RUBBER PLANTATIONS

The work examines the operation of British economic policy in Benin specifically as it relates to rubber production. Before the emergence of the British colonizers, the people of Benin were engaged in cottage industries which included cloth weaving (textile), basket and rope weaving, wood carving (art and craft), blacksmithing, pottery, soap and palm oil processing, palm wine tapping and food processing. This work argues that a traditional industrial structure and practice in Benin had attained a level of sophistication prior to the emergence of British who sought to impose new demands on society. The people as well as their institutions were not receptive to the new demands. Rather, there was a conscious effort to meet colonial expectations
while at the same time formulating strategies that would accommodate the traditional practices.1 With the advent of imperialism and colonialism, in the late 19 th century in West Africa, there was a great demand for raw materials from the periphery by the metropole. Esanland was no exception.