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Money in South-Central Africa, 1890–1931: Africans, Imperial Sterling, and Colonial Economy-Building

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 May 2023

Tinashe Nyamunda Open the ORCID record for Tinashe Nyamunda [Opens in a new window]  and
Admire Mseba
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Abstract

In South-Central Africa, British mining companies shadowed colonial monetization in an assertive and coercive manner. In the emerging settler states, African money users were obliged to adjust to colonial money for the payment of tax and transactions. Yet they often found it difficult to obtain access to colonial currency. Company rule in the region was initially closely connected to the South African economy, but currencies separated as a result of South Africa’s economy building in the 1920s. Nyamunda and Mseba tell the story of the struggles of African money users in engaging with colonial currency.

Résumé

Résumé

En Afrique centrale et méridionale, les sociétés minières britanniques ont suivi la monétisation coloniale de manière affirmée et coercitive. Dans les États colonisateurs émergents, les utilisateurs africains de monnaie ont été obligés de s’adapter à l’argent colonial pour le paiement des impôts et des transactions. Cependant, il leur était souvent difficile d’obtenir accès à l’argent coloniale pour leurs échanges commerciaux. Le règlement des entreprises dans la région était initialement étroitement lié à l’économie sud-africaine, mais les monnaies se sont séparées à la suite du développement de l’économie sud-africaine dans les années 1920. Nyamunda et Mseba relatent l’histoire des difficultés rencontrées par les utilisateurs africains de monnaie pour s’engager avec l’argent colonial.

Resumo

Resumo

Na África Austral e Central, as empresas mineiras britânicas ensombraram a monetarização colonial de forma assertiva e coerciva. Nos Estados coloniais emergentes, para pagarem impostos e procederem a transações, os utilizadores de dinheiro eram obrigados a adaptar-se à moeda colonial. Porém, enfrentavam com frequência dificuldades em aceder à moeda colonial para as suas atividades comerciais. Inicialmente, o domínio desta região por parte das empresas mineiras tinha estreita ligação com a economia da África do Sul, mas, em consequência do desenvolvimento económico da África do Sul na década de 1920, as moedas separaram-se. Nyamunda e Mseba contam a história das dificuldades que os utilizadores de dinheiro africanos enfrentam para conseguirem aceder à moeda colonial.

Keywords

Southern RhodesiaNorthern RhodesiaNyasalandCentral African coloniesAfrican currency
Type
Article
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 66 , Issue 3 , September 2023 , pp. 618 - 636
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the African Studies Association

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