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Reconstructing the history of exchange networks in Central Africa. Example from the 19th-century copper trade

par Nikis, Nicolas ;Lane, Paul J.;Livingstone Smith, Alexandre
Référence Extracting the Past from the Present. International and Interdisciplinary Conference on African Precolonial History (1-5/03/2021: Université libre de Bruxelles)
Publication Non publié, 2021-03-05

Communication à un colloque

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Résumé :

Long-distance and regional trade routes have played a major role in the sociopolitical history of Central Africa throughout the 2nd millennium CE, but their exact location and how they operated remain largely unknown. A new project aims at investigating the history of these networks by studying the exchange from and to the copper deposits in the Niari Basin (southern Republic of Congo) and in the Copperbelt (south-eastern DRC). Both areas were part of extensive economic spaces during the 2nd millennium CE and some of these exchange networks display similar patterns over time that would suggest some continuity until the 19th century. The late 19th-century exchange networks are historically well documented. These networks were used by first colonial officers and missionaries to enter Central Africa and some of these routes are still in use for railways or highroad today. The 19th-century networks can thus be reconstructed using early colonial sources and the information on their form, extent and dynamics used within a direct historical approach as a starting point for tracing their earlier configurations and origins. Based on preliminary results, the paper will first present the main network paths and nodes of long-distance interaction in the Congo Basin in the late 19th century, illustrating the flow of goods and people and their socioeconomic contexts. Next, it will explore how the 19th century networks can help to understand some of the copper exchange networks identified between the 9th and 18th century but also how trade routes could have had an influence on the distribution of specific manufacturing techniques. Besides improving knowledge of the economic history of the area, the results will provide grounds for further research on ancient interaction in Central Africa using material culture.