Export industries created work and investment, but workers could still face restrictions on leaving, unequal pay and dependence on overseas prices.
The Cultivation System, introduced in 1830, is pre-1870 background: Javanese producers were compelled to work and supply crops for European markets. Later changes increased the role of private companies, but this did not mean that forced or restrictive labour disappeared in 1870. Plantations, large areas growing crops for sale, and oil extraction served an export economy: production aimed at overseas buyers. Sugar, rubber and oil brought investment, employment and transport links, while increasing demand for land and workers.
Workers did not always have a free choice about the terms of employment. On plantations in Deli, eastern Sumatra, recruitment payments could become debts that tied workers to the plantation. Threats and punishment also made it hard to leave or refuse demands. A worker unable to move to another employer had less power to negotiate better pay. These are concrete forms of exploitation, using someone's labour unfairly for another's gain; they should not be assumed identical on every plantation.
Dependence on overseas sales brought another risk. If world prices fell, producers received less for their goods, which could threaten wages and jobs. Judge the effects on particular groups by asking who controlled land, received profits and could make choices about work. A rising export total alone cannot tell us how secure or prosperous workers became.
Worked example: Follow the export chain
Consider a rubber plantation that sells overseas. This example traces a possible effect of changing world prices, not the experience of every worker.
- More foreign orders can encourage the owner to increase production and hire workers.
- Higher sales do not show how the extra income is divided. Pay may remain low, and restrictive contracts may leave workers little choice.
- If prices then fall, the owner earns less from the same quantity of rubber. Reduced pay or hiring could pass some of that loss to workers.
Watch out for this
Private enterprise ended exploitation because it replaced government production.
A private employer could still use debt, restrictions or punishment to control workers. Changing who ran production did not by itself give workers better pay or freedom to leave.
Check your understanding
A report shows that the value of exports rose. What can we conclude from that figure alone?
- Workers must have gained more freedom to choose their employer.
- Goods sold overseas brought in a greater total value.
- Better pay for plantation workers must have caused the growth.