Economies of Coercion

During the colonial era, there was much more demand for labor for local projects and building infrastructure. Also, labor was needed to harvest natural products. Of course this labor had to be unpaid. In Africa, specifically the Congo, many natives were forced to collect rubber for Belgium (Leopold II). This was required by law, that you were required to work 10-12 days a year without pay. Although it doesn't seem that bad, they were treated poorly. It escalated to the point where if they could no longer retrieve rubber, Leopold and his men would go to the villages and kill innocent people. Eventually, many people got word of this, causing Belgium to take control over the Congo. This in turn ended Leopold's "reign of terror."

In the Netherlands, a similar system was put into place. Peasants were required to cultivate 20% or more of their land in cash crops to pay for taxes. These crops were sold to the government at low rates and then sold off to the rest of the world making a lot of profit. Once again, if people could not cultivate their land, they would be lashed and often starved.

I had always thought that Africans were only taken out of Africa and then forced into labor. I did not know that there were enough valuable natural resources within Africa for Europeans to force labor there as well. In the end, throughout history nations have taken advantage of African people in order for cheap labor. Unfortunately this led to massacres of thousands of people.