Archival Significance
A seminal work of Southern African labour history by Charles van Onselen, examining the coercive recruitment and working conditions of African miners in Southern Rhodesia in the early twentieth century, widely cited in the subsequent historiography of labour and capital in colonial Southern Africa.
Institutional Context
Published by Ravan Press, Johannesburg, a publisher associated with critical scholarship on Southern African labour and social history. The item held is the 1980 edition.
Content Summary
Examines the system of forced and coerced African mine labour in Southern Rhodesia between 1900 and 1933.
Research Utility
A core text for researchers of Southern African labour history, colonial mining economies, and the coercive structures underlying the region’s early industrial development.
Abantu Archives Note
Held in-house.