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Chapter 17: Do colonialism and slavery belong to the past?

Colonialism and slavery are often imagined to be problems from our past, but this chapter shows how colonialism and slavery continue to impact the global present. The chapter focuses on Côte d’Ivoire, which was a French colony from 1893 until it achieved formal independence in 1960. It traces how colonial legacies continue to shape its post-independence economic development whilst drawing attention to how the structural adjustment programs imposed in the 1980s worked to deproletarianise the workforce, allowing modern slavery – including child slavery – to flourish. Connecting the colonial to the postcolonial, this chapter suggests that neither colonialism nor slavery is antithetical to capitalist development.

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Chapter Abstract

Do colonialism and slavery belong to the past? In his 1999 book Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy, Kevin Bales notes that ‘slavery has not, as most of us have been led to believe, ended’ (Bales 1999: 5). Two years later, the British media widely reported on the discovery of 250 ‘slave children’ aboard a Nigerian-registered ship called the Etireno. More recently, the British government passed the Modern Slavery Act 2015. These are but some of many indications that slavery persists despite its official demise and that it entails to some extent the trafficking and exploitation of children. To understand why, this chapter examines the wider relationship between capitalism and slavery; the uneven and unequal consequences of development in theory and practice; and the prospects of meaningful change. Although the geographic focus is West Africa, the issues raised are clearly global in scope and broader in character, hence the importance of this inquiry.

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Additional web content and audio-visual materials

1. Journey through Slavery: This four-part documentary provides very useful background information on slavery in general: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIAHio7X18uEjadx-UoH4EqXhT17EXG_x

2. Slavery: A Global Investigation: In spite of a global ban on slavery, Kate Blewett and Brian Woods’ documentary film provides a devastating insight into the persistence of these practices in the 21st century: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfdibtC4RYg

3. The Dark Side of Chocolate: Produced by Danish journalist Miki Mistrati, this documentary film investigates the less than sweet side of confectionary by highlighting the widespread use of child labour and trafficked children in the production of chocolate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeJy3dA4Ahk

4. Investigations ‘Britain’s Modern Slave Trade’: This Al Jazeera investigative report explores the extent of modern slavery within contemporary British society, with testimony from those who have lived under these conditions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKoeUxvijRA
Additional information available at: https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2016/uk-slavery-sex-slave-smuggling-investigation/index.html

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Global Politics Film Club

Freedom: Indifference is not an option (2012)
‘Ignorance is not an excuse. Indifference is not an option’. Produced by the END IT movement, a global coalition campaigning against slavery, this documentary film tells the true stories of three people who were held captive and exploited as modern-day slaves.
Additional information available at: https://enditmovement.com/

The Price of Sugar (2007), dir. Bill Haney
Modern-day slaves are mostly found in the farming field. This film describes the journey of Father Christopher Hartley, a Spanish priest, throughout the Dominican Republic and the inhumane conditions in which thousands of Haitian men are forced to work to harvest sugar cane.

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Seminar room activities

Activity 1: Ask students to Google ‘modern slavery’ and then click on Images. They should then pick ONE image that they feel best encapsulates the key issues and themes related to the phenomenon. This isn’t about finding a perfect image but rather about getting students to reflect on what they think the key themes and issues are. They should be encouraged to think in terms of: defining features (what exactly is modern slavery and how do we know it when we see it?); scale and geography (where is modern slavery and how widespread is it?); continuity and change (connections between older and modern forms of slavery); variations (e.g. children on Ivorian farms vs. women sex workers in the UK) and political economy (the role of international forces in both producing and challenging the problem).

Activity 2: Ask students to think critically about contemporary abolitionist initiatives. They might start with an overview of the UK’s Modern Slavery Act 2015, available here. Rather than trying to digest details, students should be encouraged to think critically about the role of national legislation in tackling a global problem. They might also consider broader agendas such as the Sustainable Development Goals. Most pertinent is Goal 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth - as one of its targets is the eradication of modern slavery.

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Assessment Questions

  1. With reference to a case study, discuss the relationship between global capitalism and forced labour.
  2. Which anti-slavery initiatives are likely to be most effective, and why?
  3. To what extent is modern slavery the product of a global capitalist mode of production?
  4. Why does slavery persist despite its official demise?