Modern Humanities Research Association The Hidden Costs of Labour on the Cocoa Plantations of São Tomé and Príncipe, 1875-1914 Author(s): W. G. CLARENCE-SMITH Source: Portuguese Studies, Vol. 6 (1990), pp. 152-172 Published by: Modern Humanities Research Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41104911 Accessed: 28-10-2015 16:02 UTC REFERENCES Linked references are available on JSTOR for this article: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41104911?seq=1&cid=pdf-reference#references_tab_contents You may need to log in to JSTOR to access the linked references.

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The HiddenCostsofLabouron the Cocoa Plantationsof São Tomé and Príncipe, 1875-1914 W. G. CLARENCE-SMITH

A great deal of confusionhas been caused in the studyof economic in Africabythepropagationofthemisleading idea thatmines development reliedon greatmassesof'cheap andplantations havealwaysandeverywhere labour'. 'Cheapness'is definedin termsof thelow or non-existent wages ofslaveryand forced whether becauseoftheprevalence receivedbyworkers, labourpowerare bornenotby labour,or becausethecostsofreproducing ruralsocieties.1 One oftheweaknessesof butbypre-capitalist theemployer costs this theorylies in a lack of considerationof the highrecruitment involvedin such labour systems.The secondproblemis thata largeand labour forceis oftenrequiredto keep the primary expensivesupervisory workersundercontrol.But probablythe most seriousdrawbackof the 'cheap labour' hypothesisis that it failsto considerthe abysmallylow ofpoorlymotivatedand oftensickand malnourished workers, productivity low outputper skills.Whenextremely who lack eventhemostrudimentary and supervisory withhighrecruitment costs,areweighed labourer,together can African labour oftenturnoutto unskilled the up against wagesreceived, in other to that in be surprisingly partsoftheworld.2 expensive comparison costsoflabouris the real with the related concerning argument Intimately of the relative anotherdebateconcerning efficiency plantationsand smallof cash as holders,particularly producers cropsforexports.3As unskilled for both labouris themajorexpenditure plantersandpeasants,theirrelative debate. However,othercosts are of this labour costs are at the centre of involved,notablythoseof land,capital,skilledlabourand technologies at the end of this considered Theseothercostsare paper, briefly production. themainfocusof whichlies on theissueof how muchtheplantersof São and Tomé and Príncipeactuallypaid fortheirworkersinthelatenineteenth centuries. earlytwentieth FortheSão Tomé cocoa planters,thecostofunskilledlabourwas chiefly determined by a laboursystemcloselyakinto slavery.As thecocoa boom 1 For one influential article,see Harold Wolpe, 'Capitalismand Cheap Labour-Power particularly in South Africa',Economyand Society,1 (1972.). 2 For one specificcalculationofcomparativecosts,see N. SaraivaBravo,A CulturaAlgodoeirana Economia do Norte de Moçambique (Lisbon, 1963), p. 84. 3 ror two opposing views, see ueorge becktord,rerststentroverty: unaeraeveiopmem in PlantationEconomies of the Third World, second edition (London, 1983); Edgar Graham and IngridFloering,The Modern Plantationin the ThirdWorld (London, 1984).

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theplanters century, developedin the last two decades of the nineteenth from The or slaves, planters theiragents mainly Angola. feverishly bought and thencompelledthemto remain madetheslavesacquiesceto a contract, in theislandsfortheirwholelives.The labourerswerelegallyfreed,were well treated,but thisdid not paid a smallwage, and werecomparatively makeup forthefactthattheywerebroughtto theislandsagainsttheirwill and were neverrepatriated.As a result,Britishand Germanchocolate manufacturers begana boycottofSão Tomé cocoa in 1909. A yearlaterthe to reforming colonial Republicanssweptto power in Lisbon,committed World had and the outbreak of the First War abuses, they stampedoutthe by 'modernslavery'denouncedbyBritishhumanitarians.4 Whileex-slavessubjectedto perpetualindenture formed thegreatbulkof thelabourforcein theseyears,therewerealso indentured labourersin the attheendoftheircontracts. usualsenseoftheterm,whowererepatriated In of the legal abolitionof slaveryin 1875, some the immediateaftermath 3,000 menwereprocuredfromLiberiaand BritishWestAfricaunderthese terms.But the costs were considerableand the Britishwere intensely suspiciousthat a new slave trade was in the making.Moreover,these labourand werefuriousat delaysin repatriworkersdislikedagricultural it that ation.5Once becameclear Lisbonwould authorizethecontinuation oftheAngolanslavetradeunderanothername,theimportation oflabourers fromBritishWestAfricaand Liberiadwindledto an insignificant trickle.6 criticism ofthequasi-slavetradeintensified in However,as international the 1900s, short-term indenturedlabour was once more soughtby the planters,but this time almost exclusivelyfromwithinthe Portuguese in all Portuguesecolonieswas thusofficially sancempire.Recruitment tionedin 1903.7 The mostnumerouscontingent initiallycame fromthe Cape Verde Islands, destinedmainlyfor the island of Principe.Cape Verdeanfigures, whichare considerably in São higherthanthoseregistered Tomé, show nearly14,000 contractedlabourersgoingto São Tomé and Príncipefrom 1903 to 1915 inclusive.8A handfulof men were also 4 JamesDuffy,A Question of Slavery: Labour Policies in PortugueseAfricaand the British Protest,18 so- 1920 (Cambridge,Mass., 1967). 5 Arquivo Histórico de São Tomé e Príncipe,São Tomé (henceforthAHSTP), i-a-C, fol.i, Ministro do Ultramar,5.2.1876, and fols 8-13, Direcção Geral do Ultramarto Governador, 20.12.1877; Banco Nacional Ultramarino,Relatóriosdo Banco Nacional UltramarinoDesde o Anno de i86j a 1889 (Lisbon, 1890): 187s, pp. 368-69; 1876, pp.386 and 409-10; 1877, and 463; 1878, p. 486. PP6437-43 Banco Nacional Ultramarino,Relatórios,18 S3, p. 712; AnnePhillips,The Enigmaof Colonialism: BritishPolicy in West Africa(London, 1989), p. 53, note 36; Duffy,A Question of Slavery, p. 181. 7 Duffv.A Question of Slavery,d. 176. 8 António Carreira, the People of the Cape Verde Islands: Exploitation and Emigration (London, 1982), Chapter4 and statisticalannexes,tables6 and 7; F. de Paula Cid, La maind oeuvre aux îles de Cabo Verde(Lisbon, 1914), p. 15.

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recruitedin PortugueseGuinea, mainlyforpolice duties.9As the internationallabourcrisisdeepenedinthelate1900s andearly1910s,Mozambique becamethechiefsupplierof labourto theislands.10One setof figures shows some 33,000 Mozambicansbeingsentto São Tomé and Príncipe ContractedAngolansbeganto return from1908 to 1915 inclusive.11 to the islandsin 1912, and about7,500 workerscamefromthissourceinthethree 12 years 1913-1 5. They came under the strictconditionthat they be repatriated.13 promptly This said,themostnumerousworkerswerethoseboughtas slaves,with some70,000 serviçaes,as theseworkerswereusuallycalled,beingimported between 1880 and 1908.14 These figuresmay not seem all that large indentured labourersjustreferred comparedtothenearly60,000 short-term as slaves in mind that those has to bear but one to, stayedfortherest bought workerswererepatriated afterone to oftheirlives,whereastheshort-term threeyears.The greatbulkofAngolanslavesforSão Toméwerepurchased inNovo Redondo,Catumbelaand Benguela,butquitea fewalso camefrom the Luanda region.15In addition,severalhundredslaves fromDahomey inthesecondhalfofthe1880s.16A trickleofslavesalso came wereimported Gabon untilat least1887, and probablyuntilaroundtheturn from illegally in 1895 ofthecentury.17 Moreover,the300 orso Chineseworkersimported fromMacao appear to have been broughtin underthe same system, althoughmoreresearchis neededon thisepisode.18 kindoflabourcostwhichneedsto be consideredis thustheprice The first between ofslaves.In the1870s,an adultslaveon theAngolancoastfetched 9 SociedadedeEmigração da Direcção,Parecer do Conselho Relatório paraSão Tomée Príncipe,

Sociedade de Emigração,Relatório, Fiscal,Lista dos Accionistas,SegundoAnno, 19 14 (henceforth,

toCuradorGeral,7.5.1904. 1910 14),p. 12; AHSTP,i-a-A,Caixa 316,Pasta3,DelegadonoPríncipe inMozambique(London,1980), and Colonialism LeroyVaii and LandegWhite,Capitalism Relatório, 1914, p. 11; GreatBritain, ForeignOffice, pp.166, 184-85; Sociedadede Emigração, San ThomeandPrincipe Historical (London,1920),pp.21-22. Section, 11Duffy, A QuestionofSlavery, pp.209-10,220-21. 12AHSTP,1-a-A, Caixa 441, Pasta2, Governador de São Tomee de Benguelato Governador A QuestionofSlavery, 25.4.1912; Duffy, Principe, p. 211. 13Arquivo e Investigação Históricode Angola,CentroNacionalde Documentação Histórica, Correspondencia Expedida,1913, GoverLuanda,Códices(uncatalogued), NegociosIndígenas, dos and Chefe de São Tomée Príncipe, nadorGeralde Angolato Governador Serviços 27.5.1913, de Benguela, to Governador dos NegociosIndígenas 19.9.1913. 14F. F. Dias da Costa,Relatóriodo Ministro Marinha e da e Secretanod'Estado y dos Negocios à [sic]Angola Ultramar (Lisbon,1898),p. 47; J.A. AlvesRoçadas,La maind oeuvreindigène (Lisbon,1914),P-331SRichardHammond,Portugaland Africa,1815-1910(Stanford, 1966),p. 317, citingBritish A QuestionofSlavery, of 1882; Duffy, consularreport pp.98, 137,andpassim. 16AHSTP,i-a-C,Pasta2A; A.F. Nogueira.A Ilhade S. Thome,secondedition(Lisbon,1893), SlaveCoastand itsRulers(Oxford,1961),p. 130 and TheWestern pp.95-96; ColinNewbury, note4. 17K. D. Patterson, GabonCoastto 1875 (London,1975),pp.134-35. TheNorthern 18Portugal emAfrica, 3 (1896)^5-36; 5 (1898),286; 7 (1900),1J4;AHSTP,i-a-A,Caixa423, see Macao in general, FortheChineseslavetradethrough Pasta2, Trabalhadores Repatriados. totheCubanSlaveandCoolieTradesinthe Contribution 'ThePortuguese GervaseClarence-Smith, andAbolition, Nineteenth 5, no. 1 (1984),29-30. Slavery Century',

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155 These pricesrose graduallyduringthe 1880s and £4 and £6 sterling.19 1890s, as faras one can tell fromscatteredfigures.20 However,average priceson thecoast of Angolaremainedlowerthanthoseobtainingon the coastofDahomey,beingabout£10inAngolacomparedto £17 inDahomey in 1886.21This in part accountedforPortugal'sfailureto pressforthe continuation ofhershort-lived overcoastalDahomeybetween protectorate and Prices continued to rise as slave raidingwas slowly 1887.22 1885 curtailedinthebacklandsofAngola,andby1908,on theeveofthecessation oftheAngolanslavetradeto São Tomé,WilliamCadburyreportedthatan adultslavesold foraround£16 in Benguela.23 Once the initialpurchasehad been concluded,therewere what can broadlybe describedas recruitment expenses.These involveddrawingup theserviçaes,feedfive-year obligatorycontracts, clothingand vaccinating them on the them to the islands the of coast,shipping ing by regularsteamers the EmprezaNacional de Navegação, havingthemand theircontracts inspectedby the curadoria(labour bureau) in São Tomé or in Principe, and transporting theworkersfromtheport payingvariousintermediaries, to the plantations.The mostblatantlyillegalaspectof thewhole system camelater,withthe'automaticre-contracting' ofserviçaesbythecuradoria everyfiveyears,and thisalso had to be paid for.24 Itis difficult to calculateeachoftheseexpenditures so thatone separately, has to relyon thescattered citedforthetotalcostofa serviçalon the figures islands,eventhoughit is oftenfarfromclearexactlywhatpaymentsare includedin thesestatistics.Beforethe coffeeboom of the 1860s, it was apparentlypossibleto obtain an adult slave on the islandsfora downbutpricesin the1860s werealreadybetween paymentof only£5 sterling, £12 and £20,and by 1899, withtheonsetofthecocoa boom,had reached £25.25For themid-i9oos,thefigureusuallyquotedwas between£30 and £35, althoughpricesas low as £25 and as highas £40 werealso cited.26 19 Marquês de Sá da Bandeira,O Trabalho Rural Africanoe a AdministraçãoColonial (Lisbon, 1873)1 P. 3 1; Duffy,A Question of Slavery*p. 96. 20W. G. Clarence-Smith,Slaves, Peasants and Capitalists in SouthernAngola, 1840- 1926 (Cambridge,1979), P. 11; Duffy,A Question of Slavery,dp. 122. 169. 21AHSTP, i-a-C, 2A, fols 12-14, A. D. C. de Silva Azevedo. 26.1. 1886. 22A. Maraues Esoarteiro.Portugalno Daomé. ta7t-tq6t ?T.ishnn.To^r' 23 of BirminghamLibrary,CadburyPapers (henceforth, University UBL, CP), 308, W. Cadbury, Diary 1908-09. 24UBL, CP, 4-7, 197-98, 294-301, 308 foran overview.Much of thiswas publishedas William Cadbury,Labour in PortugueseWestAfrica(London, 19 10). See Clarence-Smith, Slaves,pp. 3031, forthe mechanicsand politicsof perpetualindenture. 25Patterson,The NorthernGabon Coast, p. 132; Sá da Bandeira, O Trabalho Rural, p. 30; Hammond. Portugaland Africa^d.íiq. 26Der Gordian, Zeitschrift fürdie Kakao- Schokoladen-und Zuckerwarenindustrie (Hamburg, Der Gordian), 11 (1905-06), 229, citingStrunk;Correiode Mossamedes,27 1895- ) (henceforth, (January1905); H. Nevinson,A ModernSlavery,secondedition(London, 1963), p. 162; UBL, CP, 5, J.Burttto W. Cadbury,12.2.1906. For higherand lowerfigures, UBL, CP, 198, J.Bum, Report 1907; R. Mesnierde Ponsard,PlantationRoça Porto Alegre(Lisbon, 1912), p. 23. 6

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Adultmenand womencost roughlythesame,forbothwereemployedas fieldlabour,whereasa childwas obtainableforunder£8 in the1900s.27 Withslave pricesreachingsuch levels,thecost of recruiting temporary but appearances labour seemedto becometrulycompetitive, indentured forthetotalcostof weresomewhatdeceptive.In 1912-1 3, Levy'sfigures contractsworked on Mozambicans and three-year recruiting repatriating outat around£16 perman.28Thiswas abouthalfthepricepaid forAngolan slavesin the late 1900s. But workersfromMozambiquehad to be repatriatedafterone to threeyears,whereasthe cost of a slave had been amortizedoverhis or herwholeworkinglife. was thatthechildren Moreover,theextrabonusofthequasi-slavesystem bornintoperpetualindenture, of thoseboughtas slaveswerethemselves However, makingthewhole systemevenmoreakin to straightslavery.29 rateshigh,so thatthe planters birthrateswere low and infantmortality neverevencamecloseto beingable to do withoutfreshimportsoflabour.30 Between1900 and 1910, only 1,680 personsborn on São Tomé island and in 1910 therewereonly44 suchpersonson Principe signedcontracts, rarecircumisland.31As local creólesonlysignedcontractsin extremely 'born to children all have been would these stances, nearly persons indenture'.32 labourerswere greatly The expensesincurredin importing immigrant the on adult of incidence the islands,especiallyas mortality amplifiedby or the first within concentrated deathswereheavily year twoofa labourer's lost beforemuch or were arrival.All the initialexpenditures frequently In 1882,theBanco labour services. of in the had beenobtained way anything of 19% formen death rate an Nacional Ultramarino reported astounding And reportsof labourers.33 and 28% forwomenamongrecently-arrived occur serviçaes againand again newly-arrived afflicting veryhighmortality first fewmonthsof the in thesources.34As late as 1905, mortality during to newworkers'sojournon theislandswas said reach20%. 35 27UBL, CP, W. Cadbury,Notebook 1909. 28Sociedade de Emigração,Relatório,19 14, pp. 26, 106-07, and passim.The total forMozambique is mycalculation. 29UBL, CP, 4/20, W. Cadbury to Cadbury Bros. Ltd, 17.3. 1903; Sociedade de Emigração,

Relatório, 1914,pp.40-41, 60. 30

UBL, CP, 299-300, W. Cadbury,Notebook 1909. 31AHSTP, 1-a-A, Caixa 410, Pasta 1, CuradorGeralto SecretarioGeral,8. 1. 19 1o and 12. 1. 19 1o. 32For creólesand contracts,see AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 162, Pasta 3, CuradorGeralto Governador, 23.4.1889, and annexes; AHSTP, i-a-C, 3, fols 11-24, Governador Príncipeto Governador, 19.7.1890; Sociedade de Emigração,Relatório,1914, p. 8. 33Banco Nacional Ultramarino,Relatónos, 1882, p. 669. 34See forinstance,ZentralesStaatsarchiv,Potsdam,Reichskolonialamt(henceforth, ZStA, RKA), 3223, fols 133-34, Soden to Bismarck,a. 2.1 889, citinga São Tomé source; AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa The to W. 298, Pasta 3, CuradorGeral to Governador,18.9.1902; UBL,CP, 6, Proprietors Cadbury of Cocoa Estatesof S. Thome and Principe,28.11. 1907; AntónioA. Corrêa Aguiar,O Trabalho e Tomé Príncipe(São Tomé, 19 19), p. 38. Indígenanas Ilhas de S. 35UBL, CP, 4/182, W. Cadburyto A. Stollwerck,1.1.1906.

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indicatedin thetablebelow,wereerratically Generalmortality statistics, until of the advent the kept Republicin 1910, althoughtheyimprovefrom about 1905. The figuresfor São Tomé island in the early 1900s seem One sourcesuggested in 1903 thattherealmortality particularly suspect.36 rateon thatislandwas aroundi2%.37 The figures, suchas theyare,reveala difference between on São Tomé and thaton thesmallerand major mortality less developedislandof Principe,as can be seenin thetablebelow. In the latterisland,theravagesof sleepingsicknessled to appallinglyhighdeath ratesand contributed not a littleto thelowerprofitability of plantations there.However,sleepingsicknesswas eliminated a vigorous after by 1914, and death rates then fell sanitarycampaign, markedly.38 Table 1: MortalityRates on thePlantationsof São Tomé and Príncipe,1900- 191 839 São Tomé Príncipe 1900-01 20.67% 6.67% 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911- 12 19 1 2-1 3 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918

22% 20.7% 11% 12.5% 10.5% 13.16% 16.4% 13.1% 12.3% 6.95% 4.21% 3.77% 2.51% 5-34%

4.1% 4.1% 3.4% 3.6% 8% 8%

5.86% 7.53% 4-3% 3-74%

Whenoneturnsto thesecondmainsetoflabourcosts,recurrent expenses on labour,thelow levelofwagesmightwellgivetheinitialimpression that thiswas 'cheaplabour'.Salariesdidhaveto be paid afterthelegalabolition ofslaveryin 1875, butthe1880 regulations thatmenshouldgeta specified minimum ofonly700 reisa monthinthefirst twoyearsofa contract, while womenshouldreceive500 reis.Afterthefirst twoyears,thiswas to riseto 36UBL, CP, 7 (vi), CadburyBros,to Under-Secretarv forForeignAffairs.21.4.1008. 37UBL. CP. d/«. A. Ceffalato Cadburv Bros.. 6.6.iqo*. 38GreatBritain,F.O., San Thome, p. 3. For thecampaign,see AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 463, Pasta 5, Relatório,Brutoda Costa, Tune191 1. 39UBL, CP, 222, Annualseries, 2922, Dec. 1902 (S.T. and P. 1900-01); UBL, CP, 7 (vi), L. Mallet to CadburyBros., 16.4. 1908 (S.T. 1901-04); Antoniode ManteroVelarde,L'espansionepoliticae colonialePortoghesecon speciale riguardoalle isole di São Thomée Principe(Rome, 1924), p. 109 (P. 1902-03); UBL, CP, 197, BurttReport1906 (1905); AHSTP, i-a-C, 7, GovernadorPríncipeto Governador,23. 11. 1908 (P. 1906-07); UBL, CP, 225, Map (S.T. 1908); AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 379, Pasta 1, Governador to Governador Geral de Angola, 26.6.1913 (P. 1908-10 and 1911-13); Aguiar,O Trabalho Indígena,pp. 12-14 (S.T. and P. 1915-1918).

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1,400 formenand 1,000 forwomen,butno provisionwas madefora wage increaseat thetimeofthe'automaticre-contracting' everyfiveyears.Minors were paid 500 reis a month,howevermanyyearstheyhad been on the islands. The reforms ofJanuary1903 abolishedtheinitialtwo-year periodoflow a minimum instituted increase of each timea 10% wages, mandatory pay labourerwas re-contracted, and raisedminimum all newlylevels for salary contractedworkersto 2,500 reisa monthformenand 1,800 forwomen. of the new salarywere to be withheldfromthe However,three-fifths workersand paid intoa 'repatriation fund'.And it was nottill1909 that re-contracted workerswhose originalcontractdated frombefore1903 receivedthenewsalaryscales.40ThevalueofPortuguese fluctuated currency in thisperiod, betweenaround4,500 and 7,000 reisto thepound sterling withrapiddepreciationin the 1890s followedby a partialrecoveryin the calculationsofthereallevel yearsbeforetheFirstWorldWar,complicating ofwages.41 Fines Some plantersmanagedto reducethelevelof wages evenfurther. and compensation fordamageswereregularly dockedfromwages,and pay was stoppedwhile a labourerwas offsick.42Wages werepaid late, and Salarieswereattimespaid noteswereusedinsteadofcurrency.43 promissory in and or belowtheminimum alcohol,or evennotpaid at all in level, goods creoleplanterson Principe.44 thecase of some smalland struggling Many topaythenewwagescalesafter1903,allegingthatitwould plantersrefused cause resentment among those contractedbefore1903. Other planters of salaryintendedfor the repatriation the three-fifths simplypocketed fund.45 inwages, checkedillegalreductions However,theauthorities increasingly forced for economic reasons were whiletheplantersthemselves gradually of labour became as intopayingsalariesabove thelegalminimum, supplies about Planters ever more problematicaland worries productivity grew. would enticelabourersaway fromotheremployersby promisinghigher salaries,in one case aboutthreetimestheminimum wage.46Someplanters 40AHSTP, 1-a-A, Caixa 410, Pasta 1, Curador Geral to SecretárioGeral, 27.6. 19 io; AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 158, Pasta 1, Curador Geral to SecretárioGeral, 30.10.1888; AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 316, Pasta 3, Curador Geral to SecretárioGeral, 13.7. 1903. 41Gervase Clarence-Smith,The Third Portuguese Empire, 1825-1975 (Manchester, 1985), Annex 2, pp. 226-27, foryearlyvalues. 42AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 209, Pasta 4, Maço 3, Contracto30.8.1895; UBL, CP, 5 (iv), J.Burttto W. Cadbury,3.1. 1906; UBL, CP, 299-300, W. Cadbury,Notebook 1909; Sociedade de Emigração, Relatório. 19 14, p. 19. 43AHSTP, i-a-C, 6, Petition,Joanna Baptistado Amaral de Mata, 16.7. 1903; AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 217, Pasta 3, Curador Geral to SecretárioGeral, 23.9.1896. 44AHSTP, i-a-C, 7, GovernadorPríncipeto Governador,6.4.1907 (paymentof 500 reis); Der Gordian,3 (1897-98), 1169, citingMax Esser (wages in kind);AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 410, Pasta 1, GovernadorPríncipeto Governador,20.6. 19 10 (non-payment). 45Duffy,A Question of Slavery,p. 192, citingConsul Nightingale,1906. 46AHSTP, i-a-C, 6, Principeplantersto Curador Geral, 23.7.1904.

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salarylevels,and Cape paid all theirlabourersabovetheminimum regularly In 1908,the Verdeanswereusuallypaid higherwagesthanotherworkers.47 whichindicatedthat labour inspectorshowedWilliamCadburyregisters wage,and thata quitea fewserviçaesreceivedaboutdoubletheminimum Extrapay oftentookthe smallnumbergotup to six timestheminimum.48 formofbonuses.Thusa serviçalwhopickedmorethantenbasketsofcocoa a day would receivetenretsforeverybasketabove thatnumber.Bonuses werealso paid ifworkerskilledmoreratsthantheirsetquota, as rodents caused considerabledamage in the plantations.Bonuseswere sometimes to paid at the eveningline-upof workers,to encouragethe work-force and at other times were added to the they monthlypay greaterefforts, package.49 The Portuguese further government arguedthatwageswerenotas low as because law the theyseemed, by plantershad to meetall theexpensesof and their workers,as well as medical and housing feeding,clothing, miscellaneousoutlays.There were some cases of poor conditions,but international pressures,the risingpricesof slaves,and growingplanter and low productivity concernsabouthighmortality led mostemployers to and in finance considerable costlyimprovementsthelivingstandardsoftheir workersbythe1900s.50SomePortuguese officials also madecommendable to checkabusesand enforcelegislation.51 efforts includForeignobservers, wereunitedintheir ingthosemostcriticaloftheperpetualindenture system, claimthattheworkerson theislandswererelatively well treated,evenin and sickness comparisonto labourersin Europe.52High ratesof mortality weredue mainlyto factorsoutsidetheemployers'control,althoughbruon labourersbytheagentsofabsenteeplanters talityand overworkinflicted did at timescontribute to poor health.53 Medicalexpensesweregrowingrapidlyinthe1900s,as manyplantations cameto be equippedwithspacioushospitalsrunbya Europeandoctorand a numberofwhiteand blacknurses.54 In 1889, onesetofdetailedcalculations alreadyput medicalexpenditureat 8.7% of total labour costs.55By the constituted a higherproportion. New hospitals 1900S,theyalmostcertainly 47UBL, CP, ç (iv), T.Burttto W. Cadbury,3.1. 1906. 48AHSTP. i-a-C. 7. Curador Geral to SecretárioGeral, i8.ii.tqo8. 49UBL, CP, 299-300, W. Cadbury,Notebook 1909; Sociedade de Emigração,Relatório,19 14, 19, citing1908 text. p.50 UBL, CP, 4/53,A. Ceffalato CadburyBros., 6.6.1903; UBL, CP, 5 (iv), W. Cadburyto H. R. Fox-Bourne,6.2.1906. 51AHSTP, i-a-C, 6, Governador Principeto Governador,20.9.1903, and annexes; AHSTP, i-a-C, 8, GovernadorPríncipeto Governador,20.2.1909. 52Duffy,A Question of Slavery,pp. 96, 122 and passim. 53 Nogueira, A Ilha de S. Thomé, pp. 25, 37-38; UBL, CP, 197, BurttReport 1906. For a particularlybad incident,AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 298, Pasta 3, Curador Geral to SecretárioGeral, 14.7.1902. 54Der Gordian, 11 (1905-06), 229, citingStrunk;UBL, CP, 5 (iv), J. Burttto W. Cadbury, 3.1.1906. 55ZStA, RKA, 3223, fols 133-34, Soden to Bismarck,4.2.1889, citinga São Tomé source.

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werereckonedto cost 'severalthousandpounds'.56In 1908, thePedroma plantationwas buildinga hospitalfor£5,000,whilethaton theUba Budo estatewas estimatedto cost £20,000 whencompleted,and would be the white largeston São Tomé. William Cadburyreportedthat 'sixty-five artisanswereat work'on a hospitaland that'materialswereofthebest'.A kind of ostentatiouscompetitionto build the biggestand best hospitals intheseyears.57 appearsto havegrippedtheplantocracy Spendingon water much sanitation was and lower, althoughitwouldprobably supplies general ratesthanbuildinghospitals.However, have done moreto cut mortality someplantersdid installpipedwaterat considerablecost.58 Expenditureon housingwas closelyrelatedto that on hospitalsand sanitation,and appears to have risensharplyin the 1900s. In 1890, the governorof Principereportedthaton small plantationshousingforthe labourersconsistedof'a littledampcubicle,withan earthenfloor,no light, Inthesecondhalfofthe1900s, no air,and a roofofpalmleavesorthatch'.59 olderhousingforfamilieson São Toméstillconsistedofsmallwoodensheds As forsinglemaleand femalelabourers,they ironroofs.60 withcorrugated But some of the new family were separatelyhoused in large barracks.61 downthe housesgoingup inthe1900swere4 by3 metresinsize,partitioned rather than wood to avoid the in brick or concrete built sometimes middle, Some evenhad verandahs, riskof fire,withraisedfloorsand tiledroofs.62 andWilliamCadburythoughtthemequal and evensuperiorto thebestthat he had seenin theBritishWestIndies.63In 1914, reportsfromSouthAfrica thatit was moreconduciveto healthto allow Africansto buildtheirown hutsin theirown way led to a changein the law, whichhad previously bannedthiskindof familyhousing.64 By 1920, someplantationsthushad fashion'.65 'hutsbuiltin thenative iteminlabourcosts,andtheplantersmadeefforts Food was an important to producerationson theplantationsor buythemlocally.The bread-fruit treewas introducedinto the islandsin the mid-nineteenth century,and plantains,beans,maize,yams,maniocand oil palmswerelocallycultivated to feedthe labourers,some of thesecrops beingplantedbetweenyoung cocoa and coffeetrees.Plantainsappeartohavebeenthemainstarchy staple 56UBL, CP, %(iv), T.Bum to W. Cadbury,3.1. 1906. S7UBL, CP, 308, W. Cadbury,Diary, 1908-09. 58UBL, CP, 299-300, W. Cadbury,Notebook 1909. 59AHSTP, i-a-C, 3, fols 11-24, GovernadorPrincipeto Governador,19.7.1890. 60UBL, CP, 197, Bum report1906. 61UBL, CP, 299-300, W. Cadbury,Notebook 1909; Der Gordtan,11 (1905-06), 229, citing Strunk. 62UBL, CP, 299-300, W. Cadbury,Notebook 1909; Sociedade de Emigração,Relatório,1914, p. 20, citingMasui 1900-01; Der Gordian, 11 (1905-06), 229, citingStrunk;Conde de Sousa e Faro, A Ilha de S. Thomé e a Roça Agua-lzé (Lisbon, 1908), p. 153 and photos; UBL, CP, 308, W. 1.11.1908. Cadbury, 63UBL, CP, 299-300, W. Cadbury,Notebook 1909. 64Sociedade de Emigração,Relatório,19 14, p. 82. 65Great Britain,F.O., San Thomé,p. 22.

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locationand ecologicalconditions, inthe1880s. Accordingto geographical to others.Labourerswerealso encouraged someplantationssoldfoodstuffs Some freshfishwas of local to gatherfruitfromwildor semi-wildtrees.66 on certain were raised and cattle plantations.Almostall plantations origin and manyprovidedfreshmeatfortheir had somesmallstockand poultry, labourersonce a week.67 themoreintensive numbersoflabourers, However,therapidlyincreasing and a chronicshortageof labourall use of land forcocoa mono-cropping, As pushedtheplanterstowardsa greaterrelianceon importsoffoodstuffs. in item 1 was said to be the the diet of the as rice staple serviçaes.68 early 896, fromEurope,itseemstohavebeen Thoughmostofthisricewas re-exported Asia.69Dried grownmainlyinBurmaandpossiblyotherpartsofSouth-East fishfromsouthernAngolawas thesecondstaple,althoughit was of poor Meat in tinsand barrelsfromthe quality,fullof sand,and oftenrotten.70 from beans and maize Americas, Angola and live cattlefromsouthern were other importsto feedthe labour force.71In the significant Angola the estate 1900s, annuallyimported450 tonsofrice,280 tonsof Agua-Izé 1 and tons of dried saltedfishand 80 tonsoftinnedmeata yearfor 80 beans, it was on thebasisof customsstatistics, itsworkers.72 estimated, By 1914, thattheaveragemonthly worker'srationinimported goodswas 15 kilosof of and salted fish,3.5 kilos of beans, 1.5 kilos of rice, 6.5 kilos dried preservedmeat,and 1 kilo of maize meal. By thisstage,the only local inthedietoftheserviçaesweresaid to be fruit, and productsofimportance somemaize,cassava and palmoil.73 butclotheswereimporClothingformeda smalleritemof expenditure, tant,bothas a protection againstsnakesand insects,and forwarmthon the plantationsat higheraltitude.74By law, two sets of clotheshad to be to thelabourerseverysixmonths.75 distributed How wellthiswas complied withis notentirely clear.Therewerecertainly complaintsas to insufficient 66 Nogueira, A Ilha de S. Thomé, pp. 29- 30, 69-70, 168 (note2); Manuel FerreiraRibeiro, A Provínciade S. Thomée Principee Suas Dependências(Lisbon,1877), pp. 438, 590-91, 601-02; Banco Nacional Ultramarino,Relatórios,1S73, p. 282; Faro,A Ilha, p. 164; ZStA, RKA, 3223, fols 133-34, Soden to Bismarck,4.2.1889, citinga São Tomé source. 67Faro, A Ilha, pp. 163-64; Der Gordian,11 (1905-06), 229-30, citingStrunk;UBL, CP, 5 (iv), J. Burttto W. Cadbury,3.1. 1906. 68Der Gordian. i (1897-98), 1169, citingMax Esser. 69FranciscoMantero, Mão d'Obra em S. Thomé e Principe(Lisbon, 19 10), and annexes,for statistics. 1905 70AHSTP, i-a-C, 3, fols11-24, Governador Principeto Governador,19.7. 1890; AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 379, Pasta 1, seriesof documents;Clarence-Smith, Slaves*Chapteri. 71Faro, A Ilha, p. 164; UBL, CP, 5 (iv), J. Burttto W. Cadbury, 3.1. 1906; Der Gordian, 11 (1905-06), 228, citing Strunk; Clarence-Smith,Slaves, Chapter 3; Sociedade de Emigração, Relatório,19 14, D. 20 (note 1). 72Faro, A Ilha, pp. 163-64. 73Sociedade de Emieracão. Relatório,iqia* d. 68. 74 Tony Hodges and Malyn Newitt, São Tomé and Príncipe: From Plantation Colony to Microstate (Boulder, Colo., 1988), p. 14 (snakes); AHSTP, i-a-C, 3, fols 11-24, Governador Principeto Governador.iq.7.i8qo (coldì. 75UBL, CP, 6 (v), A. Mendes da Silva et al to W. Cadbury,24.12.1907.

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and on theUba Budo estatein theearly1920s a visitornotedthat clothing, only a small piece of sackingwas worn.76However,WilliamCadbury reportedthatalthoughthe workersboughtextraclothat the plantation store,theywerewell providedwithcottonclothimportedfromPortugal, usually in blue and white patternsand designs.77And the numerous takenintheislandsintheseyearsshowwell-clothed labourers, photographs evenifthesewerephotographsoftheserviçaesin their'Sundaybest'. From 1878, Portugueselaws also laid down thatthe plantersshould and childcare facilitiesfortheir provideeducation,religiousinstruction and didnotadd much workers,buttheseprovisionswerepatchilyenforced to labourcosts.78Crechesrunbyblacknurseswerequiteoftenprovided,in orderto releasemothersforlabouringduties,but mosteducationforthe thebrighter to selecting childrenofserviçaeswas confined boysfortraining as artisans.Boyswerealso occasionallysentto one of thetwelveprimary villageschoolsprovidedby thestateforthefreecreolepopulation.As for manyestateownersor managerswere anti-clericals religiousinstruction, who toleratedno religiousactivitywhatsoeveron theirplantations.On otherestates,a priestwould come once a year to baptize childrenand labourers,and to recitemassin theopenair.79Evenon the recently-arrived Monte Café estateowned by a deeplypious lady,whereweeklychurch serviceswereheld,'thepreachingofthepriestwas pithilysummedup bya and eat well,and sleepwell,thatwe may native:"He tellsus to multiply, schoolsand chapelscan workwellforDona Claudina".'80Quitesubstantial be seentodayon someestates,buttheydo notappearto datefromtheperiod before1914.81 In aggregate,labour costs were rising,and appear to have been high relativeto Europe and to plantationareas elsewherein the worldby the thechangesin thetotalcost of mid-1900s. It is impossibleto reconstruct underall theheadingslisted unskilledlabourfromincidentalinformation made occasional and officials but attemptsto work out above, planters includeinitialcostsof in table below the The overallexpenditures. figures intopoundssterling the sums costs. current well as as Converting purchase inthe from fluctuations thedistortions makesitpossibleto eliminate arising to underall seem these sources value of Portuguesecurrency.82 However, and theamounts estimatethelosses of labour caused by deathand flight, In compararatherthanaveragefigures. shouldthusbe treatedas minimum tiveterms,Hall notedthatthecostoflabourin São Tomé was about 20% 76AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 162, Pasta 3, Auto T. da Costa, 9.5.1899; Pedro Muralha, Terrasde Africa,S. Tomé e Angola (Lisbon, c. 192.5),P-2.6. 77UBL, CP, 299-300, W. Cadbury,Notebook 1909. 78ValentimAlexandre,Origensdo ColonialismoPortuguêsModerno (Lisbon, 1979), P- 160. 79UBL, CP, 299-300, W. Cadbury,Notebook 1909. 80UBL, CP, 5 (iv), T.Bum to W. Cadbury,3.1. 1906. 81Personalobservation,August 1988. 82Clarence-Smith, The ThirdPortugueseEmpire,table,p. 227, forpound-re« exchange.

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cocoa's

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163 The totalcostof a higherthanthatin thecocoa plantationsof Surinam.83 workerin São Tomé in 1914 was also said to be above thewagespaid to casual dailyrurallabourin Portugal.84 Table 2: Monthly Average Total Cost of Unskilled Labour, São Tomé e Príncipe, 1882-191385 Year Monthlycost in Monthlycost in reis sterling 1882 £0.98 4$45* 1889 6$i65 £1.37 c. 1905 £1.60 7$424 1909 108138 £i-95 £2.18 1913 n$443

The thirdcomponentin real labour costs was productivity, although this is the most difficult unfortunately aspect to quantify.The planters system.The workers gainedsomeadvantagesfromtheperpetualindenture boughtas slaves,iftheysurvived, stayedlongenoughto acquirebasicskills in plantationwork.86Sex ratiosamonglabourerscomingfromAngolafor theplantationswereroughlyevenby the end of the 1890s, and detailed showonlya slightpreponderance ofmenoverwomenintheoverall statistics populationand amongnewarrivalsintheearly1900s.Equal sexratioswere desiredbytheplanters, who also favouredand arrangedmarriages.87 Stable familiesmade for a more motivatedlabour forceand facilitatedsocial control. That thisstabilizedlabourforcewas nevertheless characterized by very low productivity was due largelyto the terriblehealthsituationon the islands.Disease notonlykilledpeoplebutalso loweredtheproductivity of thosewho remainedalive. Whiletyphoid,amoebicdysentery, smallpox, sleepingsickness(on Principe),tetanus,tuberculosis, pneumoniaand meningitiswerewidespreadkillerdiseases,otherillnesseswereofa chronicand nature.88 Malaria and filariosis werenot a problemon plantaenfeebling tionsabove a certainaltitude,buttheywerewidespreadin low-lying areas, on Principeisland.89Hookwormwas an acuteproblemall over particularly São Tomé island,and syphilisand otherformsofvenerealdiseasebeganto 83C. J.J.van Hall, Cocoa (London, 19 14), p. 317. 84Sociedade de Emigração,Relatório,1914, dd. iç-16, note 1. 85These figuresare calculated by me from: Alexandre, Origens, pp. 173-74, citingAlmada (1882); ZStA, RKA, 3223, fols 133-34, Soden to Bismarck,4.2.1889, citinga São Tomé source (1889); Hall, Cocoa, p. 317, citingChevalier (c. 1905); Ponsard,PlantationRoça Porto Alegre (1909); Sociedade de Emigração,Relatório,19 14, pp. 106-07 (191 3). 86Der Gordian, 11 (190Ç-06), 228, citingStrunk. 87AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 226, Pasta 2, Directordas Obras Públicasto Secretário Geral,7.5.1897; UBL, CP, 299-300, W. Cadbury,Notebook 1909; UBL, CP, 222, Annual Series,2922; Duffy,A Question of Slavery,p. 181, note 24. 88Aguiar,O Trabalho Indígena,providesthe bestsurvey. 89Ribeiro, A Província, pp. 540-43; AHSTP, i-a-C, 8, GovernadorPríncipeto Governador, 8.3.1909; AHSTP, 1-a-A, Caixa 463, Pasta 5, RelatórioBrutoda Costa,June1913; BoletimOficial de São Tomé e Príncipe,19.9.19 11.

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increasein bothislandsat theend of thisperiod.90In addition,therewere diseases,enhancedbyrapidchangesintemperature manyminorrespiratory at high altitude,as well as intestinalproblems,oftenrelatedto worm watersupplies.91 and poor drinking infestations remainsto be determined, but The exactimpactofillnesson productivity it tendedto be worstamongnew arrivals.Many labourerslandedin poor and themarchto thecoast,disoriented byenslavement shape,traumatized and and oftensick.92One employer diet the unaccustomed climate, by in that about a quarterof new arrivalswere the late 1880s complained of themwerecripples.93 On one unfit for and that some work, completely in William noted that in Tomé the late there São 1900s, Cadbury plantation weresome80 labourersoffsickoutofa totallabourforceofabout900, and yetheconsideredthisto be betterthanaverage.Crippleswereallocatedlight work,suchas processingcocoa beans.94 of labourwas thatthe The othermajorreasonforthelow productivity and foughtback withall workershatedthesystemofperpetualindenture, repeatedendlesslyto possiblemeansat theirdisposal.Whiletheemployers that were likeone bighappy to them who would listen plantations anyone which the labourers summedup cited a refrain sungby family,Nogueira theirmaingrievance:'In São Tomé,thereis a doortogo in,butnoneto come out.'95And thearchivesare fullof examplesof desperateand determined andoftheoftenbrutal actionon thepartoflabourersagainsttheirservitude, lid the on these to the simmering grievances. by planters keep attempts Resistancetook manyforms,and themostprevalentinvolvedinformal actionbyindividualsor smallgroups.Slacking,malingering, absenteeism, 'insubordisuicide,sabotage and theftwere rife.96Unspecified drinking, a was nation'was reportedwithmonotonousregularity. persistent Flight oracrossthesea andmountains, totheforests whether problemforplanters, at instolenboats.97In 1889, one plantercalculatedlossesoflabourbyflight on the 6% peryear,and a decade laternearly10% of thelabourers large Escapeswereusuallyabortive, Agua-Izéestatewerereportedto havefled.98 or starvedintosubmissionaftera werefrequently and fugitives re-captured 90AHSTP, 1-a-A, Caixa 379, Pasta 1, Chefeda missão de estudoto SecretárioGeral, 17.1 1.1908; Aguiar,O Trabalho Indígena,pp. 45-47 and appendices. 91Aguiar,O Trabalho Indigena,passim,providesthe bestsurvey. 92Banco Nacional Ultramarino,Relatónos, 1882, pp. 667-68; AHbTP. i-a-A, Caixa 410, Pasta 1, Curador Geral to SecretárioGeral, 8.7.1910; Aguiar,O Trabalho Indígena,p. 38. 93ZStA, RKA, 3223, fols 133-34, Soden to Bismarck,4.2.1889, citinga São Tome source. 94UBL, CP, 308, W. Cadbury,Diary, 1908-09. 95Nogueira,A Ilha de S. Thotné,p. 97. 96Sociedade de Emigração,Relatório,1914, pp. 9-10, 19, 67; Faro,A Ilha, pp. 164-67; UBL, CP, 4/21.W. Cadburyto CadburyBros., 19.3. 1903. 97AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 162, Pasta 3, Curador Geral to Governador,20.6.1888; AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 162, Pasta *, Curador Geral to Governador,14.5. 1889, fortwo examples. 98ZStA, RKA, Soden to Bismarck,4.2.1889, citingSão Tomé source;AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 239, Pasta 2, Curador Geral to Governador,24.2.1898.

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themfromtrying fewweeks." However,thisdidnotprevent again.In 1901 ill and wrappedin a stolen a certainKingungocameintohospital,seriously Moreover, blanket,havingescapedfromhisplantationforthethirdtime.100 better 'poached'labourersfromoneanotherbypromising plantersregularly conditions.This had theadvantageof providingtheserviçaeswho moved withpowerfulprotectionfromtheirnew masters.Howeverit was illegal, and planterswerefinediftheoffencecould be proved.101 Collectiveresistance,sometimesof a violentnature,also occurred. massdesertions and small-scalerebellionsbrokeoutwhenGeneralstrikes, liberationspreadto theworkers,as in theyears everrumoursofimminent after1875, 19°35and 1909-10.102Hungerstrikes, partialworkstoppages, and attackson plantersand overseersweresparked localizeddisturbances, offby more particularand local problems,oftento do withthe forced renewalofcontracts orharshtreatment Thosewhotookto byemployers.103 the mountainsset up maroon settlements and returnedto harass the However,the planters,as theyhad done forcenturiesin the islands.104 violenceoftheseraidsappearsto havebeenexaggerated bytheplanters,in orderto obtainpermissionfromthe governorto mountcounter-attacks and re-capture lostlabourers.105 againstthefugitives The serviçaeswereable to chooselegaloptionsto gainredress,butthese werelimitedin scope and efficacy. Individualsat timescomplainedto the labourinspectors, otherofficials, and to thecourts,or refusedto signnew contracts.106 However,thiskindof actionwas hamperedby the authoritarianframework of plantationlife,forthelabourerscould not leave the In law, theone exceptionwas thatworkers estateswithoutpermission.107 99UBL, CP, 299-300, W. Cadbury,Notebook 1909. 100AHSTP, 1-a-A, Caixa 282, Pasta Sub-Chefe Interinodo 3, Serviçoda Saúde to Curador Geral,

23.2.1901.

101 AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 158, Pasta 1, Curador Geral to Governador, 20.6.1888 and 19.9.1888 and annexes: AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa zss-, Pasta 2, Curador Geral to Secretário Geral, 11. 12.1899. 102Banco Nacional Ultramarino, Relatórios, 187s, pp. 368-69; AHSTP, i-a-C, 1, fols 14-16 Direcção Geral do Ultramar to Governador, 24.12.1877; AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 316, Pasta 3, Curador Geral to Secretário Geral, 1 3 .7. 1903 ; AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 423, Pasta 2, Curador Geral to Governador, 10.11.1911; Sociedade de Emigração, Relatório, 1914, p. 19. 103 AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 184, Pasta 2, Maço 3, Secretário da Direcção to Curador Geral, 12.7.1892; AHSTP, i-a-C, 5, Governador Príncipe to Governador, 20.11. 1902; AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 298, Pasta 3, Curador Geral to Presidente do Conselho do Governo, 23.7.1902; UBL, CP, 4/21, W. Cadbury to Cadbury Bros., 19. 3. 1903; AHSTP, i-a-C, 7, Governador Príncipe to Governador, 18.7. 1907. 104 R. Garfield, 'A History of São Tomé Island, 1470-1655' (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Northwestern University, 1971); AHSTP, i-a-C, 3, Administrador do Concelho to Secretário Geral, 18. 3. 1896, and annexes; AHSTP, i-a-C, 5, Governador Príncipe to Governador, 20.11. 1902, and Curador Geral to Secretário Geral, 19. 7.1902; AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 380, Pasta 3, Curador Geral to Secretário Geral, 26.9.1907; UBL, CP, 299-300, W. Cadbury, Notebook 1909. 105 AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 226, Pasta 2, Curador Geral to Secretário Geral, 27.8.1897, and subsequent correspondence. 106 AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 184, Pasta 2, Maço 3, Secretário da Direcção to Curador Geral, 12.7.1892; AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 391, Pasta 4, Governador Cabo Verde to Governador, 4.8.1908; AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 459, Pasta 1, Curador Geral to Secretário Geral, 7.7. 191 3. 107 UBL, CP, 5 (iv), J. Burtt to W. Cadbury, 3.1. 1906

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had therightto leaveto makea complaint,butit seemsthatthisprovision Even ifthelabourersmanagedto getaway to put was rarelyenforced.108 theircase beforetheauthorities, theyfoundthatmostofthelocal represenwhetherbecauseof close tativesofthestatecolludedwiththeplantocracy, or Workerswho social relations,or becauseof outright bribery threats.109 for out for 'disobedience'.110 Even could be punishment singled complained to the serviçaesoftenlacked thoseofficialswho were at all sympathetic labourHowever,theCape Verdeanindentured competent interpreters.111 wereaccustomedto Westernlegal proers spoke fairlygood Portuguese, on theislandsofhighsocialstanding.They cesses,and had freecompatriots werethusbetterableto uselegalchannelsofprotestthanworkersfreshfrom theAfricanbush.112 notonlyreliedon the theemployers To dampendownworkerresistance, and measuresnotedaboveinthecontextofreducingmortality ameliorative control over the social to establish but also disease, rigorous attempted littleworldof theplantation.Workerswereconfinedto the self-contained estates,locked up at night,and subjectedto a disciplineddaily routine, punctuatedbythetollingof a loud bell.Fineswereimposedforlossesand injuriescaused to the planter.At the same time,rationsof rum and permissionto celebratea funeralor to hold a dance were judiciously Sundayofthemonth,whenwageswerehandedout, manipulated.The first Labourers for a a time often was majordancelastinglateintothenight.113 could which of on small allocated weresometimes they grow plots land, Most plantations extrafood,and thisprivilegewas muchsoughtafter.114 ofwhichwas to maintainlabourersin also had shops,one ofthefunctions Another debtto theiremployers.115 majorpurposeoftheplantationshops was to preventtheworkerssneakingoffto thetaverns,runbycreólesand alcowhichweresaid to be centresof uncontrolled Chineseex-labourers, the commercial holismand illicitbuyingofstolencocoa.116As propositions, who to plantationshopsappearto have beenof no interest theemployers, mayevenhave lostmoneyon them.117 108AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 209, Pasta 4, Maço 3, Contracto 30.8.1895, forlaw; AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 209, Pasta 4, Maço 3, Adelina,Petitionto Governador,24.1 1.1895, forlack ofenforcement. 109AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 239, Pasta 2, Curador Geral to SecretarioGeral, 12.12.1898; AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 298, Pasta 3, Curador Geral to SecretárioGeral, 18.9. 1902. 110AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 209, Pasta 4, Maço 3, Adelina, Petitionto Governador,24.11. 1895; AHSTP. i-a-A, Caixa 298, Pasta *, Curador Geral to SecretárioGeral, 12.6.1902. 111AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 322, Pasta 3, Delegado no Príncipeto Curador Geral, 7.5.1904. 112AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 391, Pasta 4, GovernadorCabo Verdeto Governador,4.8.1908; Arto1r, i-a-C, 8, Curador Geral to SecretárioGeral, 10.3. 1909. 113Sociedade de Emigração, Relatório, 1914, pp. 19,69; UBL, CP, 299-300, W. Cadbury, Notebook iqoq. 114AHSTP, i-a-C, 7, GovernadorPríncipeto Governador,30.4.1907; UBL, CP, 299-300, W. Cadbury,Notebook 1909. 115UBL, CP, 4/20,A. Ceffalato W. Cadbury,20.4.1904. 116UBL, CP, 299-300, W. Cadbury,Notebook 1909; raro, A Ilha, pp. 164-67. 117Sociedade de Emigração,Relatório,1914, p. 69; UBL, CP, 299-300, W. Cadbury,Notebook 1909.

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cocoa's

hidden costs in são tomé and príncipe

167 labourer Divideand ruletacticswerealso tried.In one case,a subservient who lied to the authoritiesto protecthis masterwas promotedto the position of foremanand paid extra wages.118Ethnic divisionswere exploited,forinstanceby appointingDahomeyansas foremenover the Workerswerehousedon ethniclines,or accordingto theship Angolans.119 inwhichtheyhad come,althoughethnicand ship-mate solidarity mayhave meansof fortheworkersas an effective beenas mucha sourceof strength did notapproveoftheviolent And theplanterscertainly social control.120 which at timesflaredup betweenAngolansand Cape factionfighting Verdeans.121 usedto thoughillegal,was anothermajorstrategy Corporalpunishment, the hands of workers to controlthelabourers.122 shreds,whipping, Beating andtheuseofchainswerereported imprisonment, woundingwithfirearms, on the Roça InfanteDom Henriqueon Principeislandin 1903. On this aftertrying to escapewas whipped estate,a slavewho had beenre-captured till he was unconscious,and he laterdied in the plantationhospital.123 dailyformof Accordingto Burtt,kicksand blowswerethemostfrequent violence.Thepalmatória,'a pieceofthick,hardwood witha flatcircularend . . . used forbeatingthe hand', was the normalutensilformoreformal forreallyseriouscases.124 andthewhip(chicote)was reserved punishments, and chicote with the the were oftenadministered at the palmatória Beatings all at generaleveningline-upof workers sunset,to serveas an exampletothe others.125 Violencewas verygeneralin theislands,in spiteofitsdeleterious effects on the alreadypoor healthof thelabourers,and theplantocracylivedin Whiteforemen, who had lesspersonal perpetualfearof massuprisings.126 in maintaining oflabourersthantheplanters, interest theproductivity were brutal.127 Butplantersor managersthemselves at reputedto be particularly timesinflicted cruelpunishments forquiteminormisdemeanrevoltingly ours.In 1902, thelabourinspectorreportedon a manand a childbrutally torturedin a privateprisonon the Roça Laranjeiro,the man forhaving a fewmouthfuls of laughedbehindhisboss'sbackandthechildfordrinking 118AHSTP, i-a-C, 6, Auto de declarações,30.8.1903. 119Revista PortuguesaColonial e Marítima,A Ilha de São Tomé e o Trabalho Indígena (Lisbon,

1907),

D. S4.

120Sociedade de Emigração,Relatório,1914, P. 68. 121AHSTP, i-a-C, 6, Petition by Príncipeplantersto Curador Geral, 23.7.1904; AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 423, Pasta 2, Curador Geral to Governador,10.11.1911. 122 Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino,Lisbon, 2a Secção-Angola,Repartição 2, Pasta 4, F. Costa, Note 27.4.1880, forillegalityofcorporalpunishment;AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 459, Pasta 1, Curador Geral to SecretárioGeraL 11.7. 191 3. referrine to 189^-1901 oeriod. 123AHSTP, i-a-C, 6, Auto de declarações,30.8.1901. 124UBL, CP, s (iv), T.Burttto W. Cadbury,3.1.1906. 125Sociedade de Emigração,Relatório. 19 14, p. 19, citingChevalier. 126AHSTP, i-a-C, 6, Príncipeplantersto Curador Geral. 23.7.1904. 127 Nogueira,A Ilha de S. Thomé,pp. 25, 37-38; UBL, CP, 197, BurttReport1906.

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labourinspector In 1913,thereforming stolenginandport.128 appointedby the Republicanscommentedon the numerousscars caused by corporal to decadesofviolence.129 a mutetestimony punishment, workerswere For all theprevalenceofcorporalpunishment byplanters, for over to the state handed punishment. Beatingsbyplanters increasingly wereillegal,and denunciationby a workeror by a neighbouring planter keento gethisorherhandson additionallabourerscouldleadto a courtcase And as theinternational of labour to anothermaster.130 and thetransfer theauthorities São Tomé the beganto plantersintensified, outcryagainst For seriouscrimes, on planterviolence.131 crackdownmoresystematically on labourershandedoverto themfor thepenaltyimposedbytheauthorities to was colony,oftento punishment usuallydeportation anotherPortuguese The deathpenaltywas neverimposed,evenforcases serveas soldiers.132 forPortugalhad abolished involvingthemurderof plantersand foremen, there Nor is 1860s.133 in late the anyrecordofcorporal capitalpunishment in the state. the Imprisonment imposed by punishmentbeing officially a of as waste was denounced but this fortress was at first money prescribed, thencameto be unpaidlabourforthe The usualpunishment and labour.134 or the municipalcouncil,even thoughdoubts public worksdepartment to occasionallysurfacedas thelegalityofnotpayingsuchlabourers.135 oftheserviçaesnotonlyloweredtheproductivity The constantstruggles on supervisory toheavyexpenditure ofunskilledlabourbutalso contributed two Porto labour.Thus,inthelate1900s on theRoça Alegre, white'chefsde to supervisejust over a needed service*and six black 'surveillants'were cocoa beans to the dryinginstallahundredlabourersmovingfermented tions.136The uneconomicorganizationof the work process noted by WilliamCadburyprobablyderivedfromthe factthatsecuritywas more importantthan the optimumdeploymentof labour, althoughCadbury failed to specifyin what ways the labour process was unfortunately defective.137 128AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 298, Pasta 3, CuradorGeralto SecretárioGeral,14.7.1902 and annexes. 129AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 4S9, Pasta 1, Curador Geral to SecretanoGeral, 11.7.1913. 130UBL, CP, (ivj, J.Burttto W. Cadbury,3.1. 1906; AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 177, Pasta 4, Maço 1, j Curador Geral to Governador,23.1.1891. 131Duffy,A Question of Slavery,p. 197, citingBritishconsularreportof 1907. 132AHSTP, i-a-C, 1, fols14-16, Direcção Geraldo Ultramarto Governador,24.12.1877; AH5>IF, i-a-A, Caixa 239, Pasta 2, SecretárioGeral, Informação,27.1. 1898; AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 316, Pasta 3, Curador Geral to SecretárioGeral, 6.8.1903. 133AHSTP, i-a-C, 4, GovernadorPríncipeto Governador,4. 12. 1900. 134AHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 316, Pasta 3, Curador Geral to Presidentedo Conselho Governativo, 29. 11. 1894. 13SFor instanceAHSTP, i-a-A, Caixa 209, Pasta 4, Maço 3, Adelina, Petitionto Governador, 24.1 i. 189 5. The archivesare fullto burstingwith condemnationsto 'Obras da Fortaleza' and similarpunishments. 136Raoul Mesnierde Ponsard,PlantationRoça Porto Alegre(Lisbon, 1912.),p. 18. 137Calculated fromUBL, CP, 299-300, W. Cadbury,Notebook 1909, and Mantero, A Mao d'obra, annexes.

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cocoa's

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169

increasedbytheemployment ofrelatively costswerefurther Supervisory numerouswhites,insteadof cheaperblacksupervisors, althoughtheexact racialdivisionoflabouris hardto recoverfromthesources.Thereseemsto havebeenan overallratioofaround1 whiteto 20 blackson theplantations inthelate 1900s,whichwas aboutfourtimestheratioon theplantations in Foremen(capatazes)appearalmost GermanCameroonat thesamedate.138 alwaysto have been black contractlabourers,althoughit is possiblethat whiteswere sometimesused even in these most humbletasks.139The empregadosdo mato(bushemployees)who directedtheworkgangsin the fieldweregenerallywhite.140 However,thereappearsto have been some substitution of whitesby Cape Verdeanstowardstheend of the 1900s.141 of whole estatesand of the blocks of roughly500 The administrators hectaresinto which the large estateswere dividedwere apparentlyall Europeansby the 1900s.142However,some were reportedto have been non-Europeans, probablylocal creóles,in the early1890s.143Considerations of securityappear to have overriddenmore narrowlyeconomic ofwhiteempregadosdo mato. calculations,especiallyin theappointment To be sure,Portuguese overseers camerelatively cheapcomparedto other was low and theyremainedmoreexpenEuropeans,buttheirproductivity sivethanAfricans.Althoughthesettlement of Portugueseconvicts(degredados) was bannedfrom1882, overseerscontinuedto be drawnfromthose Andinthe1900s,WilliamCadbury alreadyon theislandsformanyyears.144 commentedon thelargenumbersof white'gangers',oftenilliterate, who came fromthepooreststrataof ruralPortugal.145 In Principeisland,poor whiteempregadosdo matowho fellillhad to be senthomethrough private charitabledonations.146 Cadburycommentedon theappallingdeathrate amongthesepeople,whichheblamedon unsatisfactory conditions, hygienic boredomand overwork.He evenwentso faras to say: 'Therecan be no doubtthatthemanwho suffers mostis thewhiteoverseer.'147 The overallcost of whitelabourcomparedto thatof black labourwas remarkably high.In the early1880s, whitepersonnelwere estimatedto accountfornearlyhalfthetotallabourcostson a 10,000hectareestate.The butevenif figures providedforblacklabourare clearlyan underestimate, one adoptsmoreplausibleestimates forblackworkers, theexpenditures on 138UBL, CP, 299-300, W. in Cadbury,Notebook 1909; K. Hausen, DeutscheKolonialherrschaft Afrika(Zürich, 1970), p. 220. 139Sociedade de Emigração,Relatório,1914, p. 17, citingMasui; UBL, CP, 299-300, W. Cadbury, Notebook 1909: Muralha, Terras,p. 37. 140Velarde,L'espansione politica*p. im. 141UBL, CP, W. Cadbury,Notebook 1909. 142UBL, CP, 299-300, 299-3 00, W. Cadbury,Notebook 1909. 143Nogueira, Ilha. p. 39. 144Nogueira,A Ilha. pp. 37, 9c. 145UBL, CP, 299-300, W. Cadbury,Notebook 1909. 146AHSTP. i-a-C. 8. GovernadorPríncipeto Governador.8.*.i9oo. 147UBL, CP, 299-300, W. Cadbury,Notebook 1909.

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W. G. CLARENCE-SMITH

whitelabourstillcameto abouta thirdofthetotalexpenseson labour.148 By 1912-13, thedetailedfigures providedby SalvadorLevyrevealabout the same proportionspent on white labour. However, the whiteson the butalso skilled plantationsincludednotjustoverseersand administrators, workers.149 Theproblemofskilledlabouris somewhatdifferent fromthatof and is considered below. labour, briefly supervisory years,therewas a drasticdeclinein exportsof cocoa Duringtheinter-war oftheplantedarea,butthere fromSão Tomé and Príncipeand a contraction overthepreciseroleofhighlabourcostsin this is considerablecontroversy process.Explanationsforthedeclinecan be groupedundertwo headings, ofplantationsin a situationof naturaldisastersand therelativeinefficiency The real for cocoa.150 costoflabourwas a crucial world high prices falling but it not in this last was theonlyone. explanation, ingredient Naturaldisasterswereoftenblamedforthedeclineofthecocoa plantaAninsectknown isnotveryconvincing. tionsofSão Tomé,buttheargument as the cocoa thripsdevastatedtheplantationsfrom1916-19. The thrips to deal with on the islands than on the African proved more difficult other where mainland, organismsweakenedthe insectand controlledits soil Moreover, exhaustionwas takingitstollbytheFirstWorld ravages.151 forecastsas to theinexhaustible ferearlieroptimistic War, contradicting But it was of the islands.152 rich volcanic soils of the quitepossibleto tility anditis farfromclearthatthey findtechnicalremediesto all theseproblems, actuallycausedthedeclineofcocoa plantingin São Tomé and Príncipe.153 in a situationof frommoreefficient smallholders Growingcompetition to São Tome's decline,as steeplyfallingcocoa pricesappearsbetter explain and SouthWestern intheGold Coast (Ghana) Africansmallholders Nigeria The fullextentof the collapse of conqueredthe world cocoa market.154 cocoa priceswas maskedby theworld-wideinflationcaused by the First WorldWar, but in real termsBritishimportpricesforraw cocoa by the mid-i92oswereonlyjustovera thirdofwhattheyhad beenin 1900.155The fromcostswhich plantationeconomyof São Tomé and Príncipesuffered from African smallholders. weretoo highto be able to sustaincompetition 148 Nogueira,A Ilha de S. Thome,p. 168. For betterestimatesofblacklabourcosts,see Alexandre, Origens,pp. 173-74149Sociedade de Emigração,Relatório,1914, PP. 106-07: mycalculations. íso Portugal,Ministériodas Colónias, Primeira ConferênciaEconómica do Império Colonial Português,Pareceres,Projectosde Decretoe Votos(Lisbon,1936), 1,126; M. Nunes Dias, 'O Cacau Luso-Brasileirona Economia Mundial: Subsídiospara a sua História',Studia, 8 (1961), 7-93. 151C. J.J. van Hall, Cacao (London, 1932, second ed. of 1914 volume entitledCocoa), p. 465; D. H. Urquhart,Cocoa, thirdedition(London, 1956), pp. 126-27. 152Hall, Cacao, pp. 4^8-^9. 153Velarde,L'espansione politica,pp. 139-43. 154Dias, 'O Cacau Luso-Brasileiro',passim. 155Food and Agriculture Organization,Cacao: A Reviewof CurrentTrendsin Production,Pnces and Consumption,CommoditySeries,Bulletinno. 27 (Rome, 1955), Table p. 93, fordeflatedprices.

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cocoa's

hidden costs in são tomé and príncipe

171 Althoughthehighrealcostofunskilledlabourlayat theheartofthislack ofabilityto compete,therewereotherfactorsinplay,notablya relianceon In part,thiswas becausetheplanters' largeamountsofexpensivecredit.156 that labourcostswerevery'front-ended' comparedtothoseofsmallholders, is to saythatlargeamountsofmoneyhad to be paid outbeforeanycashwas earnedfromtheexertionsof thelabourersobtained.Much debtwas thus Thiswas a particular contracted to securea laboursupply.157 problemfora as cocoa takes such a longtimeto a new cocoa out plantation, planterlaying In addition,thepriceoflandwas pushedup by comeintofullproduction.158 thesmallsize of theislandsand by land speculation,and thesecostswere 'front-ended'.159 also almostentirely and inappropriate to high Over-mechanization technologycontributed of and led to the skilled labour. The also importation expensive borrowing, wealth of machineryon the plantationswas in stark contrastto the ofcocoa on theAfrican mainland.This ofsmallholder production simplicity was compoundedby ill-adaptedplantingand processingtechniques,notwhichraisedinputsof ablythewidespacingoftreesand mechanicaldrying, and labour above of African bothcapital those smallholders.160 markedly numbers ofskilledwhiteworkershadtobepaidhighwagesto be Substantial enticedoutto theseinsalubrious islandsto keepthemachinesgoing.161 The planterstriedto findcheapersourcesofskilledlabour,butwithlittlesuccess. but theIndianswere Theyturnedfirstto Indiansratherthanto Africans, does not appear to have been decimatedby disease,and the experiment The plantersalso triedto trainmore of theirserviçaesas repeated.162 artisans,especiallythechildrenwho werebornon theplantations.163 This is not to say thatplantationproductionof cocoa is always and lessefficient thansmallholder as somehavealleged, inherently production, butratherthatcoercedlabouris fundamentally inefficient. The experience of Brazil in the 1930s and Malaysia in the 1980s shows that cocoa whenworldmarketpricesare at theirlowest.164 It plantationscan flourish was thespecificway in whichthePortugueseran theirplantationsin São Toméand Príncipewhichmadethemuncompetitive. Mistakesinequipment 156UBL, CP, 299-300, W. Cadbury,Notebook 1909. 157Alexandre,Origens*pp. 172-73, citingAlmada. 158Sociedade de Emigração,Relatório,1914, PP. 99-100, 200. 159For therisein priceofMonte Café estate,Commercioe Industria,18, 202, 1907; forland prices in general,Sociedade de Emigração,Relatório*iqi-4, p. i i i. 16öHall, passim,fordetails. 161Muralha, Terras*pp. 31-32, ^2, 72. 162AHSTP, 1-a-A, Caixa 348, Pasta 1, Curador Geral to SecretárioGeral, 11.11.1905, and annexes.For whiteartisans'wages, Sociedade de Emigração,Relatório,19 14, pp. 106-07. 163Sociedade de Emigração,Relatório,19 14, p. 70; UBL, CP, 299-300, W. Cadbury,Notebook 1909.

164C. Caldeira,Fazendas de Cacau na Bahia (Rio de Die Janeiro,1954), pp. 29-30; W. Senftleben, und Kakaopolitikin Malaysia (Hamburg,1988). Kakaowirtschaft

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andthehighcostoflandandcreditplayeda partinthis,but andtechnology, of the Portuguese it is arguedherethatthe root cause of the inefficiency Adam Smith labour in their coercive mayhavebeen system. plantationslay than slave labour.165 that free labour is all to after alwayscheaper argue right School of Oriental and African Studies, London 165For a cenerai discussion,see D. Eltis,Economic Growthand the Endingof the Transatlantic Slave Trade (New York, 1987), PartI.

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