Storage container „German East African CACAO”

European consumer habits changed with the growing colonial expansion from the 19th century onwards. Shorter transport routes, access to raw materials and direct imports made erstwhile luxury goods such as coffee, tea and cocoa affordable for broad sections of the population. While the consumer goods were mass-produced, the packaging of imported products was supposed to give the impression of exclusiveness and exoticism.

They showed pictures of tranquil life on other continents, untouched by progress, in contrast to the hectic daily life of industrialization in Europe. Not unusual were depictions of presumably happy workers doing pure manual work, arousing associations of fulfilment. This aestheticized production process ignored the real labour conditions, which were often characterized by violence and force. The use of labour power as an essential element of colonial rule was legitimated by the discourse about ‘education for work’ which declared physical work to be a means of ‘civilizing’.