The signares of Saint-Louis and Goree: women entrepeneurs in eighteenth-century Sénégal

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Book chapter

Title:	The signares of Saint-Louis and Goree: women entrepeneurs in eighteenth-century Sénégal
Author:	Brooks (Jr), G.E.
Book title:	Women in Africa: Studies in social and economic change
Year:	1976
Pages:	19-44
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Senegal
Subjects:	women traders history 1700-1799 1800-1899
Abstract:	In the pre-European times African women in the Senegambia and Upper Guinea Coast regions did enjoy social rank and prerogatives. In the colonial period African and Eurafrican women who were wealthy traders or possessed property and influence were treated with marked respect by Africans, Eurafricans and Europeans alike. In the 18th and 19th centuries, such women in Senegal were addressed by the title signare. Much of the literature on these signares is highly romanticized, biased, or distorted. Aim of this paper is to point out many of the problems associated with these sources and to present a balanced assessment of the women traders of Senegal. Notes, ref.