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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Feeding America's War Machine: The United States and Economic Expansion in West Africa during World War Two
Author:Oyebade, AdebayoISNI
Year:1998
Periodical:African Economic History
Volume:26
Pages:119-140
Language:English
Geographic terms:West Africa
United States
Subjects:international trade
World War II
History and Exploration
Economics and Trade
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/3601693
Abstract:By the eve of World War II, American commerce with Africa was at a low ebb. In the years immediately preceding the war, only 4.2 percent of total United States exports went to Africa, while imports from Africa constituted only 3.3 percent of total imports. The Second World War brought about a significant US interest in Africa, leading to a tremendous increase in American commerce with the continent, especially the Belgian Congo, South Africa, and West Africa. By 1943, US exports to Africa had risen to an all-time high figure of 11.6 percent of total American exports. Likewise, imports from Africa, mainly of crude materials, reached a peak of 7.4 percent of total imports in 1942. This paper examines the impact of the Second World War on the United States' economic relations with Africa, taking West Africa as the area of reference. It shows that as the war progressed and the Axis powers overran Southeast Asia, America's previous major source of strategic materials, the West African market became indispensable. By the end of the war, a substantial number of American businesses were operating in West Africa through agents of their own or through British, French, Swiss or Syrian firms. Notes, ref.
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