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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | The Resurgence of Pawning in French West Africa during the Depression of the 1930's |
Authors: | Klein, Martin A. Roberts, Richard |
Year: | 1987 |
Periodical: | African Economic History |
Volume: | 16 |
Pages: | 23-37 |
Language: | English |
Geographic terms: | West Africa France |
Subjects: | colonialism slavery pledging Economics and Trade History and Exploration |
External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/3601268 |
Abstract: | The Depression of the 1930s made itself felt in Africa in 1931 and 1932 with a sharp drop in commodity prices, which threatened the ability of many Africans to sustain themselves. Faced with a dramatic decline in revenues, the response of the French regime in West Africa was to tighten tax collection and cut back on staff and services. This, in turn, placed a heavy burden on individuals and households. In many poor areas, where migrant labour was the major source of revenue for taxes, there were few ways to earn money, and many people were forced to pawn children, usually girls. In some areas, administrators clearly encouraged the practice, although it was probably not necessary for them to do so. In societies where famine was a regular occurrence, pawning was a traditional survival mechanism. Given the available data, it is probable that the total number of pawns was in the tens of thousands. After World War II pawning quickly disappeared in French West Africa. Notes, ref. |