Karin Pallaver
Associate professor, University of Bologna
Research interests: Monetary history, colonialism in East Africa
My research focuses on the economic and social history of East Africa, and on Kenya and Tanzania more specifically. I am particularly interested in understanding the impact of colonial rule on African societies and economies. My main research topics are the history of money and currency, and especially the transition from precolonial to colonial currencies, and the history of labour relations, with a specific focus on female labour.
Country Cases
The island states along the coast of Africa commonly receive limited attention in the African economic history literature. Colonial territories such as Mauritius and Zanzibar have had, from a mainland perspective, “atypical” population compositions and economic characteristics. Nevertheless, their long histories as trading posts and dependency on tropical plantation sectors open up for interesting case studies as well as comparisons with similar economies outside of Africa.