The Rôle of Colonial and Post-Colonial States in Imperialism – a Case-Study of the Sierra Leone Development Company

Abstract

‘The events of recent years have brought out the conflicts that can arise between the continuing pressures for political independence and the inescapable truths of economic interdependence in the modern world’. – Recent words from the horse's mouth, to wit the British– North American Committee, consisting of some 100 leading industrialists of the western world who view with alarm the strong desire on the part of the emerging nations to exercise ever-greater control over their own mineral resources. In a concise report, they sternly remind the governments of developing countries of the dire consequences of the hostile attitude to foreign investors as expressed in demands for higher taxes, more local participation, and – Heaven forbid – nationalisation.1