Book

Production, trade and power: the political economy of central Angola

University Microfilms InternationalAnn Arbor, Mich. • Published In 1999 • Pages:

By: Heywood, Linda Marinda.

Abstract
Heywood's doctoral dissertation shows how the Ovimbundu were able to maintain economic independence through most of Angola's early colonial period. Because of their large population and manpower the Ovimbundu dominated long-distance trade between Central Africa and the Coast, providing porters for the caravans that carried goods into and out of the region. Ovimbundu chiefs controlled the trade through their control of free and slave labor. After the 1840s, trade shifted from slaves and ivory to a variety of household-produced commodities, including rubber and corn. Porters began to engage in trading, too. The growth in trade and traders weakened the power of the nobles and made the kingdoms more vulnerable to attack. The Portuguese invasion in1890, marked the beginning of Ovimbundu subjugation, which finally came in the 1920s along with the completion of the Benguela railroad across the highlands.
Subjects
External trade
Burden carrying
Travel
Slavery
Chief executive
External relations
Warfare
Missions
culture
Ovimbundu
HRAF PubDate
2002
Region
Africa
Sub Region
Southern Africa
Document Type
Book
Evaluation
Creator Type
Historian
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
Analyst
Ian Skoggard ; 2001
Field Date
1979-1980
Coverage Date
1850-1930
Coverage Place
Angola
Notes
by Linda Marinda Heywood
UM8427410
Includes bibliographical references (p. 486-505)
Thesis (Ph.D.) -- Columbia University, 1984
LCSH
Mbundu (African people)