Assimilation (French colonial)

Assimilation was one ideological basis of French colonial policy in the 19th and 20th centuries. In contrast with British imperial policy, the French taught their subjects that, by adopting French language and culture, they could eventually become French. The famous 'Four Communes' in Senegal were seen as proof of this. Here Africans were, in theory, afforded all the rights of French citizens.

Defining "Assimilation"

The French Assimilation concept was based on the idea of expanding French culture to the colonies outside of France in the 19th and 20th century. Natives of these colonies were considered French citizens as long as the culture and customs were adopted. This also meant they would have the rights and duties of French citizens.

The meaning of assimilation has been greatly debated. One possible definition stated that French laws apply to all colonies outside of France regardless of the distance from France, the size of the colony, the organization of society, the economic development, race or religious beliefs. [Lewis page 133] A cultural definition for assimilation can be the expansion of the French culture outside of Europe. [Betts page 8]

Arthur Girualt published "Principés de colonization et dé Legislation colonial" in 1885 which defined assimilation as "eclectic". Its ideal he considers "the constantly more intimate union between the colonial territory and the metropolitan territory". [Lewis page 132] Arthur Girualt also wrote that all military responsibilities of a French citizen also apply to the natives of the colonies.

History

The initial stages of assimilation in France were observed in the "first French empire, during the Revolution of 1789. In 1794, during the revolutionary National Assembly, attended by the deputies of the Caribbean and French India, a law was passed that declared: "all men resident in the colonies, without distinction of color, are French citizens and enjoy all the rights assured by the Constitution". [Lewis page 134]

In the early 19th century under Napoleon Bonaparte rule, new laws were created for the colonies to replace the previous universal laws that applied to both France and the colonies. Napoleon Bonaparte rejected assimilation and declared that the colonies would be governed under separate laws. He believed that if the universal laws continued, the residents of the colonies would eventually have the power to control the local governments which would have an adverse effect on "cheap slave labor." [Betts page 17]

Even with Napoleon Bonaparte's rejection of assimilation, many still believed it to be a good practice. On July 24, 1833 a law was passed which gave all free colony residents "civil and political rights." Also, in the Revolution in 1848, "assimilation theory" was restored and colonies again were under the universal rules. [Lewis page 135]

There were many problems that emerged during the colonization period, those faced with the dilemmas thought assimilation sounded simple and attainable. Specifically, those who wanted to spread French culture. Claude Adrien Helvétius, a philosopher and supporter of assimilation, believed that an education was essential to assimilation. [Betts page 8]

Senegal's Four Communes

Examples of assimilation in practice in the colonies were in Senegal's Four Communes, they were: Goree, Dakar, Rufisque and Saint-Louis, Senegal. The purpose of the theory of assimilation was to turn African natives into "French" men by educating them in the language and French culture and hence become French citizens or equals. [Lambert page 241] During the French Revolution of 1848 to 1860, slavery was abolished and the four communes were given voting rights and they were also granted the right to elect a Deputy to the Assembly in Paris. In the 1880s France expanded their rule to other colonies at which point there was opposition from the French locals and so the universal law did not apply to the new colonies.

The residents of the Four communes were referred as the "originaires" [Lambert p. 241. Originaires were either born or had lived for at least five years in the communes] and had been exposed to assimilation for a long a period of time that they had become a "typical French citizen...he was expected to be everything except in the color of his skin, a Frenchman." [Michael Lmbert page 242] They were "African Elite." [Michael Lambert page 242] One of those elites was Blaise Diagne, who was the first black deputy in the French assembly. He "defended the status of the originaires as French citizens." [Michael Lambert page 244] During his service as deputy, he proposed a resolution which would allow the residents of the 4 communes all the rights of a French Citizen, which included being able to serve in the Army. This was especially important during the World War I. The resolution passed on October 19,1915.

References

*Raymond F Betts "ASSIMILATION AND ASSOCIATION IN FRENCH COLONIAL TERRITORY 1890 TO 1915". (First ed. 1961), Reprinted University of Nebraska Press, 2005. ISBN 0803262477.
*Erik Bleich. The legacies of history? Colonization and immigrant integration in Britain and France. Theory and Society, Volume 34, Number 2 , April 2005.
*Michael Crowder. Senegal: A Study in French Assimilation Policy. London: Oxford University Press, 1962.
*Mamadou Diouf. The French Colonial Policy of Assimilation and the Civility of the Originaires of the Four Communes (Senegal): A Nineteenth Century Globalization Project. Development and Change, Volume 29, Number 4, October 1998 , pp. 671-696(26)
*M. M. Knight. French Colonial Policy--the Decline of "Association". The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Jun., 1933), pp. 208-224
*Martin D Lewis "ONE HUNDRED MILLION FRENCHMEN:THE "ASSIMILATION" THEORY IN FRENCH COLONIAL POLICY" Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 4, No. 2. (Jan., 1962), pp. 129-153.
*Michael Lambert "FROM CITIZENSHIP TO NÉGRITUDE: MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN ELITE IDEOLOGIES OF COLONIZED FRANCOPHONE WEST AFRICA" Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 35, No. 2. (Apr., 1993), pp. 239-262.