Historically
labor question was the major issue that concerned in different colonial in
Africa. All economic activity, whole colonial development and ultimately, the
fate of German colonial project depended on African labor.
The
labor question was the major colonial development policy that was determines
how to organize export production in different parts. And these were centered
on how to extract necessary labor from those who possessed it and how to make
it available to the colonialists.
The development of different colonial project
needed a large number of labors from Africa but African labors were so
problematic to provide their labor to the colonialist for instance in German
East Africa era. These natural brutal and forceful German had been facing these
problems in their era in East Africa. So they decided to attempt different
trials in stabilizing the labor question to their farms,
for example they use labors found around the coast area.
The
following are different trials underwent by German in stabilizing the labor
question in East Africa.
Force
or wants was the trials underwent by German by creating desire to Africans by
brought different goods this was because the overwhelming majority of German
colonialist believe that Africans did not wish to work for them the reason
Africans were lazy and indolence. Soothe creation of new needs and improvement
of value of existing ones hence they got labor to their farms because African
need the good so in order to get the goods you have to provide labor.
Pull
and push trial, as a set of factors related to working place remuneration and
work itself which attracted the people to work while the former presents
another set of factors related to the background and living conditions of the
workers and in the present case to the political context and state coercion which
pushed them to work. As the supply of voluntary labor was all too insufficient,
the earliest measures were heavily and literally concentrated on push side.
Those Africans who did not wish to work for Europeans could be forced into it.
Introduction
of taxation, after German colonialist began to settle in the area tax labors
were sent to farms so Africans were forced to pay tax which were called head tax
the people have no way of escaping they fear to be beaten when they will escape
of paying tax the solution were to go to farms hence they recruit labors to
their farms.
Discipline
workers, creation of a labor force meant not only obtaining labor but also
subjecting it to discipline and workers were taught about day to working.
African had followed the rhythm of sun and rains, they had adapted to hours,
weeks and months to working days and rest days.
Ora et labora, missionaries played a most important part in education for work. Although
missionaries in much way differed from colonial official’s merchants and
planters, they too come from societies in which division of labor and commodity
production was far advanced. Among of education provided was in religions that
there was a motto says “Pray and Work” hence they convert Africans and get
labor.
Force
and pressure this was another trials underwent by German in which Africans were
forced a pressurized to provide their labor to the plantations and estates for
colonialist.
These were only the evidence shows that at grass roots level the use of force
and pressure in obtaining labor not only continued but intensified because the
issue of labor was due to the actual development in Africa.
Labor
card system (Kipande), every man had to obtain an official labor card that
contained 30 squares, which filled according to the number of days worked by
the holder for Europeans employers.
And the card had to filled in four months otherwise the holder could be sent to
public works which were paid less or not at all. Africans fail to escape the
system hence they provide their labor.
The
coolie experiment, this was another option of German to import workers from
abroad. Particular coveted Chinese coolies who were reputed to work hard from
morning to night without supervision subsisting on rice alone.
The result of experiment were embarrassing that were relative expensive
compared to African contract workers
Turning to their own African for creation of labor
force,the variety of measures they took can be approached by introducing the concepts
of pull and push. Pull refers to a set of factors related to working place,
remuneration and work itself which attracted people to work while push
represents another set of factors related to the background and living
condition of workers
They
use the laborers found around the coastal areas this was the attempt made first
to solve the labor question in German East African. Also was an emergence labor
whereby slaves had to work at different colonial project, and this method
failed due to reason that organization by European which remarkably new land.
Supplying
trade goods
in order to raise the wants or desires of African in order to work on
colonialist to get such trade goods because African was lazy but their laziness
rather than being an inborn racial feature this was the result of general lack
of wants.
Thus
the labor must therefore be obtained from elsewhere and this would only
successes if recruitment were performed smoothly and working condition become
competitive. And these were because labors were more valuable to the colonial
system as the producers.
REFERENCES
Illife. J. (1979). A Modern History of Tanganyika,
Cambridge University Press.