PUTTING KANAK TO WORK: KANAK AND THE COLONIAL LABOR SYSTEM IN NEW CALEDONIA

Authors

Adrian Muckle, Victoria University of WellingtonFollow

Abstract

Examining the different categories of “native labor” established in New Caledonia, from the 1870s to the 1940s, this article assesses the extent to which Kanak labor was mobilized en masse for colonial development. It outlines the shift from a perception of Kanak labor as of little value (1880s–1910s) to an awareness of its potential and the need to effectively harness it for colonial interests (1920s–1940s). The mobilization of Kanak labor steadily increased in the 1920s and 1930s and reached an unprecedented level during World War II. This overview and assessment provides a corrective to the colonial discourse of Kanak as lazy or reluctant laborers and its postcolonial equivalent, the idea that Kanak did not contribute to colonial development. It also challenges the perception that only Loyalty Islanders provided labor and analyses of the interwar decades that have focused almost exclusively on the development-oriented initiatives of la nouvelle politique indigène.

Recommended Citation

Muckle, Adrian (2015) "PUTTING KANAK TO WORK: KANAK AND THE COLONIAL LABOR SYSTEM IN NEW CALEDONIA," Pacific Studies Journal: Vol. 38: No. 3, Article 3.
Available at: https://digitalcollections.byuh.edu/pacific-studies-journal/vol38/iss3/3