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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:'Salt is Gold': The Management of Salt Scarcity in Nigeria during World War II
Author:Falola, ToyinISNI
Year:1992
Periodical:Canadian Journal of African Studies
Volume:26
Issue:3
Pages:412-436
Language:English
Geographic terms:Nigeria
Great Britain
Subjects:colonialism
trade
salt industry
World War II
History and Exploration
Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/485289
Abstract:The salt industry in Nigeria began to diminish in importance with the imposition of colonial rule and the importation of salt from Europe. By 1939, the country had become dependent on imported salt. This paper examines the management of salt scarcity in Nigeria during World War II. It describes the efforts made by the colonial administration to address the shortage of food in general, and that of salt in particular. These included the intensification of local production, a strategy which had failed by mid-1940; the importation of salt from other African countries, which also failed both because of the belief in the superiority of European salt and because of the underdevelopment of commercial links among African countries; the imposition of direct control on domestic distribution; and rationing. Government control of distribution and rationing revealed the difficulties of State intervention. Profiteering and hoarding were rampant. The scramble for salt and its high price demonstrate that rationing did not work well in practice. Rationing also further politicized the economy. Salt scarcity in Nigeria during the war thus reveals the vulnerability of dependence on external markets for basic needs. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. in French.
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