| 1. |
- Galli, Stefania, 1989
(författare)
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A Black Utopia? Social Stratification in Nineteenth-Century Colonial Sierra Leone
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In the present dissertation, social stratification in colonial Sierra Leone is discussed, with the aim of providing novel evidence on the association between ideals, institutions and inequality. The case study of Sierra Leone is valuable for it allows to examine social stratification in an alleged egalitarian context. The dissertation consists of an introductory chapter and four research essays. The essays examine four aspects that contribute to social stratification. The former two essays delve into the social aspects of social stratification, namely socio-economic status and marriage patterns, whereas the latter two examine social stratification from an economic perspective. The intention is to employ the case study of Sierra Leone to portray a picture of European colonialism in Africa that differs from that often portrayed in the literature. The first essay studies the association between ethnic belonging and socio-economic status in early days colonial Sierra Leone. The findings suggest that, in spite of the egalitarian ideals on which it had been allegedly founded, a certain degree of ethnic discrimination characterized the socio-economic structure of the colony. Ethnic discrimination did not, however, translate into a strict occupational segregation for individuals from most ethnic groups could be found across the whole socio-economic spectrum. The second essay delves into the association between ethnic belonging and marriage patterns. The study shows that, irrespective of egalitarian ideals and ethnic heterogeneity, endogamy was the most prevalent marriage arrangement in colonial Sierra Leone. This finding implies the existence of an association between ethnic belonging and marriage patterns, while providing circumstantial evidence on the presence of an ethnic social divide in the colony. Furthermore, the essay shows that exogamy occurred within ethnic groups’ clusters, a finding that corroborates the hypothesis of the existence of a vertical ethnic hierarchy in colonial Sierra Leone. The third essay examines quantitatively the claim that egalitarian ideals impacted on inequality levels by studying wealth inequality in rural colonial Sierra Leone. The results show that between households’ distribution of resources was fairly egalitarian in global comparison. Wealth inequality estimates for Sierra Leone are on par with those estimated for other rural settler colonies in North America in their early days of existence. The results provide supportive evidence to the hypothesis that ideals can impact on the institutions driving inequality, by shaping the rules of allocation of resources towards egalitarianism. The fourth essay examines the evolution of land distribution in colonial Sierra Leone over the course of the first forty years of the colony’s existence. The results show that although egalitarian principles regulated land distribution, land inequality increased over the period studied. The essay argues that the shift in the type of egalitarianism underlying land distribution was the major responsible for increasing inequality as recorded for colonial Sierra Leone. The results of this dissertation suggest that Sierra Leone was a fairly equal colony under most perspectives, and that institutions were influenced by egalitarian ideals, although not all to the same extent. The present dissertation ultimately provides evidence supporting the existence of an association between ideals, institutions and social stratification in a colonial context.
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| 2. |
- Galli, Stefania, 1989, et al.
(författare)
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Colonialism and rural inequality in Sierra Leone: an egalitarian experiment
- 2020
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Ingår i: European Review of Economic History. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1361-4916 .- 1474-0044. ; 24:3, s. 468-501
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We analyze the level of inequality in rural Sierra Leone in the early colonial period. Previous research has suggested that the colony was established under highly egalitarian ideals. We examine whether these ideals also are reflected in the real distribution of wealth in the colony. We employ a newly assembled dataset extracted from census data in the colony in 1831. The results show that rural Sierra Leone exhibited one of the most equal distributions of wealth so far estimated for any preindustrial rural society
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| 3. |
- Galli, Stefania, 1989, et al.
(författare)
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Economic Inequality in Latin America and Africa, 1650 to 1950: Can a comparison of historical trajectories help to understand underdevelopment?
- 2023
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Ingår i: Economic History of Developing Regions. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2078-0389 .- 2078-0397. ; 38:1, s. 41-64
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The present article provides a comparative review of historicaleconomic inequality in the two most unequal regions of theworld, namely Latin America and Africa. This contributionexamines novel studies that provide quantitative estimates ofincome and/or wealth inequality in the two continents in termsof sources, methods, results and interpretations, focusing on theperiod 1650 to 1950. The article shows that although scholars inthe two regions have often employed similar methodologies,their results are far from conforming to a uniform pattern. Thepresent review highlights how scholars of Latin America andAfrica tend to remain geographically isolated, failing to capturethe learning opportunities stemming from the work of theircontinental counterparts in terms of both sources and methods.
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| 4. |
- Galli, Stefania, 1989, et al.
(författare)
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Land distribution and Inequality in a Black Settler Colony: The case of Sierra Leone, 1792-1831
- 2021
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Ingår i: Economic history review. - : Wiley. - 0013-0117 .- 1468-0289. ; 74:1, s. 115-137
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Land distribution is considered to be one of the main contributors to inequality in pre-industrial societies. This article contributes to the debate on the origins of economic inequality in pre-industrial African societies by studying land inequality at a particularly early stage of African economic history. The research examines land distribution and inequality in land ownership among settlers in the Colony of Sierra Leone for three benchmark years over the first 40 years of its existence. The findings show that land inequality was low at the founding of the Colony but increased substantially over time.We suggest that this increase was enabled by a shift in the type of egalitarianism pursued by the colonial authorities, which was reflected in a change in the redistributive policy applied, which allowed later settlers to appropriate land more freely than had been previously possible.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Galli, Stefania, 1989
(författare)
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Marriage patterns in a black Utopia: Evidence from early nineteenth-century colonial Sierra Leone
- 2019
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Ingår i: The History of the Family. - 1081-602X. ; 24:4, s. 744-768
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The colony of Sierra Leone was characterized by an unusually heterogeneous population made up of immigrants. The diverse population and the dynamics that led to its creation constitute a valuable case study for mating theories. This article examines the determinants of marriage patterns in early nineteenth-century urban Sierra Leone relying on census data. The degree to which marriage-market constraints and preferences influenced marriage patterns is studied. The results of this study suggest that marriage-market constraints contributed to explaining marriage patterns. However, even in a newly founded and multicultural context as that of urban Sierra Leone, social homogamy based on ascribed characteristics was the most prevalent marriage arrangement, in spite of the disruption of kin relations caused by slavery and migration.
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| 7. |
- Galli, Stefania, 1989
(författare)
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Occupational structure in a black settler colony: Sierra Leone in 1831
- 2024
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Occupational structure is a valuable proxy for economic development when more direct indicators are lacking. This study employs occupational structure for the Colony of Sierra Leone in 1831 with the aim of contributing to shed new light on African economic development at a very early stage. This work is based on data extracted from the 1831 census, one of the first reliable censuses in African history. This source provides valuable information on the whole colonial population, including occupational titles for a vast part of it. The results show that the Colony was far from homogeneous, combining a largely primary oriented countryside with a more modern urban sector centre around the Freetown’s harbour.
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| 8. |
- Galli, Stefania, 1989, et al.
(författare)
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Reconstructing a slave society: Building the DWI panel, 1760-1914
- 2023
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this article, we discuss the sources employed and the methodological choices that entailed assembling a novel, individual-level, large panel dataset containing an incredible wealth of data for a full population in the Caribbeans over the long run, the DWI panel. The panel contains over 1.35 million observations spanning 154 years, well over 100 variables, and its records are linked across sources along demographic and geographic lines throughout the entire period. This richness is all the more valuable in light of the limited source’s availability characteristics of the area and is hoped to lead to a renewed debate over our understanding of former slave societies, while fostering collaborations with scholars relying on similar datasets for other areas of the world.
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| 9. |
- Galli, Stefania, 1989
(författare)
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Socioeconomic Status and Group Belonging: Evidence from Early-Nineteenth-Century Colonial West Africa
- 2022
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Ingår i: Social science history. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 0145-5532 .- 1527-8034. ; 46:2, s. 349-372
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study provides a novel analysis of occupational stratification in Sierra Leone from a historical perspective. By employing census data for early-nineteenth-century colonial Sierra Leone, the present study offers a valuable snapshot of a colony characterized by a heterogenous population of indigenous and migratory origin. The study shows that an association between colonial group categorization and socioeconomic status existed despite the colony being of very recent foundation implying a hierarchical structure of the society. Although Europeans and “mulattoes” occupied most high-status positions, as common in the colonies, indigenous immigrants were also represented in high socioeconomic strata thanks to the opportunities stemming from long- and short-distance trading. However, later arrivals, especially liberated slaves, belonged within the lowest socioeconomic strata of the society and worked as farmers or unskilled labor, suggesting that the time component may also have influence socioeconomic opportunities.
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