Introduction

Abstract

The labour question is a central one in the history and historiography of Portuguese modern colonialism. Individual authors have explored the topic, focusing on particular chronologies, geographies, and economic sectors, and adopting different perspectives and methodologies. This chapter sets out the main aims of the present volume, that is, to historically address how the “native labour” question (including modalities of forced labour) in the Portuguese empire in Africa became a recurrent subject of debate, denunciations, and supervision in international institutions during those years. These processes were also fuelled by a myriad of individual actors and transnational networks, whose actions are addressed here. The volume, on the other hand, addresses the instances in which Portuguese imperial and colonial officials engaged with these historical dynamics, often in selective and instrumental ways. As a combined result of these processes, labour realities and policies in the African colonies came to be addressed in a more thorough and systematic fashion along the administrative chain during these years, and became more salient in political and diplomatic terms.