History & Area Studies / Thematic History / Economic History & Industrialization
Why Africa Didn't Use the Wheel: The $100 Billion Mistake
This video breaks down a groundbreaking economic study by Chaves, Engerman, and Robinson that shatters a century-old myth about Africa's 'rational' rejection of wheeled transport. We dive into the shocking data: early railways in West Africa delivered social returns of up to 122% per year—far higher than in the US or UK. Yet, local societies never adopted the wheel. The real reason? Not geography, not tsetse flies, but political fragmentation, colonial sabotage, and a terrifying 'Trojan horse' dilemma. Discover how a single railway could pay for itself in under a year, and why the West actively blocked African modernization. This is the untold story of technology, power, and economic tragedy.
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