MECHANISM USED TO OBTAIN LABOUR IN THE COLONIAL ERA AFRICA
The Europeans employed the following ways to obtain African labor.
Introduction of money economy: instead of using the barter system, the Europeans insisted on the use money. Money became the medium of exchange. In future, people secured job in order to get money hence constant labor supply.
Taxation: the Europeans used taxation as a means of reinforcing the natives of to secure jobs. Those who failed to pay taxes were jailed. The Europeans established such taxes as the poll tax, property taxes, hut tax, matiti tax etc.
New consumer goods: Consumer goods from Europe forced the natives to secure money and increase their purchasing power, example cigarettes, canned, food, detergents, beer, liquor, electronics and so on.
Contract labor: the Europeans established the contracts in which the natives and their employers signed. E.g. The migrant labor (Manamba) in Tanga. The contact was done through the labor recruiting companies e.g. SILABU “Sisal Labor Bureau” in Tanganyika in 1946, the SWANLA “South West Africa Native Labor Authority” in Namibia.
Squatter system: Involved the creation of squatter life to the Africans. The natives were grouped in the reserve land. They lived in poor temporary houses, most of them being low income earners. The native became beggars to the settlers. They worked for a little money as wages.
Land alienation: Fertile land was taken by the Europeans from the natives. The natives had no option of getting food than working for wages.
Laborers were paid meager “hand to mouth income” wages: There wages were very low to sustain the entire African family. It was fit for one person consumption the African families suffered constant shortage of money thus constant hunt for money.
Legislations: The Europeans who establishment the laws which concerned the natives to work for the white settlers e.g. in 1921, in Kenya, they established the native legislation ordinance (Kipande system), the natives were required to be employed and carry the identity card which verified their employment and their habitat.
Direct forced labor e.g. the use of criminals, the prisoners and others to work without being paid.
Western education: The introduction of western education made the educated natives the hunters of employment from the Europeans most of the educated natives created a class of lumpen proletarians who received meager wages which didn’t sustain their entire family demands.
