Writing Africa’s Economic History: Beyond One Single Story

Writing Africa’s Economic History: Beyond One Single Story

When most people think about Africa’s economic history, they jump straight to colonialism, poverty, or “emerging markets.” But the story is far older, far more complex, and much harder to squeeze into a simple headline. Today’s episode unpacks how historians actually write Africa’s economic history, and how ideas about Africa’s development have shifted over the last century—from serving European empires to today’s more nuanced, data‑driven perspectives.

From Bond to Colony: How the Gold Coast Became a Laboratory of Empire

This episode aims to reveal how a patchwork of treaties and conquests turned the Gold Coast into a formal Crown Colony. Show why British officials saw the territory as a testing ground for new ideas about ruling African societies.

West African States, Responsibility and Political Agency

This episode aims to assess John Dunn’s main arguments in the “Conclusion” to West African States. Explore how colonial legacies, patronage politics and leadership choices shape responsibility for post‑colonial outcomes. Introduce the idea of political agency and counterfactual thinking (“things could have been different”) as tools for analysing African politics today.

The European Tradition Exported: How Colonialism Shaped Universities and Culture in Africa and India

This episode aims to examine how European colonial powers transplanted their educational and cultural traditions to colonized regions Explore the lasting impact on African and Indian universities and cultural institutions Discuss the tensions between indigenous traditions and imposed European systems Highlight examples of cultural adaptation and resistance in Ghana and India

Spirits, Scripts, and Crossroads: Rethinking the Religious History of West Africa

This episode aims to explore why writing a single, unified history of religion in West Africa is historically and methodologically difficult. Highlight how African religious experience has been shaped by indigenous traditions, Islam, and Christianity across different regions and time periods. Encourage listeners to question simplistic narratives about “African religion” and to see West Africa as religiously diverse and dynamic