THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE MIDDLE BENUE BASIN BEFORE THE JIHAD, C.1500-1812

Abstract

This paper examines the evolution and nature of the political economy of the middle Benue basin before the Jihad. The processes of production in the middle Benue basin developed to a level that made it possible to generate surpluses. The level of surplus appropriation in the tributary mode of production was such that it gave the centralised states a much stronger resource base which enabled them not only to expand production but also to organise wider distributive networks both within and outside the Middle Benue basin, thereby further consolidating their economic, military and political domination of the region before the jihad.


(Humanities Review: 2001 1(1): 67-73)