Trials underwent by the German to obtain labour in Africa

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,[1] 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[2]. 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[3]. 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[4]. 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.

Koponen. J. (1994). Development for Exploitation. Helsinki

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[1] J. Koponen, The Creation of Labor, Development for Exploitation. Chapter 6, 1994, pp 321

[2] J. Illife Tanzania Under Colonial Rule, A Modern History of Tanganyika, Cambridge 1979. Chapter 4. pp 94

[3] J. Koponen. Chapter 6, pp 400

[4] J. Koponen, ibid pp 336.