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Introduction: Empire in an Age of Discord

J. P. DAUGHTON

in An Empire Divided: Religion, Republicanism, and the Making of French Colonialism, 1880-1914

This chapter begins by describing the archives of French colonialism as being filled with stories of disagreement, conflict, and reconciliation like the exchanges between Monsieur Julia and Père ... More

This chapter begins by describing the archives of French colonialism as being filled with stories of disagreement, conflict, and reconciliation like the exchanges between Monsieur Julia and Père Delmont. It then notes that this book tells the story of how French people with markedly different backgrounds, moral codes, and political perspectives shaped colonial and national politics between 1880 and 1914, the most intense period of colonial expansion in French history. It argues that missionaries are essential to understand republican attitudes toward colonialism. It adds that the criticisms and condemnations that shaped much of the interaction between missionaries and their detractors are essential to understand the formation of colonial policies. It discusses that the main impetus for developing republican civilizing programs was neither a purely liberal ideological nor a “humanitarian” one.Less

Financing Joint-Stock Companies in the Colonial Era

Kathryn C. Lavelle

in The Politics of Equity Finance in Emerging Markets

This chapter explores the origins of global equity markets that in fact have deep historical roots. Stocks were created to finance trade and expansion overseas as part of the European imperial ... More

This chapter explores the origins of global equity markets that in fact have deep historical roots. Stocks were created to finance trade and expansion overseas as part of the European imperial project, yet prior to the imposition of direct rule. Later, equity finance in the industrial era brought together large amounts of capital to finance industrial projects overseas such as railroads, electric projects and water projects. The structure of global equity markets mirrored the structure of the markets within the colonial metropole; hence the chapter emphasizes the role ofand linkages with British, French, and Dutch colonial rule.Less

Just War and Jihad in the French Conquest of Algeria

Benjamin Claude Brower

in Just Wars, Holy Wars, and Jihads: Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Encounters and Exchanges

This chapter examines claims of just war and jihad during the first decades of France’s colonial expansion in Algeria. These include the discourses that announced the arrival of France’s army in the ... More

This chapter examines claims of just war and jihad during the first decades of France’s colonial expansion in Algeria. These include the discourses that announced the arrival of France’s army in the summer of 1830 and subsequent French justifications for quelling the Algerian resistance. On the Algerian side, an openly defiant subaltern discourse developed, deploying Enlightenment ideals to challenge France’s claims of moral superiority and modernity. Other discourses looked to Islamic traditions of jihad, the most prominent exponent of which was the amir ‘Abd al-Qadir.Less

To Tangle or Not to Tangle: Shifting Language Ideologies and the Socialization of Charabia in the Marquesas, French Polynesia

Kathleen C. Riley

in Consequences of Contact: Language Ideologies and Sociocultural Transformations in Pacific Societies

After a century and a half of French colonial rule, most adults in the Marquesan archipelago of French Polynesia now use both their Eastern Polynesian language 'Enana as well as a local variety of ... More

After a century and a half of French colonial rule, most adults in the Marquesan archipelago of French Polynesia now use both their Eastern Polynesian language 'Enana as well as a local variety of French, code-switching between them—sometimes intrasententially—across genres and contexts. This chapter explores the contradictions and effects of both official discourses and everyday socializing interactions in such a context of shifting languages. In particular, language socialization data from two families at two time periods a decade apart evidences the ways in which 'Enana are rejecting in practice the diglossic separation of their two codes, producing and reproducing instead the officially lamented but covertly prestigious charabia/sarapia to index their identities as both French and Polynesian.Less

The End of Colonialism and the Emergence of Two Competing Models for Building a Modern Nation, 1940–1954

Neil L. Jamieson

in Understanding Vietnam

This chapter focuses on the emergence of two competing models for rebuilding Vietnam after the end of French colonialism. There were two groups who sought to take advantage of French weakness during ... More

This chapter focuses on the emergence of two competing models for rebuilding Vietnam after the end of French colonialism. There were two groups who sought to take advantage of French weakness during World War 2 and take the political leadership of Vietnam. One group was led by Nguyen Tuong Tam, who organized a minor political party called Restoration of Vietnam in March 1969, which was later called the Greater Vietnam People's Rule party. The other was Ho Chi Minh, who returned to Vietnam to resume active command of the Indochinese Communist Party. The chapter discusses the conflicts between these two groups.Less

Colonialism and After

Benjamin F. Soares

in Islam and the Prayer Economy: History and Authority in a Malian Town

This chapter discusses the history of Nioro du Sahel in Mali as a socio-political and religious space in the aftermath of the French colonial conquest, the development of colonial policies toward ... More

This chapter discusses the history of Nioro du Sahel in Mali as a socio-political and religious space in the aftermath of the French colonial conquest, the development of colonial policies toward Islam and Muslims (‘la politique musulmane’), and some of the major political economic changes associated with colonial rule. Changes in understandings of Islam and its practices in this setting can only be understood in relation to some of the complex social transformations that began under colonial rule and have continued in the postcolonial period.Less

Chiefs, Customs and Territory: The Legacy of French Rule

Sarró Ramon

in The Politics of Religious Change on the Upper Guinea Coast: Iconoclasm Done and Undone

This chapter examines several political developments that occurred among Baga, and especially among Baga Sitem, under French rule, focusing on the despotism of chiefs and the reification of customs ... More

This chapter examines several political developments that occurred among Baga, and especially among Baga Sitem, under French rule, focusing on the despotism of chiefs and the reification of customs as the main oppressions that Baga suffered, as these are the two factors most likely to be mentioned by Baga elders today. In the last analysis, both of these factors were manipulated by the French. Yet Baga villagers were never really interested in getting rid of the French. What oppressed them was less the French than their own chiefs and customs. Chieftaincies and customs were institutional ‘shields’ that absorbed the shocks from the discontented population, leaving the European colonisers reasonably well protected. This is why it was not the French that the people wanted to get rid of, but rather those Baga cultural elements which they felt to be so oppressive.Less

Life/Writing in the Colonial and Postcolonial Contexts

in Autobiography and Independence: Selfhood and Creativity in North African Postcolonial Writing in French

This chapter first traces the development of autobiography in the Western literary tradition in order to contextualise more fully the issue of writers whose origins lie outside this tradition, or who ... More

This chapter first traces the development of autobiography in the Western literary tradition in order to contextualise more fully the issue of writers whose origins lie outside this tradition, or who at least occupy, more or less uncomfortably, a space between two or more cultures. It then turns to the question of the effects of French colonialism.Less

Enclosing Nature in North Africa: National Parks and the Politics of Environmental History

Diana K. Davis

in Water on Sand: Environmental Histories of the Middle East and North Africa

As the French conquered North Africa, they fabricated a tale of environmental change that held local North African populations, especially nomads, responsible for ruining what was widely believed in ... More

As the French conquered North Africa, they fabricated a tale of environmental change that held local North African populations, especially nomads, responsible for ruining what was widely believed in Europe to have been a lush, fertile, and forested environment in the classical past, before the “Arab invasions” of the eleventh century. While far from accurate, this French colonial environmental history served—beginning in 1830s Algeria—to undermine the lifeways of indigenous populations: justifying the expropriation of their land and property, alienating tribal forests to the French state, and sedentarizing nomads in the name of environmental protection. One of the most enduring symbols of this transformation may be found in the multiple national parks and nature reserves created by the French in Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco. Developed ostensibly to protect nature and provide areas for scientific study, in practice, parks were built primarily to generate tourism revenue while serving to further monitor and control “problematic populations.” This chapter explores the history of these national parks and the complex, frequently negative effects they had and continue to have on local populations and the environment.Less

Introduction

Elizabeth A. Foster

in Faith in Empire: Religion, Politics, and Colonial Rule in French Senegal, 1880-1940

The introduction situates the book in the broader historiography of French empire and missionary studies. It introduces the key French and African actors and power brokers in colonial Senegal and ... More

The introduction situates the book in the broader historiography of French empire and missionary studies. It introduces the key French and African actors and power brokers in colonial Senegal and explains the structure of French colonial rule in the colony. It emphasizes the importance of local power dynamics on the ground, rather than metropolitan ideology or high level colonial policy in the establishment and governance of empire.Less

Saints and Sufi Orders I: The Hamawiyya

Benjamin F. Soares

in Islam and the Prayer Economy: History and Authority in a Malian Town

This chapter presents an overview of the social history of the Hamawiyya, one of the two main Sufi orders that are the dominant institutional forms through which Islam has been practiced in the ... More

This chapter presents an overview of the social history of the Hamawiyya, one of the two main Sufi orders that are the dominant institutional forms through which Islam has been practiced in the region for more than a century. It traces the emergence of the Hamawiyya under French colonialism, the appeal of and opposition to Shaykh Hamallah, his persecution, and the repression of his followers. By looking at the Sufi order in the postcolonial period, it focuses on what is called an economy of martyrdom around a religious community that largely defines itself in relation to its absent leader and in opposition to other Muslims.Less

Interventions from Afar: Nonspiritual Powers in Place

John Clifford Holt

in Spirits of the Place: Buddhism and Lao Religious Culture

This chapter considers the impact that accompanied Thai, French, and then American interventions in terms of transformations of the religious culture beginning in the early decades of nineteenth ... More

This chapter considers the impact that accompanied Thai, French, and then American interventions in terms of transformations of the religious culture beginning in the early decades of nineteenth century through the end of the Second Indochina War in 1975. The colonial presence of the French, replete with alternative ideological conceptions of “nation” and “religion,” influenced some Lao religious sensibilities. Meanwhile, America's military intrusions into Laos, ostensibly in response to North Vietnamese incursions, contributed to a radical destabilization of the county that exacerbated deep political divisions within the Lao metropole. At the same time, it fostered a process of alienation within some of the highland “ethnic minority” communities of Laos, a process that had begun initially during the period of French colonialism.Less

Introduction: Garden cities and colonial planning: transnationality and urban ideas in Africa and Palestine

Liora Bigon

in Garden cities and colonial planning: Transnationality and urban ideas in Africa and Palestine

This introductory chapter presents the ways in which modern urban design has been aligned to power. By assessing the relationship between colonialism and modern planning through the varieties of ... More

This introductory chapter presents the ways in which modern urban design has been aligned to power. By assessing the relationship between colonialism and modern planning through the varieties of garden city, it expands on the multilateral channels for the transmission of these particular planning modes. As exemplified, the transmission process has never been a uni-directional, clear and simple radiation of ideas from a European ‘centre’ to a Near Eastern or African ‘periphery’. Diffusive, dynamic and contested aspects of this process were thus highlighted, including those involving indigenous agencies. Amongst the main questions are: who imported the planning models to the selected colonial urban areas? Why certain models were selected rather than others at a given moment? And how exactly these models were translated and for whom? By putting the ‘periphery’ at the ‘centre’ of the discussion, our aim is not to ‘provincialise Europe’, but to recognise the difference between metropolitan planning culture and its colonial counterpart through the common thread of the garden city. A broad historiographic analysis is offered, as well as a background on the relevant colonial contexts in French and British Africa and Ottoman and Mandate Palestine, viewing the ‘transnational’ aspect.Less

“Les Jeux Sont Faits”: 1893 France

Paul K. MacDonald and Joseph M. Parent

in Twilight of the Titans: Great Power Decline and Retrenchment

This chapter showcases how French decision-makers adapted to a fall in rank by decreasing foreign policy costs to overhaul domestic institutions and that leaders that strayed into adventurism abroad ... More

This chapter showcases how French decision-makers adapted to a fall in rank by decreasing foreign policy costs to overhaul domestic institutions and that leaders that strayed into adventurism abroad suffered negative feedback. The culmination of this process was the cementing of the Franco-Russian alliance.Less

Tropical Paris and Chinatown: The History and Resilience of Ho Chi Minh City’s Sidewalks

Annette Miae Kim

in Sidewalk City: Remapping Public Space in Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s history shows us how sidewalk practices have regularly not followed the plan and are not dictated by the built environment. Present-day HCMC started as two distinctly ... More

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s history shows us how sidewalk practices have regularly not followed the plan and are not dictated by the built environment. Present-day HCMC started as two distinctly separate towns 300 years ago: Saigon, the headquarters of the French colony Indochine, and Cholon, the larger and thriving Chinese diaspora trading port town. The city has gone through a remarkable succession of political and economic regime changes, particularly in the last 70 years: colonial, post-colonial nationalist, communist, and market transition. Historic photographs and accounts reveal that sidewalk space has always been a recreational and street vending space and not solely a transportation corridor despite the urban planning regulations of various regimes. Its urban history also shows that HCMC has been a city of immigrants from its inception, an unspoken narrative. Furthermore, the fact that both the Haussman-esque boulevards in Saigon and the narrow feng-shui sidewalk designs of Cholon host a vibrant sidewalk life counters behavioural determinism and colonial theory which presume physical space has strong power to control populations.Less

Autobiography and Nation-Building:: Constructing Personal Identity in the Postcolonial World

Valerie Anishchenkova

in Autobiographical Identities in Contemporary Arab Culture

In the Arab world, postcolonial period brought about a large number of literary works preoccupied with constructing new national identities. Autobiographical writings are particularly important in ... More

In the Arab world, postcolonial period brought about a large number of literary works preoccupied with constructing new national identities. Autobiographical writings are particularly important in this context because they renegotiate the complex relationship between the individual, his community/nation, and the Western Other. Anticolonial and nationalist aspects of life-writing highlight new modes of cultural identity that emerged in the process of nation-building. Primary case studies in this chapter are Hanna Mina’s Fragments of Memory (1975) and Layla Abu Zayd’s Year of the Elephant (1984), produced in two culturally distinct locations of the Arab world: Syria and Morocco, respectively. Close textual analysis illustrates how different colonial histories and local cultural and religious discourses inform the construction of nationalist identities in different parts of the Arab world.Less