A Mission to Civilize: The Republican Idea of Empire in France and West Africa, 1895-1930

by Alice L. Conklin

This book addresses a central but often ignored question in the history of modern France and modern colonialism: How did the Third Republic, highly regarded for its professed democratic values, allow itself to be seduced by the insidious and persistent appeal of a “civilizing” ideology with distinct racist overtones? By focusing on a particular group of colonial officials in a specific setting―the governors general of French West Africa from 1895 to 1930―the author argues that the ideal of a special civilizing mission had a decisive impact on colonial policymaking and on the evolution of modern French republicanism generally. French ideas of civilization―simultaneously republican, racist, and modern―encouraged the governors general in the 1890’s to attack such “feudal” African institutions as aristocratic rule and slavery in ways that referred back to France’s own experience of revolutionary change. Ironically, local administrators in the 1920’s also invoked these same ideas to justify such reactionary policies as the reintroduction of forced labor, arguing that coercion, which inculcated a work ethic in the “lazy” African, legitimized his loss of freedom. By constantly invoking the ideas of “civilization,” colonial policy makers in Dakar and Paris managed to obscure the fundamental contradictions between “the rights of man” guaranteed in a republican democracy and the forcible acquisition of an empire that violates those rights. In probing the “republican” dimension of French colonization in West Africa, this book also sheds new light on the evolution of the Third Republic between 1895 and 1930. One of the author’s principal arguments is that the idea of a civilized mission underwent dramatic changes, due to ideological, political, and economic transformations occurring simultaneously in France and its colonies. For example, revolts in West Africa as well as a more conservative climate in the metropole after World War I produced in the governors general a new respect for “feudal” chiefs, whom the French once despised but now reinstated as a means of control. This discovery of an African “tradition” in turn reinforced a reassertion of traditional values in France as the Third Republic struggled to recapture the world it had “lost” at Verdun.

Genres: History, Africa, France, Nonfiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 1996

Reviews

[Benemint · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book does what it says it does -- discussing the twists and turns of the concept of "civilizing mission" expressed by French colonial governors. It does a good job and is helpful for my comparative research (with Japanese assimilationist policy). It is not "biased" but it only covers the colonizer's ideology -- which makes the story entirely incomplete. I assume these policies went through dialectics facing local conditions and responses, but there is almost no mentioning about African people's perceptions and daily lives.

[David]

A good historian should take historical actors seriously when they tell you their motivations and their worldviews, while maintaining the critical stance necessary to see how these discourses reflect/advance the various social/economic/political interests etc. Conklin is right to take the mission civilisatrice seriously, and to see how it evolves and operates as a historical phenomenon. that said, it's a kinda boring and disappointing book. not sure she uses the right methodology & sources to achieve her goal.

[Wim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superb analysis of the ideology behind the French colonization politics in West-Africa from 1895 to 1930. Interesting to learn the tension between the progressive foundations of the French republic and the differential treatment of colonial subjects and how the ideas behind the role of the French evolved before, during and after World War I.
Very insightful, also to understand the current opinions in France on the colonial past and the attitude towards former colonies.

[Armistead B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deep dive into French republicanism relationship to French colonization in West Africa. It's a little dry, perhaps, but certainly not lacking in details. Because it's an adapted dissertation, it's an excellent first read in the subject area with lots of information on the historiography of the subject and follow-up reading/research opportunities. It's a great history for anyone interested enough in the topic to read a proper history.

[Anthony Zupancic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great history. A balanced look at the mission civilisitrice: its origins, its shortcomings, its change, and the men who implemented it. The methodology is tight and the writing moves. This is a must read for anyone interested in French imperialism, especially in west Africa.

[Cate · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting account of the influence of French Republican ideals on their empire in Africa.

[Mark Vollmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tour de force