The End of Empire in French West Africa: France's Successful Decolonization?

284 Pages·2002·1.46 MB·English

by  Tony Chafer

The End of Empire in French
West Africa

The End of Empire in French
West Africa
France’s Successful Decolonization?
Tony Chafer
Oxford•New York
First published in 2002 by
Berg
Editorial offices:
150 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JJ, UK
838 Broadway, Third Floor, New York, NY 10003-4812, USA
© Tony Chafer 2002
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form
or by any means without the written permission of Berg.
Berg is an imprint of Oxford International Publishers Ltd.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Chafer, Tony
The end of empire in French West Africa:France’s successful
decolonization?/Tony Chafer.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p.) and index.
ISBN 1-85973-552-5 -- ISBN 1-85973-557-6 (pbk.)
1.Africa, French-speaking West--History--1884-1960.
2.decolonization--Africa, French-speaking West. 3.Africa, French-
speaking West--Colonial influence. I.Title.
DT352.5 .C48 2002
960’.917541--dc21
2002001531
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 1859735525(Cloth)
ISBN 1859735576(Paper)
Typeset by JS Typesetting, Wellingborough, Northants.
Printed in the United Kingdom by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire.
To the memory of my father, Doug Chafer,
who died in May 2001 just as I was
completing this book.

Contents
Life of Figures ix
Preface xi
Glossary xv
Map xix
Introduction 1
1 Prelude to Decolonization: The Popular Front and the
Second World War 27
2 New Political Context 1944–6 55
3 Decolonization Through Assimilation: The Struggle for
Emancipation, 1946–50 83
4 Building the Nationalist Movement 1950–6: The Trade
Union, Student and Youth Movements 117
5 Policy and Politics 1950–6 143
6 The Loi-cadre and the ‘Balkanization’ of French
West Africa, 1956–60 163
7 Nationalist Politics and the Campaign for Independence,
1957–60 193
8 Conclusion: Decolonization and the French
Colonial Legacy 223
Chronology 237
Bibliography 243
Index 257
–vii–

List of Figures
0.1 Map of French West Africa and French Equatorial Africa
(1947–1960) xix
1.1 Poster announcing De Gaulle’s visit to Abidjan, en route
for the Brazzaville Conference 58
3.1 The Dakar-Niger Railway: Bamako Station 101
5.1 Elector’s card 148
6.1 RDA membership card, displaying the party’s symbol, the
elephant 168
6.2 Grand Conseil, Dakar 171
6.3 Demonstration to greet General De Gaulle, Dakar, 1958,
with placards demanding immediate independence 176
6.4 Campaign posters for the 28 September 1958 referendum,
Dakar 177
6.5 Campaign posters for the 28 September 1958 referendum,
Dakar 178
6.6 De Gaulle, Modibo Keita, Lamine Guèye, Dakar, 1959 181
7.7 Accession of Mali to independence, 1960: Jacques Foccart
reading a message from De Gaulle 184
–ix–