|
|
|
Slavery, Colonialism and Economic Growth in Dahomey, 1640-1960 (African Studies)
The small but important region of Dahomey (now the People's Republic of Benin) has played an active role in the world economy throughout the era of mercantile and industrial capitalism, beginning as an exporter of slaves and becoming an exporter of plain oil and palm kernels. This book covers a span of three centuries, integrating into a single framework the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial economic history of Dahomey. Mr Manning has pieced together an extensive body of new evidence and new interpretations: he has combined descriptive evidence with quantitative data on foreign trade, slave demography and colonial government finance, and has used both Marxian and Neoclassical techniques of economic analysis. He argues that, despite the severe strain on population and economic growth caused by the slave trade, the economy continued to expand from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, and the colonial state acted as an economic depressant rather than a stimulant..
Price: $38.00
[ Notify me when price goes down.]
|
|
Amazons of Black Sparta : The Women Warriors of Dahomey
"Alpern, a former Agency for International Development official long-stationed in Africa and now an independent scholar, draws together the available material on this peculiar institution into an interesting and readable book."—Choice History is rife with tales of fighting women. More often than not, these stories prove more legend than history. Dating back to the amazons of ancient Asia Minor, myths of fierce, autonomous women of martial excellence abound. And yet, the only thoroughly documented amazons in world history are the women warriors of Dahomy, an eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Western African kingdom. Once dubbed a "small black Sparta," residents of Dahomy shared with the Spartans an intense militarism and sense of collectivism. Moreover, the women of both kingdoms prided themselves on bodies hardened from childhood by rigorous physical exercise. But Spartan women kept in shape to breed male warriors, Dahomean amazons to kill them. Originally a praetorian guard, the Dahomeans developed into a force 6,000 strong and were granted semi-sacred status. They lusted for battle, fighting with fury and valor until the kingdom's final defeat by France in 1892. Stanley B. Alpern has chronicled this remarkable history in depth for the first time. The product of meticulous archival research, Amazons of Black Sparta is defined by Alpern's gift for narrative and will stand as the most comprehensive and accessible account of the woman warriors of Dahomy. .
Price: $19.80
[ Notify me when price goes down.]
|
|
Dahomey: The Warrior Kings (The Kingdoms of Africa)
|
|
Warrior Women: The Amazons Of Dahomey And The Nature Of War
Some prominent anthropologists have been joined by an eminent military historian in declaring that military combat - at all times and in all places - has been a male activity They advance many reasons for this pattern, some more plausible than others. In fact, although warfare is typically conducted by men, in various places and at various times, women have fought bravely and well, and in the West African kingdom of Dahomey during the nineteenth century, they formed the elite corps of a successful army. Many European visitors to Dahomey commented favorably on their military bearing, finding them more impressive in discipline and maneuver than male Dahomean soldiers. When France invaded Dahomey in the early 1890s, their superior weapons won the war but all those French officers and men who wrote about their bloody battles against Dahomey declared not only that these women warriors were superior to male Dahomean soldiers, but that they were the equal of the French. Edgerton describes the history of these ”Amazon,” as they became known, their recruitment, training, and battle experience. Of particular interest to scholars interested in culture and gender today, these women believed that in order for them to carry out their martial roles, they had to transform themselves into men. How this was done, how the Amazons lived and fought, and what their experiences might mean for the understanding of women and warfare both in the past and present day are the subjects of this book. .
Price: $8.50
[ Notify me when price goes down.]
|
|
Irving Penn: Photographs Of Dahomey 1967
Irving Penn is one of the most noteworthy photographers of the 20th century, best known for his inimitable fashion and portrait photographs, as well as his unique still lifes. In 1967, Penn traveled on assignment from the American fashion journal Vogue to Dahomey in western Africa, now the Republic of Benin. His portraits of natives taken in a portable studio built especially for the occasion reflect Penn's fascination with foreign cultures, as do his photographs of culturally significant clay figures dedicated primarily to the voodoo god Legba. Thirty-five years after their publication in Vogue, Irving Penn presents these portraits of tribal people and his photographs of Legba altars in book form for the first time. With texts by leading anthropologists and Irving Penn himself, this volume is an extraordinary photographic document of African culture, from a master recorder of our time..
Price: $23.38
[ Notify me when price goes down.]
|
|
|
|
|