Project supported by an ESRC First Research Grant
There is a wide range of judgments of what the period of colonial rule brought to sub-Sahara African countries. It is easy to find support for both immiseration and modernization. How human welfare actually developed, however, is essentially uncertain. Reliable data and a conceptual framework, doing justice to the various economic and social systems in transition, are lacking. This research project seeks to quantify human development to a degree and accuracy which has previously not been achieved by applying an established methodology and drawing data from a new and comprehensive source.
Nutrition and health are two basic elements of human welfare. These will be in the focus of this study and assessed by the effect they have on the human body, particularly on weight and height. Low weight for height is an obvious indicator of acute undernutrition. Mean height of a population serves equally well as a gauge of nutritional status, as children suffering from chronic undernutrition fall short of their genetic growth potential and, on average, become shorter adults. The two measures of nutrition and health status are consistent over time and applicable to the various socio-economic groups in Africa.
The study will examine a total of 18 mostly West African countries covering the diverse ecological zones and experiences of British and French colonial rule, representing approximately 25% of the population and 40% of the land area in sub-Saharan Africa. Using weights and heights it is possible to map changes in human welfare for extremely small geographic units such as districts and towns. This degree of accuracy is important because development was uneven and country averages disguise important regional inequalities. The study is exceptional in that it covers an extended period 1860-1980; the period shortly before the colonial conquest and the period after independence will be used as a reference point to the colonial period (ca. 1890-1960).
Measuring human development is one goal; explaining the changes in human welfare is another. A statistical analysis will be undertaken correlating the measures of nutritional status with social, economic and political changes. Conclusions about the effect of British versus French colonial rule will be reached by assessing human welfare differences along the borders which randomly subjected individuals, from otherwise homogenous background, to different colonial policies.
Accurate knowledge of the development in the long-run is crucial for a better understanding of the structural causes behind Africa’s disappointing economic performance. Those causes can be viewed as fundamentals determining a low-level equilibrium in living standards, from which deviations can only be short-lived. It is often argued that the origins of Africa’s trajectory lie in the colonial past as colonisers implanted exploitative, anti-growth institutions which persist today. By taking a historical approach, the research is well-placed to address such historical legacy theories. In particular, the project will demonstrate whether exploitative institutions had indeed the expected negative effects at the time when they were created. It will also elucidate whether policies which proved historically successful are in the scope of policymakers or would be ineffective today.
All findings will essentially be the product of collecting information of no less than 135,000 men born before and during colonial rule. The data will be derived from personnel files and medical examinations of African recruits to the French and British colonial armies, which recorded a spectacular wealth of information like age, place of birth and residence, ethnicity, previous occupation, marital status, physical health and career in the army. Data collection involves extensive archival work in France, Kenya and Sierra Leone.