Paper short abstract:

The aim of this paper is to analyse the relation between the scholarly discourse on Cape Verdean contract workers in colonial São Tomé e Principé and the memories of one of these contract workers. Key themes are colonial and postcolonial identities, movements and money.

Paper long abstract:

This paper is based on the memories of Senhor Fernando, an elderly Cape Verdean man who in the 1950s was contracted by the Portuguese colonial authorities to work on plantations in São Tomé and Príncipe. In scholarly discourse on Cape Verdean plantation workers, two themes are salient. Firstly, many researchers underline the slavery-like conditions for the labourers on the plantations. Secondly, they point to the tense relationship between the Cape Verdeans and other plantation workers who originated from mainland African Portuguese colonies, and they argue that these tensions had to do with the somewhat higher status of the Cape Verdeans relative to other colonial subjects. In contrast to this image of oppression and conflict, Senhor Fernando paints a relatively positive picture of his distant years in São Tomé and Príncipe.

The aim of this paper is to analyse the relation between Senhor Fernando's story and the scholarly discourse. Key themes in Senhor Fernando's story are colonial identities, the importance of geographical movements and the significance of money, and I will contextualize these themes through an inquiry into Cape Verdean colonial and post-colonial constructions of race, the national culture of migration and the history of suffering. Furthermore I will discuss how Senhor Fernando's narrative is informed by his position in contemporary Cape Verdean society as well as in his family. In doing this, I intend to show that this individual story and the scholarly discourse, which on the surface seem to be totally opposite narratives, actually converge on important points.