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Social mobility among Christian Africans: evidence from Anglican marriage registers in Uganda, 1895-2011
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 09:04 authored by Felix Meier zu Selhausen, Marco H D Van Leeuwen, Jacob L WeisdorfThis article uses Anglican marriage registers from colonial and post-colonial Uganda to investigate long-term trends and determinants of intergenerational social mobility and colonial elite formation among Christian African men. It shows that the colonial era opened up new labour opportunities for these African converts, enabling them to take large steps up the social ladder regardless of their social origin. Contrary to the widespread belief that British indirect rule perpetuated the power of African political elites (chiefs), this article shows that a remarkably fluid colonial labour economy actually undermined their social advantages. Sons of chiefs gradually lost their high social-status monopoly to a new, commercially orientated, and well-educated class of Anglican Ugandans, who mostly came from non-elite and sometimes even lower-class backgrounds. The study also documents that the colonial administration and the Anglican mission functioned as key steps on the ladder to upward mobility. Mission education helped provide the skills and social reference needed to climb the ladder in exchange for compliance with the laws of the Anglican Church. These social mobility patterns persisted throughout the post-colonial era, despite rising levels of informal labour during Idi Amin’s dictatorship.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Economic History ReviewISSN
0013-0117Publisher
WileyExternal DOI
Issue
4Volume
71Page range
1291-1321Pages
54.0Department affiliated with
- Economics Publications
Institution
African Economic History NetworkFull text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2017-11-28First Open Access (FOA) Date
2019-12-13First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2017-11-28Usage metrics
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