Why did many workers from Nyasaland migrate to neighbouring countries under colonial rule?

Under British colonial rule, many workers from Nyasaland (modern-day Malawi) migrated to neighboring countries primarily due to the colonial administration's failure to develop African agriculture and its prioritization of European settler interests.1

Because the colonial government did little to enhance the welfare of the African majority, many able-bodied workers were forced to seek employment elsewhere to earn money for food and to pay colonial taxes. The lack of mineral wealth within Nyasaland further incentivized this migration, as workers traveled to mines in Southern Rhodesia, South Africa, and the Katanga (Shaba) region of the Congo in search of wages.21

Additionally, the economic environment in Nyasaland was characterized by racial bias and poverty, which handicapped peasant agriculture. While some cash crop production was encouraged in certain areas, the overall focus on settler-owned plantations—which often featured low pay and poor working conditions—meant that many rural areas became little more than "labour reservoirs" for the broader colonial economy.32