West Africa: the Former French States

West Africa: the Former French States PDF

Author: John D. Hargreaves

Publisher: Englewood Cliffs, N. J. : Prentice-Hall

Published: 1967

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13:

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Surveys the common political, social and ethnic forces and historical trends in nine French-speaking African states, newly independent between 1958-1961.

Britain, France and the Decolonization of Africa

Britain, France and the Decolonization of Africa PDF

Author: Andrew W.M. Smith

Publisher: UCL Press

Published: 2017-03-01

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 1911307738

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Looking at decolonization in the conditional tense, this volume teases out the complex and uncertain ends of British and French empire in Africa during the period of ‘late colonial shift’ after 1945. Rather than view decolonization as an inevitable process, the contributors together explore the crucial historical moments in which change was negotiated, compromises were made, and debates were staged. Three core themes guide the analysis: development, contingency and entanglement. The chapters consider the ways in which decolonization was governed and moderated by concerns about development and profit. A complementary focus on contingency allows deeper consideration of how colonial powers planned for ‘colonial futures’, and how divergent voices greeted the end of empire. Thinking about entanglements likewise stresses both the connections that existed between the British and French empires in Africa, and those that endured beyond the formal transfer of power. Praise for Britain, France and the Decolonization of Africa '…this ambitious volume represents a significant step forward for the field. As is often the case with rich and stimulating work, the volume gestures towards more themes than I have space to properly address in this review. These include shifting terrains of temporality, spatial Scales, and state sovereignty, which together raise important questions about the relationship between decolonization and globalization. By bringing all of these crucial issues into the same frame,Britain, France and the Decolonization of Africa is sure to inspire new thought-provoking research.' - H-France vol. 17, issue 205

The End of Empire in French West Africa

The End of Empire in French West Africa PDF

Author: Tony Chafer

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2002-06-01

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1845206304

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In an effort to restore its world-power status after the humiliation of defeat and occupation, France was eager to maintain its overseas empire at the end of the Second World War. Yet just fifteen years later France had decolonized, and by 1960 only a few small island territories remained under French control.The process of decolonization in Indochina and Algeria has been widely studied, but much less has been written about decolonization in France's largest colony, French West Africa. Here, the French approach was regarded as exemplary -- that is, a smooth transition successfully managed by well intentioned French politicians and enlightened African leaders. Overturning this received wisdom, Chafer argues that the rapid unfurling of events after the Second World War was a complex , piecemeal and unpredictable process, resulting in a 'successful decolonization' that was achieved largely by accident. At independence, the winners assumed the reins of political power, while the losers were often repressed, imprisoned or silenced.This important book challenges the traditional dichotomy between 'imperial' and 'colonial' history and will be of interest to students of imperial and French history, politics and international relations, development and post-colonial studies.

The French Imperial Nation-State

The French Imperial Nation-State PDF

Author: Gary Wilder

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2005-12

Total Pages: 417

ISBN-13: 0226897680

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France experienced a period of crisis following World War I when the relationship between the nation and its colonies became a subject of public debate. The French Imperial Nation-State focuses on two intersecting movements that redefined imperial politics—colonial humanism led by administrative reformers in West Africa and the Paris-based Negritude project, comprising African and Caribbean elites. Gary Wilder develops a sophisticated account of the contradictory character of colonial government and examines the cultural nationalism of Negritude as a multifaceted movement rooted in an alternative black public sphere. He argues that interwar France must be understood as an imperial nation-state—an integrated sociopolitical system that linked a parliamentary republic to an administrative empire. An interdisciplinary study of colonial modernity combining French history, colonial studies, and social theory, The French Imperial Nation-State will compel readers to revise conventional assumptions about the distinctions between republicanism and racism, metropolitan and colonial societies, and national and transnational processes.

Freedom and Authority in French West Africa

Freedom and Authority in French West Africa PDF

Author: Robert Delavignette

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-08-16

Total Pages: 158

ISBN-13: 0429018932

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Originally published in 1950 and updated in 1968, this book discusses the functions and status of native chiefs in what were the French colonies in West Africa. It also examines the relation of the French legal code to native law and custom and the activities of Christian missions. Analysing changes which took place in the early 20th century as a result of Africa's entry into the world economy, the book includes proposals for increasing agricultural production and co-operative marketing.

Colonial Suspects

Colonial Suspects PDF

Author: Kathleen Keller

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2018-04-01

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 1496206185

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A Vietnamese cook, a German journalist, and a Senegalese student--what did they have in common? They were all suspicious persons kept under surveillance by French colonial authorities in West Africa in the 1920s and 1930s. Colonial Suspects looks at the web of surveillance set up by the French government during the twentieth century as France's empire slipped into crisis. As French West Africa and the French Empire more generally underwent fundamental transformations during the interwar years, French colonial authorities pivoted from a stated policy of "assimilation" to that of "association." Surveillance of both colonial subjects and visitors traveling through the colonies increased in scope. The effect of this change in policy was profound: a "culture of suspicion" became deeply ingrained in French West African society. Kathleen Keller notes that the surveillance techniques developed over time by the French included "shadowing, postal control, port police, informants, denunciations, home searches, and gossip." This ad hoc approach to colonial surveillance mostly proved ineffectual, however, and French colonies became transitory spaces where a global cast of characters intermixed and French power remained precarious. Increasingly, French officials--in the colonies and at home--reacted in short-sighted ways as both perceived and real backlash occurred with respect to communism, pan-Africanism, anticolonialism, black radicalism, and pan-Islamism. Focusing primarily on the port city of Dakar (Senegal), Keller unravels the threads of intrigue, rumor, and misdirection that informed this chaotic period of French colonial history.