergent from the British Imperial Tradition. Braibanti (1) Between Two Empires. Friend (1) Empire coloniale et capitalisme français. Marseille (1) Empires to Nations: Expansion in America; 1713-1824. Savelle (1) History of the People of Trinidad and Tobago. Williams (1) Indonesia: The Rise of Capital. Robison (1) Internal Colonialism: The Celtic Fringe in British National Development; 1536-1966. Hechter (1) La Force Noire. Mangin (1) Lidée coloniale en France de 1871 à 1962. Girardet (1) Limpasse de crise zairoise et la peinture populaire urbaine; 1970-1985. Biayi. paper presented at conference on Popular Urban Painting from Zaire. 1987 (1) Lord Durhams Report on the Affairs of British North America. Lucas (1) Puerto Rico: A Colonial Experiment. Carr (1) Quetzalcoatl and Guadalupe: The Formation of Mexican National Consciousness; 1531-1813. Lafaye (1) Sovereignty and Society in Colonial Brazil: The High Court of Bahia and Its Judges; 1609-1751. Schwartz (1) The Age of Reform; 1815-1870. Woodward (1) The Burden of Taxation in Colonial Indonesia. Booth. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies. 1980 (1) The Cambridge History of Latin America; Volume II: Colonial Latin America. Bethell (1) The Decline of Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia. Feith (1) The Effect of Export Cultivation in Nineteenth-Century Java. Neil. Modern Asian Studies. 1981 (1) The European Administrative Elite. Armstrong (1) The French Presence in Cochinchina and Cambodia: Rule and Response; 1859-1905. Osborne (1) The Governors-General: The English Army and the Definition of the Empire; 1569-1681. Webb (1) The I.C.S.: The Indian Civil Service. Blunt (1) The Impact of European Imperialism on Dutch Colonialism. Wesseling. paper presented to Social Science Seminar on Comparative Colonialism; Institute for Advanced Study. 1980 (1) The Indian Army. Cohen (1) The Nationalities Factor in Soviet Politics and Society. Hajda and Beissinger (1) The Transfer of Power in India. Menon (1) Understanding Imperial Russia: State and Society in the Old Regime. Raeff (1) Vietnam: A Dragon Embattled. Buttinger (1)
More Tags

Recommendations

Member Recommendations

States and Power in Africa by Jeffrey Herbst
by Bretzky1
Complete Recommendations

Member Reviews

Members

Recently Added By
All Members

Lists

ListStacks
Africa
109 works; 8 members
r/History Recommended Reading List
603 works; 11 members

Author Information

M. Crawford Young
11+ Works 133 Members

Awards and Honors

Common Knowledge

Original publication date
1994
Important places
African colonies; Africa
Disambiguation notice
1994 edition: The African colonial state in comparative perspective / Crawford Young

Classifications

Genres
Nonfiction, Politics and Government, History, General Nonfiction
DDC/MDS
325.314 — Society, government, & culture Political science International migration and colonization English
LCC
JV246 .Y68 — Political Science Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration. International migration Colonies and colonization. Emigration and Colonies and colonization
BISAC
More Classifications

Statistics

Members
34
Popularity
840,714
Rating
(2.00)
Languages
English
Media
Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
4
ASINs
1