Chibalo was the system of debt bondage or forced labour in the ''Ultramar Português'' (the Portuguese

overseas province Overseas province ( pt, província ultramarina) was a designation used by Portugal for its overseas possessions, located outside Europe. History In the early the 19th century, Portuguese overseas territories were referred to as "overseas domini ...

s in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

), most notably in

Portuguese Angola Portuguese Angola refers to Angola during the historic period when it was a territory under Portuguese rule in southwestern Africa. In the same context, it was known until 1951 as Portuguese West Africa (officially the State of West Africa). I ...

and

Portuguese Mozambique Portuguese Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique) or Portuguese East Africa (''África Oriental Portuguesa'') were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese colony. Portuguese Mozambique originally ...

(unlike most other European overseas possessions of the 20th century, the Portuguese ones were not considered colonies, but full-fledged

provinces of Portugal The term "provinces" ( pt, províncias) has been used throughout history to identify regions of continental Portugal. Current legal subdivisions of Portugal do not coincide with the provinces, but several provinces, in their 19th- and 20th-cen ...

proper). In 1869 Portugal officially abolished slavery, but in practice, it continued nonetheless. Chibalo was used to build the infrastructure of the African provinces, as only Portuguese settlers and '' assimilados'' received an education, making them exempt from this forced labour.

Chibalo system

Under the '' Estado Novo'' regime of

António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (, , ; 28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese dictator who served as President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1968. Having come to power under the ("National Dictatorship"), he reframed the r ...

, chibalo was used in Mozambique to grow

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

for Portugal, build roads, and serve Portuguese settlers. The system was enforced by physical and sexual violence against black Africans The

Niassa Company The Niassa Company or Nyassa Chartered Company () was a royal company in the Portuguese colony of Mozambique, then known as Portuguese East Africa, that had the concession of the lands that include the present provinces of Cabo Delgado and Niassa ...

is an example of the kind of companies that could flourish since they had access to an unpaid labour force. Foreign investment in the Portuguese overseas provinces was outlawed so that Portugal would benefit directly. Entire families had to work in the cotton fields, replacing food production, leading to hunger and malnourishment. Chibalo outlasted slavery, in the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the ...

. Indigenous peoples in Mozambique, however, resisted chibalo throughout the period of Portuguese domination into the independence struggle. It also faced strong opposition since the late 19th century from Portuguese colonialists and businessmen, notably Theodorico de Sacadura Botte in the provinces of Marracuene and Magude, in

References

External links

History of Mozambique and chibalo
Debt bondage Portuguese Angola Portuguese Mozambique Labor in Mozambique Slavery in Africa Portuguese colonisation in Africa {{Africa-hist-stub

Chibalo system

See also

References

External links