Forced Labour in Colonial Africa: Systems, Case Studies, and Historical Evidence

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Introduction

Between the late 19th century and the mid-20th century, European colonial powers introduced harsh forced labour policies across Africa to exploit resources such as rubber, cotton, gold, cocoa, and palm oil.

Africans were forced to work on plantations, railways, mines, and roads. Most of times they worked without pay, under threats of violence, and brutal punishments. 

These systems destroyed local economies and caused famines and uprisings.

In this article, we’ll see six major forced labour systems in Africa during colonial rule, using documented case studies and evidence.


1. The Quota Law – Congo Free State (Belgium) 1885 – 1908.

King Leopold II ruled the Congo Free State as his personal property. He introduced the Quota Law, requiring each village to deliver a fixed monthly quota of rubber or ivory.


Case Study: Équateur Province Rubber Exploitation.

In the Équateur Province, the ABIR Company (Anglo-Belgian India Rubber Company) forced all villages to harvest wild rubber.

If quotas weren’t met, soldiers of the Force Publique mutilated villagers, cutting off hands to show that bullets should not be wasted.

Missionary Edmund Dene Morel and diplomat Roger Casement documented atrocities in the Casement Report (1904), which exposed lots of killings.

The Casement Report estimated that 10 million Congolese died due to forced labour, famine, and disease.

Historian Adam Hochschild, in his book King Leopold’s Ghost (1998), calls this “one of the greatest humanitarian disasters of the 20th century.


2. The Corvée System – French West & Equatorial Africa.

Countries Affected: Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Chad, Gabon, Congo-Brazzaville from 1900 – 1946.

The French introduced “prestations”, a forced labour policy where all African men had to provide 10–12 days of free labour per year. In practice, many worked several months, mostly under dangerous conditions.


Case Study: Congo-Océan Railway (1921–1934)

It was built to connect Brazzaville (Congo) to Pointe-Noire on the Atlantic coast.

Over 127,000 Africans were conscripted, most from modern-day Congo, Gabon, and Central African Republic.

Poor living conditions, disease, and exhaustion caused at least 17,000 deaths.


Historian Charles Becker (2001) documents that mortality was 1 in every 8 workers.

French archives reveal entire villages fled into forests to escape recruitment.

Even after forced labour was abolished in 1946, Africans were still forced to grow cotton and peanuts until the 1950s.


3. Hut Tax and the Kipande System – British East Africa.

Countries Affected: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania from 1890s – 1950s.

Hut Tax Policy

It was introduced in Kenya (1901), Uganda (1901), and Tanganyika (1905).

Every African household had to pay a tax in cash.

Since Africans had no access to money, they were forced to work on settler farms and railways.

Kipande System (Kenya, 1920)

Adult men were required to carry a 'kipande', a passbook showing their employment history.

Without employer approval, workers could not change jobs or move freely.

Historian Tabitha Kanogo, in Squatters and the Roots of Mau Mau (1987), notes that kipande “reduced Africans to bonded labourers.”


Case Study: Kenya’s White Highlands

British settlers seized fertile land in the White Highlands, forcing Kikuyu, Maasai, and other communities into poor reserves.

Many Kikuyu became cheap labourers who were paid low-wages on settler farms, earning less than one shilling a day.

Dispossession and exploitation caused the Mau Mau Uprising (1952–1960). The war resulted in over 20,000 Kikuyu being killed during the British suppression of the resistance.


4. The Chibalo System – Portuguese Africa: (Mozambique, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, São Tomé from 1899 – 1961).

Under Chibalo system, African men aged 18–60 were forced to work six months every year on government projects, plantations, or in mines.


Case Study: São Tomé Cocoa Plantations (1900s)

Many people from Angolan were shipped to São Tomé as contract labourers.

Working conditions were so harsh that 20–30% of workers died every year.

Reports by Cadbury’s chocolate company in 1907 exposed Portuguese abuses and led to an international boycott of São Tomé cocoa.

Historian Gerald Bender (1978) documents that by 1914, Angola had lost nearly 25% of its adult male population to Chibalo-related exploitation.


5. Pass Laws & Migrant Labour – South Africa from 1890s – 1980s.

After the discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886), South Africa needed large numbers of African workers.


Case Study: Kimberley Diamond Mines

African miners lived in crowded compounds, fenced in and constantly monitored to prevent theft.

They worked 12-hour shifts under dangerous conditions, earning a fraction of white workers’ wages.

Many suffered from silicosis, a deadly lung disease caused by inhaling mine dust.


Sharpeville Massacre (1960)

Pass laws became a symbol of oppression.

On 21 March 1960, police opened fire on unarmed protesters in Sharpeville, leading to the killing of 69 people and wounding over 180.


6. Cotton Cultivation Quotas – German East Africa (Tanzania) 1902 – 1914.

In 1902, the German administration ordered villages to grow fixed quotas of cotton. Chiefs were responsible for ensuring compliance.


Case Study: The Maji Maji Rebellion (1905–1907)

Southern Tanzanian groups, including the Ngoni, Matumbi, and Ngindo, rose up against forced cotton quotas.

Rebels believed “maji” (sacred water) would protect them from German bullets.

The Germans responded with scorched-earth tactics, burning farms and destroying food stores.

Historian John Iliffe estimates at least 250,000 people died from famine and war-related diseases during the rebellion.


Conclusion.

The European powers used quotas, passbooks, taxes, and recruitment laws to extract resources at the expense of African lives. These systems caused 

  • Deaths from famine, disease, and violence.

  • Loss of land and culture due to displacement.

  • Rebellions like the Maji Maji (1905–1907) and Mau Mau (1952–1960).

  • Economic dependency on export crops and raw materials

The scars of these policies remain visible today in Africa’s economic structures, land distribution, and social inequalities.


Related topics:

https://historyforumtz.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-colonial-economy.html

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