Between Forced and Free Labor: negotiation and conflict of caravan workers in Angola – mid-19th century

Abstract

In the mid-19th century, with the expansion of the abolitionism in the Atlantic World and with the subsequent reconversion of the Angolan Colonial Economy from a slave supplier to the Transatlantic trade to an exporter of agricultural and extractive goods, the demand for human porters for the long-distance trade caravans increased considerably. The porter’s recruitment was always an object of concern for the colonial authorities and was fundamental to the existence of the huge flux of commodities between the Atlantic and Angola’s hinterland and constantly resulted in rebellions and conflicts in the areas with more political interference from the Portuguese settlers. When they appeared in the core of the abolitionist debate, the recruitment and maintenance conditions in the caravans changed intensely, while the colonial economy mostly needed its services. Considering those processes, this paper will debate about the multiples impacts of the Portuguese colonial abolitionism over the caravan labor in Angola, recognizing autonomous dynamics inside the African trade and heterogeneous reactions from the various social agents.