International Law and the History of Resource Extraction in Africa: Capital Accumulation and Underdevelopment, 1450-1918

This book explores the historical economic and legal regimes that legitimized the resource extraction and exploitation of Africa between the 15th and 19th centuries, leading to the continent's underdevelopment in the world system. It interrogates the economic and legal structures that supported European intervention, including the trade in human beings as legitimate private property. It also examines the techniques used to submerge African sovereignty under European sovereignty during the scramble for territorial control in the 19th century, concluding with the validation of occupation in international law following the 1884-85 Berlin Conference. The book argues that the doctrines of trade and property rights sanctioned by international law led to a trend of African dispossession, setting the continent on a path to underdevelopment with long-reaching consequences.

Format: Hardback
Length: 296 pages
Publication date: 22 September 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This comprehensive work delves into the intricate historical, economic, and legal frameworks that sanctioned the extraction and exploitation of Africa between the 15th and 19th centuries, ultimately contributing to the continent's enduring underdevelopment within the global system. It meticulously examines the economic and legal structures that facilitated European intervention in Africa, shedding light on the trade and private property rights that shaped the continent's economic destiny, particularly the notorious trade in human beings as legitimate private property by European powers. The book then delves into the techniques employed by European powers during the 19th-century scramble for territorial control, ultimately leading to the validation of occupation in international law following the 1884-85 Berlin Conference.

Concluding its analysis, the book argues that the doctrines of trade and property rights sanctioned by international law played a pivotal role in perpetuating African dispossession, setting the continent on a path to underdevelopment that has had far-reaching consequences. This book appeals to scholars and students across a wide range of disciplines, including law, history, economics, international relations, and African studies, as it offers a profound exploration of the complex factors that have shaped Africa's historical trajectory.

Weight: 710g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032208909