Ruling Emancipated Slaves and Indigenous Subjects

This fantastic new book is a major contribution to the literature on colonialism and development. Owolabi addresses the puzzle of why the early colonies with planation slavery often ended up with relatively high levels of development. Owolabi skillfully uses multimethod tools to make an eye-opening argument that merits wide attention among social scientists and historians. * James Mahoney, Northwestern University * Olukunle Owolabi, in his eye-opening treatise, describes what generations of development economists did not see, namely that countries populated by slaves of forced settlement have brought peace, prosperity, and democracy far outpacing countries of colonial occupation. He then explains why, showing the returns to emancipation and citizenship. My hat off to Owolabi for opening our eyes to what has long been obscured by academic prejudices. * David D. Laitin, Stanford University * Owolabi demonstrates that forced-settlement colonies are a distinctive form of colonial rule, fostering economic and political trajectories that diverge from-and surpass-the trajectories of other formerly extractive colonies. This counter-intuitive finding offers an important corrective to usual understandings of colonialism and development. * John Gerring, Professor, Department of Government, University of Texas at Austin * In this book, Owolabi asks an intriguing question and, through an impressive multimethod analysis of several former empires, offers a compelling answer linked to the institutional legacies of colonialism. Ruling Emancipated Slaves and Indigenous Subjects is a must-read for any scholar interested in the long-term impact of colonialism. * Matthew Lange, Professor of Sociology, McGill University * A bold, provocative, and persuasive account of the lasting effects of colonial rule. Longue duree arguments are exceedingly difficult to make yet Ruling Emancipated Slaves and Indigenous Subjects delivers on its ambitious goal: to show the importance of emancipation during the colonial era for post-colonial development and democratization. * Adria Lawrence, author of Imperial Rule and the Politics of Nationalism: Anti-Colonial Protest in the French Empire * This excellent book rethinks the consequences of extractive colonial institutions. Analyzing the importance of early legal rights, Owolabi explains the puzzle of why countries in the West Indies have experienced better development outcomes than those in West Africa. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in colonialism, development, and democracy. * Jack Paine, Associate Professor of Political Science, Emory University *