Around twenty-five years ago the widespread use of child labor in the cocoa industry was first brought to the attention of the global North. Since this realization, much has been published on the severity and prevalence of child labor within the cocoa industry, especially in the West African countries of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. However, very little has been published to explain this practice in relation to colonial structures. This thesis will contribute to the discourse by first analyzing the colonial systems established by the British in Ghana and the French in Cote d’Ivoire, then drawing parallels between the extractive activity during colonial times to the continued abuse of West African people and resources by corporations today. After Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire gained independence, neocolonialism in the form of the IMF and World Bank ensured their economic dependence on transnational corporations from the Global North. Poverty and food insecurity rose, producing conditions in which child labor became normalized. Multinational chocolate corporations continue to take advantage of these predatory trading practices and economic oppression. In my thesis I will explain the colonial beginnings of the cocoa industry, identify child labor as a consequence of the colonial and capitalist system, and discuss the inadequacies of international organizations and laws in addressing child labor to analyze why the exploitation of children continues to persist.