Developing the Rivers of East and West Africa: An Environmental History

摘要

African rivers gave rise to early civilizations, acted as conduits of trade, technology, ideas, and new crops, and were harnessed in creative ways to make many agrarian societies productive. Yet their modern history, from the colonial era to the present, has centered around development dilemmas, water scarcity, and the twin specters of drought and flooding. Heather J. Hoag examines the role of rivers in African history over the past two hundred years, focusing on case studies in what was once the British Empire. Attempts to harness rivers for colonial agricultural priorities, urban water needs, and especially for electricity generation are the main themes. Despite the intervention of colonial and postcolonial development planners and engineers, Hoag emphasizes that riverine communities, and the rivers themselves, had agency to shape policies or thwart development priorities that often conflicted with local livelihoods. Yet local people were prepared to embrace new technology if river development was perceived as bringing positive changes, and colonial engineers sometimes took local practices and knowledge seriously.