Labor Systems in Africa

Labor Systems in North Africa

In North Africa, the arid conditions of the Sahara Desert made settled agriculture impossible. As such, nomadic pastoralism, in which herders followed their livestock from pasture to pasture, dominated. However, the Berbers also played a critical role as merchants. Their close proximity to the Islamic world, as well as their ability to travel across the Sahara Desert with camels, made them the perfect middlemen along the Trans-Saharan Trade routes. Berbers connected sub-Saharan Africa to the Islamic world.

Fig. 1 - the Sahara Desert

Labor Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa

It is important to understand that much of Africa was decentralized in the post-classical era. As such, blanket generalizations can be dangerous. So, let’s look at the broad differences in the labor systems of small village societies versus the labor systems of African kingdoms.

Labor Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: Small Village Societies

Prior to the creation of established African kingdoms, many Africans lived in small village societies made up of one clan or several clans who banded together. In these villages, free peasant labor, in the form of agriculture and the cultivation of livestock, were the foundations of the labor system. For example, the Nama people in modern-day Namibia and Botswana subsisted as cattle farmers.

Different members of the clan had different responsibilities. Male heads of clans were responsible for governing the village, organizing the work of others, allocating portions of the communal land to members, and distributing harvests to members. While both men and women were responsible for planting and harvesting the land, much of the division of labor was based on sex. For example, men were responsible for heavy labor such as clearing land, whereas women were responsible for tending to the children and domestic chores. As for children, they fell into “age grades” which designated appropriate labor for their age and capabilities.

Labor Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: Kingdoms

In Sub-Saharan Africa, strong kingdoms began to form around 1000 CE. Taking control of the trade networks once ruled by the Berbers, these kingdoms were able to accumulate mass wealth. In these kingdoms, the labor systems became more diversified than in smaller village societies. Of course, free peasant labor remained, but mining and craft production also became important with the growth of trade. Through the Trans-Saharan trade route, kingdoms could trade their gold and ivory for salt, horses, and manufactured goods. Merchants performed a critical role in this.

Fig, 2 - map of African Kingdoms

Coercive Labor Systems in West Africa

Up until this point, we have not discussed coerced labor, but slavery existed in many forms within Africa. For example, within villages and kingdoms, debt bondage was a common form of slavery. Additionally, villages and kingdoms often enslaved criminals and prisoners of war from neighboring societies.

But, as the post-classical era was coming to a close, the demand for African slaves outside of Africa increased drastically. Europeans found the indigenous peoples of the Americas unsuitable for slavery and, instead, looked to Africa for slave labor. As such, there was a higher demand for slaves than ever before. To meet this demand, African kingdoms began to raid neighboring villages for slaves to trade with Europeans. It was the beginning of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

Fig. 3 - map of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

Labor Systems in Africa: 1450 to 1750

Although free peasant labor remained the dominant form of labor in Africa during the early modern period, the effects of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade were very apparent in the growth of towns along the African coast. In these cities, the slave trade was the driving economic force. The effects of the slave trade, however, were apparent further inland as well. African societies were losing their young working adults to the slave trade, and this left a hole in African labor systems that stifled their development and left them susceptible to European imperialist ambitions.