JOURNALS

ABSTRACT

There is a strong concurrence among scholars that African labour was important to the attainment of the course of colonialism.Colonial exploitation was not limited to materials and mineral resources. African labour was also exploited to serve the interest of the colonizers. The undue exploitation of African labour continued by the post-colonial leaders have partly resulted in their mass migration to European and American countries for better working conditions. This massive brain drains compounded by harsh economic realities spells doom for the economy of Africa. To curb this ugly trend, there is need to examine in a broad manner, how African labour was exploited during the colonial era when the precedence of exploitation was laid.Although colonial labour exploitation was done using different methods and took varying dimensions and patterns in different colonial territories in Africa, there were stillsimilar patterns noticeable across the continent of Africa. This study investigates this conclusion by comparing labour exploitation in colonial East and West Africa using Uganda and Ghana as case study.The study compares labour exploitation patterns in the two countries,examines reactions of African workers to colonial exploitation and the responses of the colonial powers cum capitalists. The study reveals that colonial labour exploitation was achieved in connection with African chiefs using both hard and soft powers and that labour found ways to register its objections. It concludes that labour will not capitulate to wanton exploitation for too long but will find a way to fight or flee. The study adopts a historical method of analysis, using primary and secondary sources of information.