XXᵉ siècle – XXᵉ siècle
Mozambique and South African gold-mining districts
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Mozambican migrant labor to South African gold mines became a major feature of the colonial economy from the early twentieth century through 1961. Portuguese taxation and weak local wages encouraged workers to seek employment outside Mozambique, especially in South Africa and Southern Rhodesia. Legal recruitment reached more than 91,000 Mozambicans in 1912 and exceeded 100,000 in several later years.
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Le récit
Portuguese colonial taxation was intended to push African agriculturalists into wage labor, but it did not initially produce a labor force large enough for Mozambique’s emerging capitalist sector. Many peasants avoided labor obligations by expanding cash-crop production to pay taxes. Others crossed colonial borders because mines and plantations in South Africa and Southern Rhodesia offered wages substantially higher than those available from Portuguese firms and planters.
South African gold mining became the most important destination. In 1912, more than 91,000 Mozambicans legally worked in South African gold mines, while only 5,300 Africans chose employment in Lourenço Marques. The disparity reflected both the limited capital of Portuguese enterprises and the stronger wages available in neighboring territories.
The table records substantial legal migration throughout the period from 1902 to 1961. Mozambican mineworkers numbered 38,635 in 1902, rose above 90,000 in 1912, reached 107,672 in 1927, and stood at 100,200 in 1961. These figures reveal the durability of cross-border labor migration within the colonial economy, even as annual totals fluctuated.
XXᵉ siècle – XXᵉ siècle
Mozambique and South African gold-mining districts
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Mozambican migrant labor to South African gold mines became a major feature of the colonial economy from the early twentieth century through 1961. Portuguese taxation and weak local wages encouraged workers to seek employment outside Mozambique, especially in South Africa and Southern Rhodesia. Legal recruitment reached more than 91,000 Mozambicans in 1912 and exceeded 100,000 in several later years.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
Portuguese colonial taxation was intended to push African agriculturalists into wage labor, but it did not initially produce a labor force large enough for Mozambique’s emerging capitalist sector. Many peasants avoided labor obligations by expanding cash-crop production to pay taxes. Others crossed colonial borders because mines and plantations in South Africa and Southern Rhodesia offered wages substantially higher than those available from Portuguese firms and planters.
South African gold mining became the most important destination. In 1912, more than 91,000 Mozambicans legally worked in South African gold mines, while only 5,300 Africans chose employment in Lourenço Marques. The disparity reflected both the limited capital of Portuguese enterprises and the stronger wages available in neighboring territories.
The table records substantial legal migration throughout the period from 1902 to 1961. Mozambican mineworkers numbered 38,635 in 1902, rose above 90,000 in 1912, reached 107,672 in 1927, and stood at 100,200 in 1961. These figures reveal the durability of cross-border labor migration within the colonial economy, even as annual totals fluctuated.
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