French West AfricangovernorSince 1895Saint Louis(French:Saint-Louis）, moved toDakar (French:Dakar）。The Governor is directly accountable to the Government of Paris.Each colony in French West Africa, such as Senegal and Dahomey, has a deputy governor who governs the region.The Deputy Governor is directly accountable to the Governor.The Governor and the Government of Paris“Colonial Department”They are jointly responsible for determining the candidates for deputy governors and reporting to the Economic CommissionFrench ParliamentAfter approval, he can take office.
Dakar, the ruling center of French West Africa
Since 1946, the colonial government has established the "French West Africa Grand Commission" in Dakar as an advisory body to the Governor.Each subordinate colony elected two representatives as members of the General Committee, usually the deputy governor of the colony and an African.In addition to the four early communes in Senegal (Saint Louis, Dakar, GoreLufiskFour towns.These four towns are located in the estuary of Senegal, which is the earliest colony of France in West Africa.There are many French residents, and local African residents can enjoy the same rights as French nationals.1848Second French Republic Give the residents of four towns full French citizenship.A decree in 1916 stipulated that the four cities and towns were part of the suzerainty and implemented French municipal laws. All residents and their descendants were French citizens. Each town could send a representative to FranceHouse of Commons）The African residents of the whole French West Africa are not the same as the French residentsThe right to voteEtc.[1]
In terms of the management of French colonies in West Africa, the most important thing is to set up an administrative structure called "Circle".The governance circle is headed by a Frenchman, who governs a number of smaller administrative regions. Such small administrative regions only govern a number of villages, and the French appoint African chiefs to manage them.The governor of the governance circle is directly responsible to the deputy governors of the individual colonies, and the African chief of the small administrative region is responsible to the French governor of the governance circle.
Ruling style
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French colonial empire
The governance of France over West Africa is generally direct, and the French are the highestexecutive, has absolute power.Local chiefs are just tools of French colonial rule, without any real power.
In the process of conquering West Africa, France encountered the heroic resistance of the West African people organized and led by traditional leaders (kings, chiefs, etc.).Even after the suppression of these resistances, FranceColonistStill have lingering fears.For this reason, the French decided to eliminate those who might become anti French leadersAfricaThe state and tribal organizations should re divide administrative regions, abolish the power of traditional leaders, appoint officials at all levels, and promotesuzerainDecreeIndigenous peoples。Even those local chiefs who served as colonial pawns were often not the original traditional chiefs, but African "loyalists" re appointed by the French (many of them were not from the top of the tribe, but "meritorious men" who had served in the French colonial army).
The French finally hope to integrate this land into France culturally and politically.In this system, the French seldom make use of the real power stratum in Africa, but mainly rely on their own new system to maintain their rule.To promote in West Africa“the policy of national assimilation”In 1912, the French authorities formulated the "naturalization law", stipulating that anyone born in French West Africa "can serve France or hold public office for more than 10 years, read or writeFrench, OwnMeans of subsistenceThose with good quality can get FranceCitizenship。Obviously, only a few intellectuals and indigenous elites among African residents meet these conditions and can become "French citizens", while the vast majority of Africans become "French subjects" without citizenship.France can't pay the huge cost of fully assimilating Africans, and can only find a waydirect controlAfrican residents.
The British did the opposite: they did not create a new ruling system as France did, but made the best use of the local power system in Africa to achievecolonial rule。Compared with the British rule, the French are more violent and often useForced labourAnd imprisonment to maintain the rule and seek profits.France does not use some of its colonial gains to feed Africans and cultivate localmiddle class(The British colonial authority determines the annual direct paymentTax amount, collected by aboriginal officials.The aboriginal regime retained most of the tax to pay the salaries of aboriginal officials and public construction costs, and the rest was handed over to the British colonial authorities.) The French took all the proceeds as their own.
Ruling significance
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Positive significance
French West African Franc
Under the rule of the French colonial authorities, West Africa is increasingly showing another newsocial environment。Social orderto become better,Regime organizationMore powerful than before, the tribes have established friendly relations;SlaveryAfter the ban, freedommarket economyIt began to appear that people could move freely;Traffic and communication conditions have been greatly improved, and railways and telegraph lines have appeared in West Africa.
The development of the colonial economyTransportation networkThe construction ofmining area、Trade Centre, the rise and development of railways and highways as well as coastal ports.
All these have further promoted thefree flow , which is conducive to improving the productivity of West Africa and promoting the internalResource flowsAnd cultural exchanges, opening the door for West African societyTraditional economyThe situation of transformation to colonial economy.
By the beginning of the 20th century, various parts of West Africa had initially formed a single economic crop characterized by production and exportProcessing industryextremelyunderdevelopedThe embryonic form of the deformed colonial economic structure.European monopoly capitalists purchase locally produced products in West Africa at a low pricecash crop, selling food, cloth and other daily necessities needed by West Africa at high prices, and buying cheap and selling expensive“Scissors difference”GrabExcess profit。[2]
Historical evolution
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French colonists enteredWest AfricaAfter, with otherColonial countriesA large amount of territory has been gained in the struggle. At the beginning, these areas becameSenegalA part of a colony or a separate independent entity, which is ruled by the military, is called "Military Territories".
French West Africa
On the West African land invaded by French colonialism, there are Tukulaer, Vasurudahomey Such a unified and powerful kingdom;In other areas, there are many primitive clan tribesTribal alliance, and smallemirate, Small Kingdom.For the former, the French colonistsabsolute advantageBy force;For the latter, we often use deception such as alliance and contracting to classify them as our ownSphere of influenceAnd then occupy it.In the late 1890s,French governmentThey began to directly rule these newly acquired territories, and transferred the territory west of Gabon to the jurisdiction of a single governor in Senegal, who was directly responsible for the French Ministry of Overseas Affairs.The first Senegalese Governor Jean Baptiste Chaudi é was appointed on June 16, 1895, and this territory was officially named "French West Africa" (AOF) in 1904.France took the occupied SenegalFrench Sudan , FrenchGuinea、Ivory CoastMerged into the French West African Federation.DahomeyNiger、Upper VoltaIn 1904, 1908 and 1910, it was incorporated into the French West African colony, and in 1912 it becameFrench colonyOfMauritaniaIt was also incorporated into French West Africa in 1920.GabonAnd other places will becomefrench equatorial africa (AEF).
The Government of the Fourth Republic of FranceWorld War IIAfter gradually opening up its coloniespolitical rights。In 1946, the "loi Lamine Gu è ye" granted limited citizenship to indigenous people in African colonies.The "Loi Cadre" in 1956 established a universal parliament with only the right of consultation.French colonial empireConverted to“French Union ”(English:French Union）The Fifth Republic Constitution in 1958 once again transformed it into“French Community”(English;French CommunityFrench:Communauté française）Every colony has been transformed intoProtector(Protectorate), which owns the National Assembly with consultative power;The governor appointed by France was renamed "High Commissioner", and was the head of state of the protectorate.national councilThen have the right to name an African as havingRight of suggestionThe head of government of.
The 1958 referendum approved the French Union, but Guinea'sreferendumGuinea's independence was decided by an overwhelming proportion.In 1960, because FranceFrench Vietnam WarAndAlgeriaThe tension,French ConstitutionThe amendments to the Constitution agreed that the colonies unilaterally changed their constitutions, and many new countries in West Africa were born.[3]
