Traders and Trade in Colonial Ovamboland, 1925-1990

Elite Formation and the Politics of Consumption under Indirect Rule and Apartheid

Taking the history of trade and of traders as its subject matter, this book offers the first economic history of northern Namibia during the twentieth century. It traces Namibia's way from a rural, largely self-relying society into a globalised economy of consumption. This transformation built on colonial economic activities, but it was crucially shaped by local traders, a new social elite emerging during the 1950s and 1960s. Becoming a trader was one of the few possibilities for black Namibians to gain monetary income at home. It was a pathway out of migrant labour, to new status in the local society and often to prosperity. Politically, most traders occupied a middle ground: content of their own social position, but intent on political emancipation from colonial rule. Economically, their energy and business acumen transformed northern Namibia into an increasingly urban consumer society. The development path they chose, however, depended too much on the colonial reserve economy to remain sustainable after 1990. Their legacy still shapes spatial and social structures in northern Namibia, but most traders' businesses have today closed down. By telling the history of the rise and decline of traders and trade in northern Namibia, this book is thus also a reflection on the conundrums of economic development under conditions of structural inequality.

Categories:

eBook ISBN: 9783905758566

Reviews

"In this well-researched and accessible book on traders and trade in Ovambo, Gregor Dobler offers a welcome and nuanced account of social, political and economic change in Namibia under South African rule....this is a highly commendable book for everyone interested in Namibia’s past and present and, more broadly, in the history and continuing legacy of colonialism and apartheid. Read it. You will not be disappointed.": Steven Van Wolputte, Journal of Namibian Studies