2013 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Study on the History of Diffusion of Cassava in Africa based on Portuguese Documents

Research Project

Project/Area Number	23710294
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Area studies
Research Institution	Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
Principal Investigator	ISHIKAWA Hiroki 東京外国語大学, アジア・アフリカ言語文化研究所, 准教授 (40552378)
Project Period (FY)	2011 – 2013
Keywords	アフリカ / 歴史 / 農作物 / ポルトガル / アンゴラ
Research Abstract	Cassava, a woody shrub native to South America, is extensively cultivated in tropical Africa and it is an important staple food in this region. Although the diffusion of Cassava in Africa has been an object of study for a long time, the history of this crop in the Portuguese Africa is still incompletely understood. In this study, I researched Portuguese documents on Cassava in Angola in the Overseas Historical Archive, Lisbon, Portugal and other archives and examined cultivation of Cassava in Angola, based on the information in the Agricultural Census of Angola, which was published in the last period of the Portuguese colonial rule of Angola.