Some aspects of economic change in Kano,Kenya,1850-19631

Abstract

This M.A. Thesis is a study of economic change in Kano between 1850 and 1963. The integration of the colonial economy with the indigenous economy is used as the theoretical framework. During the colonial period,there was a shift from the pre-capitalist to the capitalist mode of production. This transition did not occur due to the internal dynamics of the society, but was imposed by the colonial government. The colonial state used its political machinery to integrate the indigenous economy into the world economy. Economic change in Kano occurred not only during the colonial period, but also during the pre-colonial period. By the middle of the 19th century, crop production had replaced cattle-keeping as the primary economic activity of Jo-Kano. This shift was brought about by environmental factors such as population increase, droughts and cattle epidemics. Apart from cattle-keeping and crop production, the people of Kano were involved in other economic activities such as trade, fishing, hunting, food gathering and manufacturing skills. The imposition of Brit~sh colonial rule on the Kano people accentuated economic change. In an attempt to integrate the pre-colonial economy of Jo-Kano into the world economy, the colonial state introduced a number of changes in commodity production. For example, the colonial government introduced new crops into Kana. In order to increase the production of ix

these crops, the colonial government introduced new agricultural tools such as jembes and ox-drawn ploughs. The colonial government emphasized the production of cash crops to boost export. Before the local people incorporated these new crops into their economy, they considered a number of factors. They considered the labour requirements involved in the production of these crops. They also considered whether they were edible. Due to the low cash returns from most of the cash crops

which Jo-Kano were producing,a number of them shifted to wage labour as an alternative financial source. The withdrawal of labour from rural areas to towns and European owned plantations made agriculture marginal to wage labour for a majority of Jo-Kano. Furthermore, the shift from agricultural production to wage labour did not solve the financial needs and obligations of the local people. There was the problem of low wages which made .the wage earners unable to live with their families at their places of employment.

In order to increase commodity production, the colonial government established markets and trading centres as buying and selling points of produce. The establishment of markets and trading centres boosted trade in the reserves. After 1930, Africans were increasingly involved in trade. This soon made them replace the Asian traders who previously dominated trade. But the local people did not fair well in trade because of the exploitation by the Indian wholesalers. x

Economic change that occurred in Kano during the colonial period did not improve the peoples' income. Even though agricultural production increased during the colonial period, most of the produce was sold by the local people to meet colonial needs and obligations such as paying taxes and school fees. The people of Kano who were engaged on wage labour did not also benefit because of the low wages. All these features explain the nature of colonial economy that aimed at appropriating the resources and labour of the colonized societies.