Diamonds in the rough : corporate paternalism and African professionalism on the mines of colonial Angola, 1917-1975

Resource Information

The work Diamonds in the rough : corporate paternalism and African professionalism on the mines of colonial Angola, 1917-1975 represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in European University Institute. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

Diamonds in the rough : corporate paternalism and African professionalism on the mines of colonial Angola, 1917-1975

Title remainder

corporate paternalism and African professionalism on the mines of colonial Angola, 1917-1975

Statement of responsibility

Todd Cleveland

Creator

• Cleveland, Todd

Subject

• Diamond industry and trade -- Angola
• Diamond miners -- Angola -- Social conditions
• Diamond mines and mining -- Angola

Language

eng

Summary

Diamonds in the Rough explores the lives of African laborers on Angola's diamond mines from the commencement of operations in 1917 to the colony's independence from Portugal in 1975. The mines were owned and operated by the Diamond Company of Angola, or Diamang, which enjoyed exclusive mining and labor concessions granted by the colonial government. Through these monopolies, the company became the most profitable enterprise in Portugal's African empire. After a tumultuous initial period, the company's mines and mining encampments experienced a remarkable degree of stability, in striking contrast to the labor unrest and ethnic conflicts that flared in other regions. Even during the Angolan war for independence (1961✹75), Diamang's zone of influence remained comparatively untroubled. Todd Cleveland explains that this unparalleled level of quietude was a product of three factors: African workers' high levels of social and occupational commitment, or professionalism; the extreme isolation of the mining installations; and efforts by Diamang to attract and retain scarce laborers through a calculated paternalism. The company's offer of decent accommodations and recreational activities, as well as the presence of women and children, induced reciprocal behavior on the part of the miners, a professionalism that pervaded both the social and the workplace environments. This disparity between the harshness of the colonial labor regime elsewhere and the relatively agreeable conditions and attendant professionalism of employees at Diamang opens up new ways of thinking about how Africans in colonial contexts engaged with forced labor, mining capital, and ultimately, each other.--

Member of

• New African histories series

Assigning source

Provided by Publisher

Cataloging source

IEN/DLC

Dewey number

338.278209673

Index

index present

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

bibliography

Series statement

New African histories