The Métis of Senegal: Urban Life and Politics in French West Africa

6. Electoral Politics and the Métis (1870–90)

139 6 Q Electoral Politics and the Métis (1870–90) The decade of the 1870s offered new opportunities for the métis to assert power and influence within the colonial system. Although they had lost their monopoly over the middleman sector of the colonial economy, the economic, cultural, and social networks that métis families had developed allowed them entry into the political arena. In the 1870s, when the Third Republic expanded electoral institutions in Senegal, the métis capitalized on these reforms by winning seats in the local assemblies. Because of their education, ties to metropolitan commerce and the administration, and their familiarity with the local situation, the métis were well positioned to take advantage of the expansion of democratic institutions, and French officials relied on their cooperation. Histories of modern politics in Senegal tend to cast the late nineteenth century as an intermediary phase between a politics of French hegemony and the emergence of African nationalism, in which “electoral clans” dominated commune politics and candidates relied on patron-clientage to mobilize African voters in support of their candidates.1 Racial identity had little to do with political alliances. The métis supported political parties that identified with Bordeaux commerce, the clergy, and Gaspard Devès’s coalition of “Senegalese interests.” Prominent African town residents organized the African electorate to support candidates with whom they had established ties, regardless of race. Saint Louis held particular importance as the capital of the colony, the headquarters of the General Council, and the commune with the largest population. Politics in Senegal’s capital differed little from city politics in metropolitan France. Commune politics involved strategic alliances, questionable tactics, and even “buying” votes.2 The MÉtis of Senegal 140 Democratic institutions in the colonies served as an extension of the French idea of assimilation. While they existed as a means of providing representation for certain interests and constituencies in the political process ,politicsalsofunctionedasamechanismforimposingcolonialcontrol. In Senegal, the electoral institutions served a dual purpose of introducing western political systems and facilitating colonial control. A closer examination of métis activities in electoral politics during the late nineteenth century reveals a complex and at times uneasy relationship between the republican institutions and colonial officials. The expansion of electoral politics in the towns at the same time that France engaged in violent campaigns for control over strategic territories of the interior presented a dilemma for French officials. The administration relied on cooperationfromindividualsintheurbancommunitytoachievetheirimperial istaims ,andFrenchofficialsviewedthelocalassembliesasakeymechanism for cultivating relations of cooperation. The métis, however, took the practice of republican citizenship seriously. The establishment of electoral institutions in the colony expanded the field of power for the urban community , but it also raised concerns among colonial officials who increasingly viewed the interference of the assemblymen of the first arrondissement problematic for imposing colonial control. Forming Coalitions: The First Generation Inthelatenineteenthcentury,LouisDescemetandGaspardDevèsemerged asmajorfigureswhoestablishedsuccessfulpoliticalcoalitions.Between1884 and 1902, both men advanced lists of candidates that dominated assembly electionsandplayedkeyrolesinelectoralcampaignsforSenegal’srepresentative to the Chamber of Deputies. A wealthy businessman and merchant, Devès held office but also put forth candidates for elections and shaped local debate. Born in 1827, Devès was the son of Bordeaux merchant Bruno Devès and a Fulbe woman who was also known as Sylvie Bruno. Bruno Devès arrivedinSenegalinthe1820s .HejoinedhisbrotherJustin,andtheyestablished anexportfirmandbecameprominentwholesalemerchantsinthegumtrade. In1851,thecompanymergedwithGustavChaumettoformJ.Devès,Lacoste, andCompany.Thenewconcernspecializedinpeanutexportsandmaritime equipment, and opened one of the first peanut processing factories in Bordeaux .ThereislittleevidencetosuggestacloserelationshipbetweenGaspard and the Bordeaux company.3 Electoral Politics and the Métis 141 In keeping with Saint Louis custom, Bruno Devès sent his Senegalese sontoBordeauxforeducation.Gaspardcompletedhisstudiesandreturned to Senegal, probably in the midst of the gum crisis. In 1851, Devès married CatherineFoy,thedaughterofmétishabitantsGuillaumeFoyandHenriette Cecile Descemet. A year later, following the birth of their daughter, Elisabeth ,Catherinedied,leavingElisabethtoinheritherfortune.In1872,when Guillaume Foy died, Elisabeth inherited his wealth. As his daughter’s legal guardian, Gaspard managed her estate, combining his resources with hers to build a fortune that totaled two million francs in assets, interest, and revenue from property upon his death in 1901.4 Devès entered commerce following the decline of the gum trade. He began as a junior partner to métis habitant John Sleight. In 1851, when Sleight left Senegal to replace Durand Valantin in the Paris legislature, he granted Devès his contract to supply the administration with grain.5 Over the next two decades, Devès expanded his business interests to include investmentsinpropertyandsteamshiptransportation.Hebecameamajor importer...