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African Women in Colonial Economies

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The Palgrave Handbook of African Colonial and Postcolonial History

Abstract

The historiography on Africa’s colonial economic history has transformed significantly. Whereas the earliest studies on colonial economies focused almost exclusively on male-dominated cash-crop production, scholars of African women identified the numerous direct and indirect ways in which women engaged the colonial economy. As the scholarship on women continues to expand and explore topics such as artisan production, marriage, and childhood, we have a fuller understanding of the dynamic ways in which women in Africa shaped and were shaped by colonial economies

I would like to thank Margot Lovett and James Fenske for their generous comments on an earlier draft of this essay.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Judith A. Byfield

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  1. Judith A. Byfield
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. History Department, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA

    Martin S. Shanguhyia

  2. University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA

    Toyin Falola

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Byfield, J.A. (2018). African Women in Colonial Economies. In: Shanguhyia, M., Falola, T. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of African Colonial and Postcolonial History. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59426-6_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59426-6_6

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