African History to 1875 (Fall 1997)
Chapter 3: Trade Diasporas from Overseas p92
Main difference between European and African traders was the
former's dependence on a vast overseas infrastructure that
included shipbuilders, insurance brokers, national flags for
international legal protection, and more. European Juula
combined economic with political and military, unlike the
African Juula who separated religious and economic from
military and political.
p93 War and commerce went together for Europeans. Ethnic
distinctions were more important for Europeans than for
African Juulas. European loyalties were strongest to the
Crown, the Company and to fellow European nationals, in that
order.
p94 The Europeans who served in West Africa were most likely to
be
criminals or otherwise in disgrace.
Impact of African disease on Europeans between 1680 and
1780:
of ten who went to Africa, 6 died in the first year, two
more
died in the next three years, one rturned home and one
disappeared, either through reenlistment or desertion. [See
K,G, Davies The Living and the Dead", p16; also P. Curtin,
Image of Africa, pp58-87, 177-97, 343-62, and "Epidemiology
and the Slave Trade," Political Science Quarterly,
83:190-216
(1968)]
Despite the weakness of Europeans, they succeeded in
operating
trade enclaves because a few survived to acclimatize,
mulattos
were resistant to disease, and African learned enough about
European ways to serve as intermediaries and brokers.
p97 The Afro-Portuguese settled in trade settlements along the
coast from Cape Verde to the Gambia River and overland to
Casamance
p98 The Afro-Portuguese introduced sail-rigged boats of ten tons
capacity called canoe by the Europeans
p99 The Afro-Portuguese operated an overland trade route from
Cape
Verde to the Senegal River, through the Damel of Cayor's
territory.
The Afro-Portuguese prospered during the 17th and early 18th
century, after Portugal could no longer dominate the coast,
but before other Europeans could compete effectively.
p100 In the 18th century, the English began to restrict trade
along
the Upper Gambia, so the French formed an alliance with the
Afro-Portuguese.
p100 THE GREAT TRADING COMPANIES
The Dutch were the first to attack the Hispanic empires, by
attacking Portuguese posts from Europe to Japan.
p101 After the Dutch took Brazil and Elmina, African trading
posts
became prizes of war.
p101 In the 1640s, the Dutch actively disseminated sugar
technology
throuyghout the Caribbean in order to increase their
business
in the carrying trade. Planting increased the demand for
slaves.
p103 European warfare was generally the work of a strong fleet
that
swept the West African Coast and took all the trading posts.
No nation could find enough men to garrison the forts
against
sea attack.
The Treaty of Utrecht inaugurated a period of economic
stability in West Africa dominated by the great trading
companies.
Dutch East India Company became a model of commercial
organization. In 1673, the French Compagnie du Sngal was
formed.
p104 The French Compagnie du Sngal supplied slaves to New World
plantations, but failed quickly. From 1720 to 1758, a
second
French Compagnie du Sngal operated as a division of the
Company des Indes.
The British Royal African Company was founded in 1672. It
was
replaced in 1751 by the Company of Merchants Trading to
Africa. It existed to maintain trading conclaves that were
open to its members. Its business was fortification.
p105 The great charter companies maintained their monopolies only
until the end of the War of the Spanish Succession. The
coasts were too long and there was too many competitors to
operate an effective monopoly along the West African coast.
Fortifications were so expensive that the charter companies
could not maintain them and compete with private shippers at
the same time. The charter companies' advantage was in
their
ability to penetrate into the interior. Gore, St. Louis
and
James Island became terminii for new European trade
diasporas.
p106 map of principal trade factories on the Gambia River
p107 new trade diasporas were operated by Afro-europeans.
p108 map of European trade networks in the 1730s
p109 AN ERA OF TRANSITION. 1750-1816
p110 Senegambia experienced disaster in the 1750s from drought,
disease, famie and locusts. The great trading companies
went
bankrupt. The rainy season was below normal in 1746-8.
1749
was normal, but could't make up for the last three years.
1750-2 was disastrous again. In 1753, distant rains led to
flooding in St. Louis, but didn't help the food situation.
By
1754, Serer and Wolof escaped starvation by migrating to the
Senegal River floodplain where they were enslaved by the
Futanke and sold to the French. The crisis was over after
1758.
p112 Transition continued to the end of the Napoleonic Wars, but
during this period, European interest declined. High
European
mortality rates and the lack of monopoly slave trade were
the
causes.
p112 THE AFRO-FRENCH COMMUNITY OF THE 18TH CENTURY
p113 St. Louis always had a larger population than James Island
thanks to the hydrology of the river which made it possible
for ships' crews on the Gambia to handle all shipping tasks.
Navigation on the Senegal was more labor intensive since
currents and wind made it difficult to move upriver.
Kedging
was the solution.
p114 Senegal River boats were as large as 14 tons and had a crew
of
about 25 laptots under 3 or 4 European or Afro-European
officers. Laptots were slaves owned by St. Louis well-to-do
who paid have their wages to their owners.
p115 Curtin describes the captured and purchased slaves used by
the
French for garrison defense. He says that they were very
loyal and cites an example of one man who escaped captors
and
returned to his French post. [See Levens, Report of 10 July
1725, ANF, C6 9. There is another copy in BN, FF, NA 9339,
f.144]
p120 The trading towns were never as large as interior African
towns which held as many as 3000-5000 people in the 16th
century.
European trading towns were always demographically dependent
on the surrounding communities. European women were rare
and
African females emigrated to the towns in large numbers.
Europeans tended to form liasons with African women called
"mariages
la mode du pays." Women who formed such liasons
received gifts from their men, who often died or returned
home
after a few years. The women became wealthy with slaves
(laptots) or real estate.
p121 Mtis were the best group for cross-cultural communitcation.
They served as mayors, married within their own group,
received education in France and became closely identified
with European society.
p121 OVERSEAS TRADERS AND THE POLITICS OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Europeans were frustrated by their political weakness
relative
to the neighboring African states. Moreover, they possessed
arms sent from Europe to fortify their posts against other
Europeans.
p121 Available technology (stone forts and artillery) favored the
European, but only for quick, forceful blows.
p122 Disease and overland travel conditions limited their ability
to garrison an area.
p123 General commercial war erupted in the mouth of the Gambia
River in 1764 when the French returned to their trading post
at Albreda in the kingdom of Ľomi on the right bank. The
British were paying tolls to the Ľomi for the right to send
ships upstream, but refused to allow French ships to pass
their fort at James Island. The British stopped paying
tolls
when the French and Ľomi concluded a trade alliance. Saalum
entered on the British side because of trade lost to the
French at Albreda.
p124 The war dragged on until 1768 as an Anglo-Ľomi war, despite
peace between France and England in 1763.
This war illustrates the development of relations between
European traders and African people. At the beginning, the
Europeans were relatively weak and remained content to work
through local Afro-Portuguese middlemen. Over time, the
descendants of those middlemen became parasitic, content to
milk the English trader through tolls and service fees.
p127 LEGITIMATE TRADE AND THE FRENCH REOCCUPATION OF ST. LOUIS
p128 The Napoleonic Wars totally altered the terms of African
trade. The abolition of slavery was part of it, but new
people arrived, determined to do more than supervise African
trade.
Legitimate trade seemed moral and nationalistic. The main
change was a new interest in interventionism by the
Europeans.
Steamboats were introduced on the Senegal River in 1819/11
and
the first steam convoy reached Gajaaga in 1820. They
brought
improved artillery within reach of all riverside villages,
at
least during the high water season.
p129 Quinine was isolated from cinchona bark in 1820. Some of
the
French were using it regularly by 1843, according to
Raffenel.
Europeans gave up on the use of European troops in West
Africa
after the Napoleonic Wars. Together, these measures reduced
European mortality.
As new people began to enter commerce, the French in Senegal
systematized the various participants. COMMERANTS was the
broadest category. NEGOIANTS held the highest position,
were
mostly French, and controlled the import-export trade from
France. Below them were the MARCHANDS DTAILLANTS who
imported goods for retail sales, but did not export goods.
Below them were the LICENCIS, licensed retail shopkeepers
in
Gore and St. Louis, or traders, cabaret operators and so
on.
p130 Trade in the countryside was conducted by TRAITANTS. They
were by far the largest group.
Each group was ranked according to the source of their
capital. Those who traded with their own capital were the
highest, while those who traded with borrowed goods or as
agents of other merchants were lower down on the scale.
Another small group was the MARIGOTIERS who sailed small
craft
up the tributaries of the Senegal River in search of goods.
The most difficult and prestigious trade was the "Galam
voyage" that required large amounts of capital and up to six
months for repayment. Only the largest firms could do
this.
In French colonies, the government maintained its
relationship
with commerce through the semi-official CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE.
Although they were thought to represent the interests of all
merchants, they were dominated by the NEGOIANTS.
p131 In St. Louis, the French governor outmaneuvered the
NEGOCIANTS
and created an official COMIT DE COMMERCE with elected
representatives from all levels of commerce.
The government chartered a succession of monopoly companies
for the upriver Gajaaga trade (Senegal River) beginning in
1820. Despite interruptions, this system persisted until
1848.
At first, companies were chartered for a single year and
profits disbursed at the end of the season, but after 1824,
they began to endure for several years. In any case, the
same
people managed each successive company.
p132 The company and government maintained close ties. The
governor appointed the company director from a list of three
supplied by the board of directors. The government recieved
free mail service and use of company warehouses in exchange
for guaranteeing a monopoly profit to investers.
p135 A crisis occurred by 1842 because too many small TRAITANTS
fell behind in their debts to the St. Louis gum trade
NEGOCIANTS. The solution was dictated from Paris, but St.
Louis merchants were obliged to support their debtors or go
under themselves.
p136 The final plan allowed the government to register traitaints
and command 5% of their capital for its own investments. At
the end of the year, the profits from the government's
investments were distributed to the registered traitants,
but
creditors received first priority. The plan worked and the
debts were liquidated by 1845.
p136 THE ENGLISH RETURN TO THE GAMBIA: REVIVED COMPETITION
BETWEEN
THE RIVERS
p137 The town of Bathurst was founded in 1816 by Anglo-African
merchants who were displaced from Gore by the French when
they returned following the Napoleonic Wars.