Imagining Colonial Community: The Construction of Indigenous Intermediaries and Limitations of Assimilation in Colonial French-Senegal (1852-1906)

Assimilation in colonial African history has often been studied as an active policy. Recent literature has argued that assimilation was instead far more limited and complicated, especially in the case of French-Senegal. This thesis therefore examines cultural assimilation as a rhetorical tool rather than as a directly implemented idea, asking: did the French colonial government in Senegal, between 1852 and 1906, consciously implement assimilation processes with the intended purpose of stimulating the general acceptance of French identity in local indigenous groups, or were there other factors involved? \nA precursory analysis of how the métis of the Four Communes self-gallicised into French mercantile and cultural intermediaries frames the complex historical situation of French-Senegal. The centuries-long public disinterest towards imperial affairs that the métis experienced resulted in certain freedoms, which they used to construct themselves as French intermediaries over a long period of time. This directly contrasts the short-term adjustments to the indigenous status quo undergone by the Toucouleurs of Futa Toro in the late-19th century, after decades of direct and indirect conflict with the French. \nThis paper provides a more complete picture of how assimilation evolved, was viewed, and significantly more limited than 19th and early-20th century ideological rhetoric suggests. Limited intermediary construction emerges instead as the colonial government’s main policy to ensure long-term stability in newly acquired interior regions, imperial competition with other European powers being a key catalyst. While the colonial government did attempt a few instances of direct assimilation, the budgetary and logistical difficulties of enforcing the acceptance of French civilization indicate that this was not in colonial interest. Policy was instead driven to construct effective intermediaries, which allowed the government to focus on the larger issues it had to deal with. \nThis is connected to the initial war against the jihadi Toucouleur Empire, and the continuing threat that both it and its leaders represented. The Toucouleur Empire had control over a significant swath of West Africa, and the ruling Tall dynasty that claimed those territories was a problem for French colonial ambitions. In addition, the predominantly Islamic indigenous group was highly resistant to foreign Europeans, making assimilation all the more difficult and unlikely in the long run. Due to the demands of imperial competition, the French sought to undermine the Toucouleur Empire, and the Tall dynasty that held sway over it. This was successful, in part thanks to manipulation of the geopolitical situation through treaties with local indigenous chiefs and arming Toucouleur rivals - with indigenous geopolitics playing a significant role on its own in causing the decline of the Toucouleur Empire.\n\tThe colonial government seized Futa Toro in 1890, forcing the Tall dynasty into exile. The years that followed and the policies implemented further suggest that assimilation was limited in French-Senegal, largely relegated to rhetoric that exaggerated events to fit into unrealistic ideological expectations. A form of limited intermediary construction was emphasised instead, as seen in source description of Islamic policies, which sought to restrict the movement of Muslim preachers and curtail the influence of Islam. Due to the cultural importance of the Islamic faith in Futa Toro, this policy intended to favour French civilization as a replacement – but was unsuccessful. This shows the difficulties that the colonial government encountered when it did attempt to enforce the widespread acceptance of French civilization, and by extension identity, in indigenous groups. \n\tInformation-gathering practises through 19th century military expeditions also highlight that the colonial government was in no position to extensively consolidate French identity in the region. The French had to acquire as much information about local affairs as possible, so that effective policies could be enacted within budgetary restrictions – which they used to guide the writing of treaties. This is tied to the power wielded by the Tall dynasty, which originated from established Islamic traditions such as the hajj. The French, through information-gathering practises, were well aware of these traditions, and sought to limit the ability for the clerical elite to rebel effectively against them in the long-term. \nThe eventual restriction of the hajj was subsequently enacted through enforced treaty terms, ensuring that indigenous elite children would acquire a predominantly French-education. Yet even in these schools, they were able to speak their own language outside of class and attend Qur’anic schools. This was done so that the ruling elite would be gallicised enough to never question colonial rule, yet not French enough to be able to identify themselves as such in any meaningful way – potentially unable to act as effective leaders and intermediaries in their respective communities as a result. Even this process was complicated by conflicting interpretations of assimilation between colonial missionaries and officials, relating to assimilation’s conceptual connection to the European civilizing mission.\nThis thesis therefore concludes that the French colonial government in Senegal, between 1852 and 1906, certainly talked about assimilation in a way that implied they had consciously implemented assimilation processes with the intended purpose of stimulating the general acceptance of French identity in local indigenous groups. Other factors show that this was not the historical reality, however. The colonial government was not able to apply direct assimilation to the same ideological extent as rhetoric portrayed. Rather, over the span of several decades and due to budgetary restrictions, the government focused on applying pragmatic long-term solutions to ensure public order and stability. \nThis conclusion was driven by theoretical and methodological considerations. To ensure that colonial perspectives remained firmly fixed in their context, this thesis was written using a social imaginary approach, permitting this paper to speak more objectively to what occurred within colonial conversations. Importantly, this avoids the assumption that a ‘superior’ civilisation was dictating the terms of interaction in West Africa. In addition, this new approach provides fresh insights and perspectives, allowing this thesis to contribute something new to existing colonial African literature.

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