European influence and tribal society in Tunisia during the nineteenth century : the origins and impact of the trade in esparto grass 1870-1940
This study seeks to examine the specific circumstances surrounding the development of a trade in alfa, or esparto, grass, between Britain and southern Tunisia in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Beginning abruptly in 1871, within the space of ten years alfa grass had became not only the principal item of foreign trade in the south but also one of the whole country's most important exports. What differentiates the alfa trade from existing commercial activities in Tunisia at the time is that it was carried on between European merchants and the inhabitants of districts which were only marginally integrated into the political structures of the central government and the externally orientated market economy of the coastal and urban regions. A mainly pastoral and overwhelmingly subsistence orientated population, the tribes of south and central Tunisia were, on the surface, an unlikely labour force for the collection and sale of a plant which was laborious and time consuming to gather, and whose sale offered what were often extremely meagre returns. In attempting to understand and explain how and why a people, hitherto largely unconnected with and uninterested in direct, market orientated transactions
McQuarrie, Gavin
Alfa grass; Paper
European influence and tribal society in Tunisia during the nineteenth century : the origins and impact of the trade in esparto grass 1870-1940. This study seeks to examine the specific circumstances surrounding the development of a trade in alfa, or esparto, grass, between Britain and southern Tunisia in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Beginning abruptly in 1871, within the space of ten years alfa grass had became not only the principal item of foreign trade in the south but also one of the whole country's most important exports. What differentiates the alfa trade from existing commercial activities in Tunisia at the time is that it was carried on between European merchants and the inhabitants of districts which were only marginally integrated into the political structures of the central government and the externally orientated market economy of the coastal and urban regions. A mainly pastoral and overwhelmingly subsistence orientated population, the tribes of south and central Tunisia were, on the surface, an unlikely labour force for the collection and sale of a plant which was laborious and time consuming to gather, and whose sale offered what were often extremely meagre returns. In attempting to understand and explain how and why a people, hitherto largely unconnected with and uninterested in direct, market orientated transactions
european influence tribal society origin impact trade grass study_seek examine specific circumstance surround_development trade grass britain southern beginning within space grass become principal item foreign_trade south also whole country important export differentiates trade exist commercial_activity time carry european merchant inhabitant district integrated political_structure central_government externally orientate market economy coastal urban region mainly pastoral overwhelmingly subsistence orientated population tribes south_central surface unlikely labour_force collection sale plant time consume gather whose sale offer often extremely return attempt_explain people hitherto_largely unconnected direct market orientate transaction