El Dorado in West Africa: The Gold Mining Frontier, African Labor, and Colonial Capitalism (Western African Studies) - Softcover

Dumett, Raymond E.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0821411985 ISBN 13: 9780821411988

Publisher: Ohio University Press, 1999

Synopsis

The second half of the nineteenth century witnessed some of the greatest gold mining migrations in history when dreams of bonanza lured thousands of prospectors and diggers to the far corners of the earth including the Gold Coast of West Africa.
"El Dorado in West Africa" explores the first modern gold rush of Ghana in all of its dimensions land, labor, capital, traditional African mining, technology, transport, management, the clash of cultures, and colonial rule. The rich tapestry of events is crisscrossed by unexpected ironies and paradoxes.
Professor Dumett tells the story of the expatriate-led gold boom of 1875-1900 against the background of colonial capitalism. Through the use of oral data, he also brings to light the expansion of a parallel African gold mining frontier, which outpaced the expatriate mining sector.
African women, kings and chiefs, and the ordinary Akan farmer/miners, as well as European engineers and speculators, are the focal points of this study. It probes in depth the productive and developmental features and the turbulent and shattering effects of mining capitalism on African societies."

About this title

Review:

A major addition to the growing historiography of Africa --Business History

by far the most deeply researched and analysed study of the origins of any mining industry north of Zimbabwe; unquestionably it is also much the best... This is revisionist history at its best... This excellent book is a triumphant vindication of thorough empiricism. --Africa

From the Back Cover:

El Dorado in West Africa explores the first modern gold rush of Ghana in all its dimensions - land, labor, capital, traditional African mining, technology, transport, management, the clash of cultures, and colonial rule. The rich tapestry of events is textured with unexpected ironies and paradoxes. Professor Dumett tells the story of the expatriate-led gold boom of 1875-1900 against the background of colonial capitalism. Through the use of field interviews, he also brings to light the expansion of a parallel "African gold-mining frontier, " which outpaced the expatriate mining sector.

About this edition

• Publisher: Ohio University Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0821411985
• ISBN 13: 9780821411988
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 235