ABSTRACT
Colonial rule transformed the basic fabric of Mozambican society. From the outset of the modern colonial period, Portugal could extract Mozambique’s resources only by mobilizing and controlling bound labor, because its own economy, which was both archaic and on the verge of bankruptcy, lacked the capacity to export the fixed capital necessary for development. Yet despite the severity of the impact of colonial-capitalism, the people of Mozambique—peasants and workers, old and young—were more than merely victims of oppression and objects of ridicule. For the administrative system to function, the colonial regime had to depend on African collaborators and mercenaries. As Africans represented solely a source of cheap labor, there was no need for the Salazar regime to do more than pay lip-service to its claim of a “great civilizing mission,” and it made little sense to waste government resources on developing an educational infrastructure.
