Sibanengi Ncube

Drawing on the extensive coverage of archives in Zimbabwe, Britain and South Africa, the proposed monograph examines pre-independence Zimbabwe’s tobacco industry from soon after the Second World War to the collapse of white minority rule in 1979. It focuses on the interplay of global, regional and local factors in shaping the local tobacco industry, thereby shedding light on the extent to which post-war Anglo-American foreign economic policies impacted local economic processes. This is in contrast to the parochial emphasis on internal dynamics prevalent in the literature. The book also analyses the impact on the industry of decolonisation, Ian Smith’s 1965 unilateral declaration of independence, international sanctions, and the 1970s intensified African liberation struggles. Apart from making a significant contribution to Zimbabwe’s economic history, it has broader implications for regional and international trade debates, as it takes its place alongside a small but growing literature on settler-colonial stud