MONGABAY.COM
Mongabay.com seeks to raise interest in and appreciation of wild lands and wildlife, while examining the impact of emerging trends in climate, technology, economics, and finance on conservation and development (more)
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
|
|
Mauritania
Index
From the time of the French Revolution in 1789, the two main
characteristics of French colonial policy in West Africa were the
quest for international prestige and the cultural assimilation of
indigenous populations. France's efforts to build a colonial
empire may be considered a reaction to British imperial
successes: colonies were a necessary burden the French took on to
maintain their international stature. These efforts were always
subordinate to the considerations of continental politics. As a
result, little attention was paid to the political, social, and
economic development of the overseas territories.
The policy of assimilation had its origins in the French
Revolution, when the Convention in 1794 declared that all people
living in the colonies were French citizens and enjoyed all
republican rights. Under Napoleon and the Consulate (1799-1804),
the law was soon repealed. In 1848, at the outset of the Second
Republic, citizenship rights were again extended, and
representation in the National Assembly was provided for the four
communes of Senegal (Saint Louis, Dakar, Rufisque, and Gorée).
Although these rights were retained by the Senegalese, they did
not apply to Mauritania or other French territories in West
Africa. Elsewhere in West Africa, although assimilation was the
theoretical basis of administration, a policy evolved that shared
elements of British colonial practice. For example, Africans were
subjects of France, not citizens, and had no political rights or
rights of representation. The centralized and direct
administration embodied in the doctrine of assimilation was
maintained, however, and a functional collaboration between
French rulers and an assimilated indigenous elite developed.
Although by World War II colonial policy was still labeled
assimilationist, only a very few Africans were assimilated. For
the majority of Africans, the realities of French colonial policy
were far from the spirit of French egalitarianism.
Data as of June 1988
|
|