French Senegal: The History of the French Colony and Senegal’s Transition to Independence

by Charles River Editors

*Includes pictures *Includes a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents “The equilibrium you admire in me is an unstable one, difficult to maintain. My inner life was split early between the call of the Ancestors and the call of Europe, between the exigencies of black-African culture and those of modern life.” - Léopold Sédar Senghor Near the end of the 19th century, Otto von Bismarck, the German chancellor, brought the plenipotentiaries of all major powers of Europe together to deal with Africa's colonization in such a manner as to avoid provocation of war. This event, known as the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885, galvanized a phenomenon that came to be known as the Scramble for Africa. The conference established two fundamental rules for European seizure of Africa. The first of these was that no recognition of annexation would granted without evidence of a practical occupation, and the second, that a practical occupation would be deemed unlawful without a formal appeal for protection made on behalf of a territory by its leader, a plea that must be committed to paper in the form of a legal treaty. This began a rush, spearheaded mainly by European commercial interests in the form of Chartered Companies, to penetrate the African interior and woo its leadership with guns, trinkets and alcohol, and having thus obtained their marks or seals upon spurious treaties, begin establishing boundaries of future European African colonies. The ease with which this was achieved was due to the fact that, at that point, traditional African leadership was disunited, and the people had just staggered back from centuries of concussion inflicted by the slave trade. Thus, to usurp authority, to intimidate an already broken society, and to play one leader against the other was a diplomatic task so childishly simple, the matter was wrapped up, for the most part, in less than a decade. Even at that stage, however, the countries would keep jostling for position in Africa against each other, attempting to snap up more land and consolidate it. As such, the scramble kept going at a fevered pitch until the outbreak of World War I. When they entered the negotiations in Berlin in 1884, the French were established in their flagship African territory of Senegal, situated at the westernmost point of continental Africa, which tended to give them an option over the vast reaches of the western continent so far unclaimed by any territory. The history of French engagement in Senegal can be traced back to 1677, with the French acquisition of a slave port on the island of Gorée, today a cantonment of the Senegalese capital of Dakar. From there, the French were apt to gaze across the vast expanse of unclaimed territory to their minor enclave of French Somaliland, founded between 1883 and 1887, and which would, in the post-independence era, become the state of Djibouti. The French imperial vision, therefore, became the establishment of French sovereignty over everything in between these two points, including, if possible, Egypt. That vision ultimately clashed with British objectives, but somewhat ironically, conflicts against other enemies would ultimately determine how France’s overseas empire was ultimately decolonized. In conjunction with those geopolitical events, certain influential individuals at home would be ready to fill in the European power vacuum while leading various independence movements, and one of these individuals was a poet and politician named Léopold Senghor. French The History of the French Colony and Senegal’s Transition to Independence examines how France established the colony, and how that colony affected events in the 20th century before Senegal became a modern nation.

Genres: Africa, History

75 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 2, 2020

About the author

Charles River Editors is an independent publisher of thousands of ebooks on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and Apple iBookstore & provider of original content for third parties.

Reviews

[Anil Swarup · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much is known in the Indian Sub-Continent about imperial powers other that the British and how rule by the likes of French, Dutch and Spanish was different from the British. This book by Charles River Editors touches upon French rule, predominantly in Africa. Even the arrangement made at the time of "departure" by the French from their colonies was different from the British. French Senegal was different in many ways and the book brings forth this difference succinctly

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

The equilibrium you admire in me is an unstable one, difficult to maintain. My inner life was split early between the call of the Ancestors and the call of Europe, between the exigencies of black-African culture and those of modern life.” - Léopold Sédar Senghor

An excellent introduction to the history of Senegal from the Berlin conference 1884-1886 onwards. The author adeptly and succinctly explains how Senegal's colonisation was an exception to the rest at least for Dakar, with the key distinction being the creation of the Communes.

'The inhabitants of the Communes, regardless of color or creed, enjoyed full rights of French citizenship, and those of non-white origin were known as évolué, or the “civilized” in French imperial parlance. Outside the administrative boundaries of the Communes, however, no such rights existed.'

'Not all French overseas territories were governed in this manner, because that was certainly not the case, but the Communes of Senegal were unique, and within them existed arguably the most liberal, enlightened colonial regime of the era.  (...) Senegal as a territory, for reasons already described, attracted special conditions. The status of the Communes, although not perfectly non-racial by any means, offered unique opportunities for men like Senghor, Diagne, and Guèye to educate themselves and to merge as much as was possible with the highest political and academic strata of the Métropole. This not only allowed these men and others like them to reach their full potential, but it offered the opportunity that was wholly lacking in many other regions of Africa for a class of black political elite to develop early in order to be poised to assume power when that moment came.'

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A concise history of French influence in Africa together with that of an independent Senegal.

[Louise Bergin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Today World Cup played several games, so I chose the country of Senegal to read about. The book French Senegal: The History of the French Colony and Senegal's Transition to Independence by the Charles River Editors.

Despite the academic sounding title, this was not a difficult book to read. However I read it with the atlas opened nearby because my knowledge of the area's geography was lacking.

There wasn't much history presented until the area encountered Europeans on a more consistent basis. The impetus seems to have been in 1488 when the Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape and reached India, opening a new trade route. Then the European paper record begins.

Several interesting historical facts captured my attention. One was about the German Chancellor Bismark convening the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 to divvy up the African continent among the European colonial powers in a effort to avoid war.

Another was how strongly the Free France effort of WWII was based in Africa. Somehow I had gotten the idea that General de Gaulle had mainly been in England. For a proportionally smaller country, many Senegalese had served in the French army, and by and large, were accepted by those troops. There was much discussion about the French colonial approach and how it differed from the other powers, which was interesting but too long to summarize here.

I am glad to have started this challenge. Already I am learning lots of new stuff!

[Sheldon Chau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid and concise summary of France’s influence in West Africa, particularly in Senegal. A decent intro to Senegal’s first president Senghor - how he was educated in France and came back to lead the country in a respectable way.

With a book this short though, it begs for more details, specifics, and consequences in the overall picture.