Objetivo
This project analyses the structures of colonial systems of forced labour, in an attempt to come to a comparison of the
different trajectories of African populations under distinct European administrations. Through the interpretation of case studies
from different West African and Central African territories, it will be possible to understand the techniques of organising an
involuntary labour force, and their evolution until and beyond independence. The slow process of the abolition of forced
labour from World War II did not exclude continuities in clandestine practices of forcing African (rural) populations to work
without remuneration. Another form of continuity connects colonial practices to the postcolonial re-institution of systems
of forced labour: many postcolonial African governments were inclined to rely themselves on respective practices under
the impression of dire budgetary situations. The different case studies will highlight the existence of forced labour as an
Afro-European heritage in the social structures of African societies, and link that heritage back to the experiences of African
populations in the local arena. For cases from Ghana, Senegal, São Tomé e Príncipe, and a larger Central African region
consisting of sub-cases from Angola, Gabon, and Zambia, the project will address the question how structures of and
changes in forced labour had an impact on relations of power inside of the local societies. In particular, forced labour was, in
the colonial period, not only a means for colonial officials to shape socio-economic realities in the colonies according to their
ideas, but it also was an instrument in the hands of chiefs ( traditional rulers ) who were eager to employ it as a weapon to
discipline any existing opposition among their populations. African voices, both from archival sources and from interviews, will
be in the focus of this analysis: they will show the importance of the particular experience of forced labour for African social
evolution
Ámbito científico
Convocatoria de propuestas
ERC-2009-StG
Consulte otros proyectos de esta convocatoria
Régimen de financiación
ERC-SG - ERC Starting GrantInstitución de acogida
10117 Berlin
Alemania