Heirs to colonial trade

Decolonization lowered the share of trade ex-colonies conducted with the former metropolitan power. It is sometimes claimed, however, that this development reflected only a change in the identity of the exploiting country. This paper examines the changes which occurred between 1960–1962 and 1968–1970 in the shares of three groups of potential neocolonialists in the trade of 44 former U.K. and French dependencies. It is shown that the gains made by these three groups do not provide evidence of their taking over the trade monopoly formerly enjoyed in effect by the old colonial powers. Most of these gains can be explained by trade diversification, the only notable exception being the gains made by the traditional colonial ‘have-nots’.