The French Colonial Project Dr Charlotte Baker Lecturer in French c.baker@lancaster.ac.uk

Overview of the lecture Colonialism and Imperialism Overview of the French colonial project The mission civilisatrice North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa Francophone African literature Albert Camus’ short story ‘L’Hôte’

Colonialism and Imperialism A note on terminology

Terminology Colonisation is the act of establishing colonies Colonialism is the system or policy by which a nation maintains or extends its control over foreign dependencies Imperialism is the thinking behind colonialism and the exercise of power over the colony

Why colonise another country or territory? - Discuss Access to resources (human, mineral, land) Access to/ownership of trade routes Political power on the world stage Greater economic stability for coloniser and colony New markets for trade in manufactured goods Spread culture, language and therefore influence

The French colonial project La mission civilisatrice

The French colonial project 2 French colonial empires 16th-18th century (parts of North America, Caribbean islands, parts of India) Late 19th and much of the 20th century (Northern Africa, large parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, Indochina, a number of island colonies all over the world)

Colonial Africa

North Africa / The Maghreb المغرب, al-Maghrib, Le Maghreb Refers to north west Africa, west of Egypt Morocco, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, and Mauritania French is the administrative language and commonly used in Mauritania, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia

The capture of Algiers Second French colonial empire1830 La colonisation française de l'Algérie lasted from 1830 to 1962 Gained independence from France in 1962 with the Algerian War of Independence Algeria has remained central to the colonial relationship between France and her former colonies

North Africa / The Maghreb Relationship between France and the Maghreb formed over nearly a century and a half of colonial rule Left an indelible mark on the social fabric of French and North African societies

Sub-Saharan Africa Politically = all African nations south of the Sahara (excluding Sudan) North Africa by contrast is considered part of the Arab world

Francophone sub-Saharan Africa Dahomey (now Benin) Guinea Côte d’Ivoire Mauretania Senegal Niger French Sudan (now Mali) Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) Gabon Middle Congo (now Democratic Republic of Congo) Oubangui-Schari (now Central African Republic) Chad French Somaliland (now Djibouti) Madagascar Comoros After WW1, Cameroon became a French colony, formerly German

“La mission civilisatrice” The mission civilisatrice and rayonnement Spreading the French culture to the colonies A concept rooted in the notion of France as bearer of liberty, democracy and progress to the rest of mankind Assumption that French culture and civilisation were superior to those of the colonised

Governance: Assimilation and Association Mission civilisatrice - aimed to make the citizens of the colonies an integral part of the mother country The move towards association Racism: African people are incapable of full assimilation Basic literacy and training in trades more important Growing recognition of differences in culture

World War 1 Colonies functioned as reserves of manpower and raw materials Change in attitude of the French towards the colonies Little change in reality for the people in the colony

World War 2 Divide in the colonies between supporters of the Free French and supporters of Vichy Post WW2 France struggled to hold onto her colonies, losing French Indochina, then the Algerian War of Independence

French rule in the colonies Administratively, politically, and practically, Africa never functioned as a unified object in French colonialism. France never governed Africa under a single colonial apparatus Political organization of French colonial Africa did not correspond to clearly defined boundaries

Life in the colonies Clear hierarchies of white over black Traditional structures of power and governance pushed aside by the colonisers Two separate ways of life for colonised and colonisers division of the colony into le quartier noir vs. le quartier blanc Basic education provided, but children taught from French text books The phrase ‘nos ancêtres, les gaulois’ has since come to symbolise the cultural imperialism of the French Read slide

Francophone African literature A brief introduction

What do we mean by ‘Francophone’? An adjective to describe a speaker of French When used alongside the adjective ‘French’, i.e. French and Francophone, it implies that Francophone speakers are non-native French speakers There are two distinct trends 1. towards a more inclusive use of the term ‘Francophone’ to include French and Francophone 2. towards a more separate use of the two terms

Francophone African literature The term ‘Francophone literature’ is used to describe literature written in French by people outside of France Stands in opposition to ‘French literature’ Batouala (1921) by René Maran

An insight into life under colonialism in Africa through literature African literature of the 1950s and 60s reveals the disruptive effects of colonialism Camara Laye’s L’Enfant Noir (1953) Albert Memmi’s Portrait du colonisé (1957) Ferdinand Oyono’s Une vie de boy (1962)

Albert Camus’, ‘L’Hôte’ The Guest / The Host

Albert Camus 1913-1960 French novelist, journalist and philosopher Son of French 'pied-noir' settlers in Algiers Interest in the human predicament: L’Envers et l’endroit (1937) 1930s: Politics, Theatre, Journalism La Mort Heureuse (published posthumously), L’Etranger (1942) and Le Mythe de Sisyphe (1942)

The Absurd Explains the paradox of the Absurd in Le Mythe de Sisyphe We value our lives and existence so greatly, but we know we will eventually die, and ultimately our endeavours are meaningless

‘L'Hôte’ L‘Exil et le royaume ,1957 “Much has been made of the narrative’s post-colonial currents, the status of the Arab, the story’s significance poised as it is on the even of Algeria’s war for independence. Other critics have sought to make sense of the ambiguity Camus offers his readers, the teaser, the twist in the tale. Yet I would suggest that the currents of Camus’s creation run deeper still. To read “L’Hôte” is to be drawn into the rapids of human encounter, to grapple with the notion of our subjectivity, to engage with the Other” (Jill Beer, 2002)

Further reading Beer, Jill. ‘Le Regard: Face to Face in Albert Camus's ‘L'Hôte’ French Studies 56.2 (2002): 179-192. Chipman, John. French Power in Africa (Basil Blackwell, Inc: Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1989) Cooper, Frederick. Colonialism in Africa: Theory, Knowledge, History (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005) Ginio, Ruth. French Colonialism Unmasked: the Vichy Years in French West Africa (London: University of Nebraska Press, 2006) Hughes, Edward J., The Cambridge Companion to Camus (Cambridge UP, 2007) Stora, Benjamin, Algeria 1830-2000 (Cornell UP, 2001) Useful websites: Albert Camus: http://www.camus-society.com/albert-camus-bio.html