TY - JOUR
T1 - Elite violence and elite numeracy in Africa from 1400 CE to 1950 CE
AU - Baten, Joerg
AU - Alexopoulou, Kleoniki
PY - 2022/5
Y1 - 2022/5
N2 - How can we trace early African development? The share of rulers’ known birth year has been identified as an indicator of elite numeracy in African regions since 1400, and the share of murdered rulers allows us to gain insights into interpersonal violence behaviour of African elites. From this emerges a dynamic picture of quantitative African history: the absence of elite violence and high elite numeracy developed jointly in sub-Saharan Africa. Some African regions, such as today’s Ethiopia and Angola, took the lead in early development but also experienced severe declines. Development in Africa was, on average, later than in Northwestern Europe.
AB - How can we trace early African development? The share of rulers’ known birth year has been identified as an indicator of elite numeracy in African regions since 1400, and the share of murdered rulers allows us to gain insights into interpersonal violence behaviour of African elites. From this emerges a dynamic picture of quantitative African history: the absence of elite violence and high elite numeracy developed jointly in sub-Saharan Africa. Some African regions, such as today’s Ethiopia and Angola, took the lead in early development but also experienced severe declines. Development in Africa was, on average, later than in Northwestern Europe.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85130445893&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/ereh/heab013
DO - 10.1093/ereh/heab013
M3 - Article
SN - 1361-4916
VL - 26
SP - 155
EP - 184
JO - European Review of Economic History
JF - European Review of Economic History
IS - 2
ER -
