Peasants, politics and survival in colonial Malawi, 1891--1964.
Date
1999
Authors
Malekano, Lawrence Alinane Brighton.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Dalhousie University
Abstract
Description
The advent of colonial rule had a profound impact on peasant communities in the Shire Highlands of Malawi (colonial Nyasaland). The massive alienation of land and the creation of plantations radically changed the bases of rural subsistence, and undermined the peasants' ability to meet their basic needs. Colonial penetration and capitalist development also ushered in new sets of social, economic, political and legal structures designed mainly to meet the needs of the colonizers and limit the options of the colonized. These new demands and barriers provoked a wide range of responses from peasants within the limited choices now available to them. Refashioning their activities within and outside the household, peasants devised strategies that not only lessened the levels of colonial exploitation and ensured their survival, but also opened up avenues for social and economic advancement. For all its power, the colonial state still needed peasant labour and taxation to function. Realising the potential of this fact, peasants responded to colonial demands in complex ways that undercut the state's interests and enabled them to reassert some measure of autonomy within the boundaries of capitalist economy. This study explores the ways in which peasants' diverse responses to colonialism helped shape rural life and social transformation in Malawi during the colonial period (1891--1964), and offers a new appreciation of the significance of peasants' everyday actions in shaping Malawi's history.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Dalhousie University (Canada), 1999.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Dalhousie University (Canada), 1999.
Keywords
History, African.