Colonialism and the Spatial Structure of Underdevelopment: Outlines of an Alternative Approach, with Special Reference to Tanzania

Prior to systematic European colonization, . . . the vast majority of mainland Tanzania consisted of independent producers still involved in pre capitalist modes of production. The village community was the dominant socio-economic unit with the primary purpose of production being the maintenance and reproduction of the communal system. The pre-colonial socio-economic formation was self-sufficient and not likely to disintegrate from internally induced conflicts.