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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 [161], (3) Lines: 18 to ——— 0.0pt PgV ——— Normal Page PgEnds: TEX [161], (3) 9. Vichy Colonialism A Comparative Perspective Vociferous opponents of the idea of assimilation often argued that the French empire covered a huge area replete with a range of cultures and peoples at different stages of evolution. Therefore it was totally illogical to implement the same policy and export the same metropolitan institutions to every corner of the empire. This argument was sometimes also perceived as valid for France itself. In fact it was Vichy ideology that continued such ideas as the need to maintain diversity and to reject the “false” equality upon which the Republic’s values were based. Nevertheless , in spite of these beliefs the Vichy regime implemented the same ideology and social organizations in all of the colonies it was able to retain. The National Revolution, as opposed to republican values, was equally applicable, according to the regime, in fwa as it was in Guadeloupe, Madagascar, or Indochina. This is not to say that its implementation was identical in all of the Vichy-ruled colonies, but as we shall see, the similarities were greater than the differences. The real difference lay, in fact, in the impact the Vichy period had on the various colonies, and this dissimilarity stemmed from the divergence of the historical, social, cultural , and political situations in these colonies more than from variances in Vichy colonial policy. In order to place the period discussed here in a wider context, the basic elements of Vichy colonial policy and the responses to it at the time and after the war will be compared in several French colonies. The bulk of the discussion will concentrate on colonies that, like fwa, had no German presence or direct influence: Madagascar, Guadeloupe, and Indochina. Reference will also be made to the French colonies of North Africa, which played an important role in the events of World War II. But 162 The Long-Term Significance of theVichy Period 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 [162], Lines: ——— 0.0pt ——— Normal PgEnds: [162], first I will compare the Vichy experience in fwa to French colonial rule in the neighboring federation of fea, which was under Free French control. This examination of the similarities and differences in colonial policies in the two federations will enable us to isolate those that were influenced by war conditions and to better understand the nature of the Vichy brand of colonialism. Free French Colonial Policy in FEA The federation of fea, established in 1910, was often called the “Cinderella of the French empire,” as it had many fewer resources and was less developed than its neighbor fwa. 1 It consisted of four territories, Chad, Gabon, Ubangui-Chari (today the Central African Republic), and French Congo (today Congo-Brazzaville), and the mandate of Cameroon. Despite its perceived limitations and its reduced strategic importance, Charles De Gaulle attributed tremendous significance to his success in gaining control over this territory in 1940. Possessing fea gave De Gaulle what he missed the most—territory. 2 In October 1940 he visited the federation and defined the main steps the colonial administration should take during the war. He clarified that Free France should not only protect the territories that joined its ranks but also maintain order and support their economic efforts. Félix Eboué, a black administrator from French Guyana who declared his alliance to De Gaulle while serving as the governor of Chad, outlined an independent colonial policy as the governor-general of fea. He often refused to take instructions from De Gaulle’s representatives who came to visit the federation and even threatened to resign several times. Eboué took care to tour the colonies personally, with the intent of uplifting the people’s spirit and encouraging economic efforts.3 Born in 1884 in Guyana, an old French colony inhabited at the time by around twenty thousand people, Eboué enjoyed the status of French citizen. He had won a scholarship to study at a high school in Bordeaux, where he...

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