Colonial factory managers preferred Indies youth over European recruits for skilled labor

Evidence

Expert knowledge did not always confirm state fantasies. Two factory managers whose advice was sought about the craft-based initiative held that the real problem was not, as most authorities insisted, the youth. The Inlandsche kinderen with whom they had worked shared little of the pe- jorative profile that so prevailed. They were neither lazy nor incompetent but “industrious and well-behaved,” eager to learn skills but lacking op- portunity and stimulation that would push them in that direction. Nor were they wanting when compared to European recruits. These managers saw the Inlandsche kinderen as preferable to them—if, that is, they re- ceived the proper training. But here, too, “preferability” was in part an affective measure: modest aspirations, gratitude for such jobs, zeal that would stop short of the demand for entitlements. — Ann Laura Stoler, Along the Archival Grain_ Epistemic…, 740

Categorization

Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims

• XREF: Connects to revisionist readings of colonial labor history where colonized workers were managerial preferences, not just cheap labor.

Related

• Managers praised colonized workers precisely for lacking entitlement, not skill (similarity 0.88)

Broader Connections

• Factory managers contradicted official claims that Indies children were lazy and incompetent #corroborates (0.85)