Children of the French Empire Miscegenation and Colonial Society in French West Africa 1895-1960

by White, Owen

• ISBN13: 9780198208198
• ISBN10: 0198208197
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-03-16
• Publisher: Clarendon Press

Summary

This book vividly recreates the lives of the children born of relationships between French men and African women from the time France colonized much of West Africa towards the end of the nineteenth century, until independence in 1960. Set within the context of the history of miscegenation in colonial French West Africa, the study focuses upon the lives and identities of the resulting mixed-race or metis population, and their struggle to overcome the handicaps they faced in a racially divided society. Owen White has drawn avaluable evaluation of the impact and importance of French racial theories, and offers a critical discussion of colonial policies in such areas as citizenship and education, providing original insights into problems of identity in colonial society.

Author Biography

Owen White is currently a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at University College, Oxford.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations	viii
Map of French West Africa and Togo	ix
Introduction	1	(6)
Miscegenation in French West Africa	7	(26)
Abandonment and Intervention	33	(28)
Education and Employment	61	(32)
Race and Heredity	93	(31)
Paternity and the Mother Country	124	(27)
Metis and the Search for Social Identity	151	(34)
Conclusion	182	(3)
Bibliography	185	(12)
Index	197