The Politics of Frenchness in Colonial Algeria, 1930-1954

247 Pages·2002·4.84 MB·English

by  Jonathan Gosnell

ROCHESTER STUDIES in
AFRICAN HISTORY and the DIASPORA
Toyin Falola, Senior Editor
The Frances Higginbotham Nalle Centennial Professor in History
University of Texas at Austin
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THE POLITICS OF FRENCHNESS IN
COLONIAL ALGERIA, 1930-1954
Jonathan K Gosnell
m
UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER PRESS
Copyright © 2002 Jonathan K. Gosnell
All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation, no part of this
work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system, published, performed in
public, adapted, broadcast, transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by
any means, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
First published 2002
by the University of Rochester Press
The University of Rochester Press
668 Mt. Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620, USA
and at Boydell & Brewer, Ltd.
P.O. Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk 1P12 3DF, UK
www.urpress.com
ISBN 1-58046-105-0
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The politics of frenchness in Colonial Algeria, 1930-1954 / Jonathan K. Gosnell.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographic references and index.
ISBN 1-58046-105-0
1. French—Algeria—History—20th century. 2. France—Colonies—
Africa—Politics and government. 3. National characteristics, Algerian.
4. National characteristics, French. I. Title. II. Series.
DT283.6.F7 G67 2002
965'.0441—dc21 2002067297
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Designed and typeset by Straight Creek Bookmakers
Printed in the United States of America
This publication is printed on acid-free paper
To my family, especially HGG and KBG,
For loving, encouraging, believing
The Mediterranean Basin
Map of Mediterranean basin. Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency, 1982.
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations viii
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations xi
Chronology xii
Introduction 1
1 L'Algérie française: An Imagined Community? 13
Colonial Schools and the Transmission of French Culture 41
2
The Colonial Press and the Construction of Greater France 73
3
An Indigenous Perspective on France and Frenchness 105
4
A Colonial Scale of Frenchness 140
5
6 Algérianité: The Emergence of a Colonial Identity 186
Conclusion 218
Select Bibliography of Secondary Sources 225
Index 230
ILLUSTRATIONS
Map of Mediterranean basin frontispiece
1. Illustrations from a school textbook 59
2, 3. Illustrations from a school textbook 65
4. Tour de France maps in the Algerian press 97
5. The indigenous Algerian press 111
6. The Jewish press of colonial Algeria 156
7. 8, Caricatures of a heterogeneous European settler
population 164,165
9. Spanish newspaper in French colonial Algeria 167
10. Cagayous, the quintessential Algérien 191
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I have many to thank for their part in the completion of this project. The
Politics ofF renchness in ColonialA lgeria, 1930-1954began as a doctoral disser­
tation at New York University’s Institute of French Studies. Professors Herrick
Chapman, Sylvie Kandé, Shanny Peer, Susan Carol Rogers, the late Nicholas
Wahl, and especially my thesis advisor Michel Beaujour provided a great deal
of encouragement and critical feedback throughout the research and writing
process. Former Institute students Harriet Jackson and Chris Thompson
helped me better conceptualize the study overall and generously commented
on early drafts of chapters. I am indebted to the expertise of two eminent
historians of Algeria, Charles-Robert Ageron and Benjamin Stora, who dis­
cussed all matters Algerian with me while I was doing archival research in
France on a Mellon Fellowship. French historian Jean-Pierre Rioux helped
direct me to promising sources. Within the American historical commu­
nity, Alice L. Conklin, David Prochaska, and David Schalk graciously shared
their knowledge and thoughts with me as I researched, wrote, and edited.
My colleagues in the French department at Smith College have been
very supportive of this work. Early in my tenure at the college, James Sacré
encouraged me to proceed toward publication. Janie Vanpée kept frequent
tabs on my progress. Marilyn Schuster, formerly in French and now in
Womens Studies at Smith, provided moral support and a wealth of judi­
cious information. David Ball carefully read through the entire manuscript.
I am in all of their debt. Linda Ahern and Selma Chan, of Information
Technology Services at Smith, generously assisted with the illustrations.
Toyin Falola, senior editor of the University of Rochester Press’s series
Rochester Studies in African History and the Diaspora, has been steadfast
in his support of this work, from beginning to end. To him, I offer my
sincere gratitude. I thank Tim Madigan, Susan Dykstra-Poel, and Molly
Cort of the University of Rochester Press/Boydell & Brewer for their assis­
tance during the process of publication. Editor Louise Goldberg worked
closely with me on the text and I extend my thanks to her for her attention
to detail. The book is better for it.
I acknowledge the editors of Contemporary French Civilization for
granting permission to use parts of my article “Aspirations of French Citi­
IX
x Acknowledgments
zenship and Identity in the Indigenous Press of Colonial Algeria” (vol. 24,
1, winter/spring 2000) in chapter 4.1 also thank the editors at Africa World
Press for permission to use in chapter 1 parts of my article, “Mediterranean
Waterways, Extended Borders, and Colonial Mappings: French Images of
North Africa,” which appeared in Images ofA frica: Stereotypes and Realities,
2001
.
Lastly and lovingly, I thank Annie and Simone, who remind me of
what is important in life.
LIST OP ABBREVIATIONS
AN Archives nationales
AOM Archives d’Outre-mer
SHAT Service historique de l'armée de terre
xi