Writing Africa’s Economic History: Beyond One Single Story
When most people think about Africa’s economic history, they jump straight to colonialism, poverty, or “emerging markets.” But the story is far older, far more complex, and much harder to squeeze into a simple headline.
Today’s episode unpacks how historians actually write Africa’s economic history, and how ideas about Africa’s development have shifted over the last century—from serving European empires to today’s more nuanced, data‑driven perspectives.
11 Jan 2026
From Bond to Colony: How the Gold Coast Became a Laboratory of Empire
This episode aims to reveal how a patchwork of treaties and conquests turned the Gold Coast into a formal Crown Colony.
Show why British officials saw the territory as a testing ground for new ideas about ruling African societies.
10 Jan 2026
West African States, Responsibility and Political Agency
This episode aims to assess John Dunn’s main arguments in the “Conclusion” to West African States.
Explore how colonial legacies, patronage politics and leadership choices shape responsibility for post‑colonial outcomes.
Introduce the idea of political agency and counterfactual thinking (“things could have been different”) as tools for analysing African politics today.
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