Deceived by African Cotton: The British Cotton Growing Association and the Demise of the Lancashire Textile Industry

Abstract

here appears to be a general consensus that colonial incursion into Africa was primarily motivated by the quest for raw materials and markets for imperial manufacturers.' Beneath this consensus, however, lie questions that have been ignored by economic historians: what mechanisms did the British use in the acquisition of raw materials from Africa? Beyond broad generalizations and conjectures, in what specific ways did the British state promote the production of raw materials in Africa? How did the colonized people react to the British quest for raw materials? What kinds of alliances and institutions did the British state foster in the quest for raw materials? The British Cotton Growing Association (BCGA)2 was one of the notable and influential organizations involved in raw material