Capitalist Economy in Colonial and Post-Colonial Kenya: A Case of Cotton Growing in Karachuonyo, 1903-1972

Abstract

This paper examines the capitalist economy in Kenya, which aimed at providing raw materials to the colonial industries in Britain. It was also meant to expand colonial revenue within the colonies of the metropolis and to meet the demand for commodity production in the world market. The study was conducted in Karachuonyo, a constituency in Kenya, and aimed to explore the trend of the capitalist economy within the context of cotton growing in Karachuonyo. The introduction of hut tax and poll tax in Kenya led to the introduction of the cash economy. The study employed purposive sampling and snowball approaches in identifying informants. A qualitative research design was used. The researcher targeted cotton farmers, knowledgeable people, custodians of history, agricultural officers and co-operative officers. The researcher used an interview guide to collect oral data. Other primary and secondary data were collected from the Kenya National Archives. Most secondary data were collected from institutional libraries. Data was analyzed using textual analysis. The findings of the study revealed that cotton growing was introduced in Karachuonyo by the colonial authority in 1903, albeit with a slow take-off in the early years. The colonial authority and chiefs used some force to ground cotton growing. During the Great Depression, 1929-1939, cotton growing increased. The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 slowed the progress of cotton production as the colonial state, instead, encouraged food production to feed the soldiers. However, in the post-war period, 1945-1963, cotton production again increased. From 1963 when Kenya attained independence up to 1972, cotton growing increased in Karachuonyo, before starting to decline in the years that followed. The key recommendation of the study is that the concerned governments should consider reviving cotton growing and industry