ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book considers the possibility that various internal obstacles might have been overcome by means of international trade. It argues that the early nineteenth century saw the start of the modern economic history of West Africa, in the sense that the economic structure which began to take shape at that time was essentially that which existed at the close of the colonial era. The book focuses on export growth during the first half of the colonial period and evaluated expatriate and indigenous contributions to the completion of the open economy. The interpretation put forward has explained stability and change in the market economy by making use of concepts which will also be familiar to historians and economists specialising in other parts of the underdeveloped world.
