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Why Stay? Forced Labor, the Correia Report, and Portuguese–South African Competition at the Angola–Namibia Border, 1917–1939

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 May 2015

Alexander Keese
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Abstract

The so far unknown report by Norberto Correia, Portuguese administrator of the Baixo-Cunene border district, is an impressive document on forced labor and flight at the Angola-Namibia border, written by a controversial official fallen into disgrace after a regime change in the metropole. Correia’s acerbic and detailed analysis allows fresh interpretations of a border situation that is only at first glance well-known. By contrasting the Correia report with documentation from South African officials and the voices of their Ovambo partners in indirect rule, we come to clearer understanding of motivations and options at this unruly colonial border.

Résumé

Le rapport inédit écrit par Noberto Correia, l’administrateur colonial portugais de la subdivision de Baixo-Cunene, est un document impressionnant sur le travail forcé et le phénomène de fuite à la frontière entre Angola et Namibie. Correia, tombé en disgrâce après un changement de régime en métropole, analyse de manière à la fois détaillée et acerbe la situation à la frontière et permet de fournir de nouvelles interprétations sur un phénomène qui paraissait jusque-là bien connu. Le contraste entre le rapport de Correia, les documents produits par l’administration sud-africaine et les témoignages des Ovambo sous l’indirect rule apporte un éclairage nouveau sur les motivations et choix disponibles à cette frontière coloniale problématique.

Type
Critical Source Analysis
Information
History in Africa , Volume 42 , June 2015 , pp. 75 - 108
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2015 

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