This project analyses the structures of colonial systems of forced labour, in an attempt to come to a comparison of thedifferent trajectories of African populations under distinct European administrations. Through the interpretation of case studiesfrom different West African and Central African territories, it will be possible to understand the techniques of organising aninvoluntary labour force, and their evolution until and beyond independence. The slow process of the abolition of forcedlabour from World War II did not exclude continuities in clandestine practices of forcing African (rural) populations to workwithout remuneration. Another form of continuity connects colonial practices to the postcolonial re-institution of systemsof forced labour: many postcolonial African governments were inclined to rely themselves on respective practices underthe impression of dire budgetary situations. The different case studies will highlight the existence of forced labour as anAfro-European heritage in the social structures of African societies, and link that heritage back to the experiences of Africanpopulations in the local arena. For cases from Ghana, Senegal, São Tomé e Príncipe, and a larger Central African regionconsisting of sub-cases from Angola, Gabon, and Zambia, the project will address the question how structures of andchanges in forced labour had an impact on relations of power inside of the local societies. In particular, forced labour was, inthe colonial period, not only a means for colonial officials to shape socio-economic realities in the colonies according to theirideas, but it also was an instrument in the hands of chiefs ( traditional rulers ) who were eager to employ it as a weapon todiscipline any existing opposition among their populations. African voices, both from archival sources and from interviews, willbe in the focus of this analysis: they will show the importance of the particular experience of forced labour for African socialevolution