Leisure in Luanda: the control of workers’ free time and the maintenance of the colonial order, 1961-1975

Abstract

As a result of the effort to establish a capitalist economy in Luanda, time “wasted” on leisure became a problem to be dealt with by members of the police force. Following the outbreak of the liberation struggle, idleness was considered by authorities as an opportunity to develop subversive ideas. The aim here is to understand the extent to which leisure activities in Luanda became an issue of public order. Further to that, the control of the black workers’ free time developed into a political and economic need without which the power relations that characterized Luanda’s colonial society would be at risk.