William Lyon (Freiburg): Namibian labor empire. Genocide, migrant labor, and the origins of colonial capitalism in South West Africa, 1892-1925

Abstract:

This presentation focuses on migrant laborers in Namibia during the German and early South African colonial periods between 1892 and 1925. They worked primarily in mining, wagon and rail transport, port infrastructure, and construction. Workers were recruited mainly from three corridors: West Africa, South Africa, and the Namibian-Angolan border region. They form what I refer to as the Namibian Labor Empire, which began during the German war against and genocide of the Herero and Nama. This labor empire was an essential element in the development and expansion of the colonial economy and infrastructure. Workers who arrived in the region by 1915 thus found job opportunities that were relatively well paid compared to many other regions in southern and western Africa. It was not until the early 1920s, after World War I, the Spanish flu pandemic, and the transition to South African colonial rule in Namibia, that the number of migrant workers dropped dramatically. The Namibian Labor Empire had come to an end. In the early 1920s, however, some of the African migrants who remained in Namibia, mainly West African Kru, became leaders of the anticolonial and pro-African Garvey movement, which brought together local and immigrant Africans. My research utilizes a migrant worker database (WBL Namibian Worker Database) compiled for my PhD, as well as micro histories, to provide insight into the experiences of individual workers. The project thus contributes to the colonial history of Namibia as well as African migration and global labor historiography.