Salt of the desert sun : a history of salt production and trade in the Central Sudan /

In 1980, Lovejoy's Caravans of Kola: The Hausa Kola Trade (17001900) (Zaria and Ibadan) was published. Now Lovejoy has written another one-commodity study. This interesting analysis evaluates data within the framework of ecology (including geology), technology, and the social structure of nine desert and sahelian salt production sites associated with the Sokoto Caliphate and Borno. Although Lovejoy deals primarily with the 19th and 20th centuries, his historical dimensions extend into the preceding 500 years. His discussion of the technology of production is extremely interesting, as is his analysis of labor mobilization, proprietorship, rights to salt and natron, and salt-marketing networks. Lovejoy's conclusions show, first, that because of diverse geological conditions, a variety of chemical mixtures were produced to the level of 10,000 to 20,000 tons per year. Second, although labor (about 25,000 employed in production at the end of the 19th century) depended on artisans, peasants, slaves, and women, migrant labor was also used. Third, although earlier proprietary methods included freeholding, title-holding, and fiefdoms, by the 19th century, proprietorship of the salines was frequently associated with political authorities. Finally, Lovejoy reveals the extent to which the industry was restricted by rudimentary technologies and limited transportation systems, as well as by its weak links with capitalism and external markets prior to 1900. Hence, the Central Sudanese salt industry crumbled under the impact of colonialism. College and university libraries.-B.M. Perinbam, University of Maryland at College Park