Paper short abstract:

This research analyzes the administrative cases of the "Secretariat of Indigenous Affairs" of Portuguese Guinea with the aim of analyzing the expectations of indigenous minors submitted to colonial labor between the 1920s and 1930s.

Paper long abstract:

This research analyzes the cases of guardianship, complaint, administrative/judicial cases, and other documents from the "Secretariat of Indigenous Affairs" (Secretaria dos Negócios Indígenas) of Portuguese Guinea (now Guinea Bissau). The objective is to understand the labor exploitation of minors considered to be indigenous between the 1920s and 1930s. The cases of the secretariat show that the labor of minors was highly disputed among local elites for both domestic and commercial services. The minors were exploited in relations where the boundaries between care and exploitation were quite blurred. In Portuguese Guinea, the analysis of the cases exposes the agency and strategies of these subjects in using the secretariat to (re)define their living and working conditions. It was more difficult for the minors to sue their patrons because of the labor conditions or the control to which they were subjected. However, on the opportunities that they were in front of the secretary and other authorities, many presented their complaints denouncing mistreatment and threats. Others chose to run away to their families or to new employers as a way to put an end to situations they considered unfavorable. Despite the constant presence of minors in the labor force in the colonial territories, this topic is still little studied. This research highlights the importance of judicial and administrative cases as sources for studying the expectations of minors, women, and men submitted to European colonialism.