Traders and Trade in Colonial Ovamboland, 1925–1990. Elite Formation and the Politics of Consumption under Indirect Rule and Apartheid

Taking the history of trade and of traders as its subject matter, Gregor Dobler’s book offers the first economic history of northern Namibia during the twentieth century. It traces northern Namibia’s transition from a rural, largely self-relying society into a globalised economy of consumption. This transformation was built on colonial economic activities, but it was crucially shaped by local traders, a new social elite emerging during the 1950s and 1960s.