Narrating São Tomé: Cape Verdean memories of contract labour in the Portuguese empire

In Cape Verdean collective memory, the channelling by Portuguese colonial authorities of contract labourers to São Tomé is associated with slavery and suffering. This article juxtaposes the collective memory with the narrative of a former contract labourer, senhor Fernando, who paints a relatively positive picture of his distant years in São Tomé. Through a theoretical discussion of collective and individual memory, the article argues that the contrast between these narratives has to do with the differences between the identities they reproduce. The collective narrative of subjection and victimhood is historically rooted in the fight for Cape Verdean independence and the moral right to a separate national identity. Senhor Fernando’s story about how he took ownership of his situation, despite all the hardships, draws on a number of different social identities, a repertoire that enables him to establish himself as agent rather than as victim.