French colonialism in Sub-Saharan Africa

Denis Cogneau ()
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Denis Cogneau: PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris

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Abstract: In Sub-Saharan Africa, France colonised poor, sparsely populated, politically fragmented and socially divided countries. French authorities first gave a revolutionary meaning to their so-called ‘civilising mission', yet faced disappointment as both political assimilation and economic profitability did not follow. The extension of the colonial state then relied on the association with local chiefs for tax collection, forced labor and military conscription, but many projects failed and living conditions stagnated until WWII. In the 1950s, as independence was inexorably approaching, financial transfers from the metropole promoted some development, and a turn towards the tiny educated elite allowed preserving a long-lasting political influence. The last part examines often-mentioned differences between British and French colonialisms and concludes that most of them were second order, with the exception of postcolonial economic and political linkages that lasted much longer on the French side.

Date: 2026-08
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Published in Ewout Frankema; Tirthankar Roy. Routledge Handbook of the Economic History of Colonialism, Routledge, 2026, ⟨10.4324/9781003397434-33⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:pseptp:halshs-05838861

DOI: 10.4324/9781003397434-33

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