The Impoverishment of the African Red Sea Littoral, 1640–1945

Description

The African Red Sea Littoral, currently divided between Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Djibouti, is one of the poorest regions in the world. But the pastoralist communities indigenous to this region were not always poor—historically, they had access to a variety of resources that allowed them to prosper in the harsh, arid environment. This access was mediated by a robust moral economy of pastoralism that acted as a social safety net. Steven Serels charts the erosion of this moral economy, a slow-moving process that began during the Little Ice Age mega-drought of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and continued through the devastating famines of the twentieth century. By examining mass sedentarization after the Second World War as merely the latest manifestation of an inter-generational environmental and economic crisis, this book offers an innovative lens for understanding poverty in northeastern Africa. Front Matter ....Pages i-xv Introduction: Becoming Poor (Steven Serels)....Pages 1-29 Survival by Conversion, 1640–1840 (Steven Serels)....Pages 31-53 Divided and Conquered, 1840–1883 (Steven Serels)....Pages 55-73 War, Disease, Famine, Destruction, 1883–1893 (Steven Serels)....Pages 75-99 An Unequal Recovery, 1893–1913 (Steven Serels)....Pages 101-129 The Cost of Living Becomes Unaffordable, 1913–1945 (Steven Serels)....Pages 131-163 Conclusion: Being Poor (Steven Serels)....Pages 165-177 Back Matter ....Pages 179-204