The Burden of Authority

The Burden of Authority

​A Symbol of Colonial Power

​During the colonial era in Africa, one of the most visible and symbolic forms of transportation used by European officials, explorers, and high-ranking personnel was the hammock. This device, often an ordinary cloth suspended from a pole and carried on the shoulders of porters, became much more than a simple means of travel; it evolved into a potent symbol of imperial authority and the enforced labor system that underpinned colonial rule.

​The act of being carried by African men sometimes by as many as four or more per hammock was not merely a practical solution to difficult terrain. Even in instances where horses or other animals might have been feasible, many colonial officers insisted on human porterage to underscore their elevated social status and dominance over the local population. This practice was deeply rooted in the ideology of racial hierarchy, asserting the physical subjugation of the colonized to serve the comfort and convenience of the colonizer.

Forced Labor and the Journey of Conquest

​Transportation across the vast and often-inhospitable interior of Africa posed a constant challenge for colonial administrations. In many regions, particularly before the widespread development of railways and motor roads, human porterage was the only viable means of moving both goods and people. This necessity quickly degenerated into a system of compelled labor.

• ​Enforcement: The use of human energy to power the “mobile train” of the hammock was frequently met with strong resistance from local communities. Colonial authorities, however, often employed policies of enforcement to compel Africans into service, making the fear of the hammock a tangible part of the colonial experience.

• ​Infrastructure: While the eventual construction of large-scale infrastructure like railways and roads became a hallmark of colonial development, these projects themselves relied heavily on mass forced labor (often disguised as a form of tax or corvée labor). Prior to, and sometimes concurrent with, these developments, human porters were crucial for the initial movement of personnel and light goods.

• ​Abolition vs. Continuation: Although various forms of outright slavery had been formally abolished, the institution of forced labor whether for public works, private concessions, or the daily transport of officials persisted throughout the colonial period, highlighting the hypocrisy and brutality of the system.

​The image of the European officer reclining in a hammock, borne aloft by struggling African porters, remains one of the most enduring visual metaphors for the extractive and coercive nature of colonial power in Africa.