Abstract
Hillbom and Bolt challenge the common view that Botswana experienced only limited colonial influence. They argue that the later colonial period from 1930 onwards instead has had significant long-term impact on the economic structures of Bechuanaland and later independent Botswana. They explain how the 1930s saw the development of a so-called gate-keeping state characterized by financial constraints restricting its development strategies forcing it to focus its limited tax capacity on controlling its borders. They conduct an in-depth investigation analysing how this led to colonial efforts to establish a cattle export sector resulting in an economy characterized by natural resource dependency and struggling with diversification and equity. Finally, with the Tswana cattle-holding elite taking over after independence, political and economic continuity cemented existing structures.
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Hillbom, E., Bolt, J. (2018). Colonial Policies and the Cattle Economy, c. 1930–1975. In: Botswana – A Modern Economic History. Palgrave Studies in Economic History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73144-5_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73144-5_3
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