The History of Investment in Kenya Before 1945
Abstract
This paper will examine some aspects of capitalist development
in Kenya before 1945. The role of the state will be evaluated in the'
context of opposing interests: those of local and foreign capitalists,
respectively. The paper endeavours to illustrate the process of domestic
accumulation of capital that ran parallel with investment from metropolitan
firms in the colony. The areas and types of investment are
explored and a comparison is implicit in"the arguement with the present
stage of indeginouscapital accumulation. The analysis concludes-with
some detailed case studies on particular foreign companies that entered
Kenya before 1945, where the aim is to show in some detail the competitive
relations of capitalist production when applied to the control of a
particular commodities; for instance, tea. The theme throughout this
discussion is competition of capitals, a mechanism which was the driving
force behind both the expansion of foreign firms into the region as well
as the absorption by these foreign companies of local capital
Citation
Institute of Development StudiesPublisher
University of Nairobi