A mission to civilize
Subtitle: the republican idea of empire in France and West Africa, 1895-1930
By: Alice L. Conklin.
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Stanford, Calif
Language: eng
Number of pages: 367
Subjects: Governors general -- Africa, French-speaking West -- History; Racism -- France -- History; Republicanism -- France -- History; Africa, French-speaking West -- Politics and government -- 1884-1960; France -- Colonies -- Administration -- History; France -- Politics and government -- 1870-1940
Description: This book addresses a central but often ignored question in the history of modern France and modern colonialism: How did the Third Republic, highly regarded for its professed democratic values, allow itself to be seduced by the insidious and persistent appeal of a "civilizing" ideology with distinct racist overtones?

By focusing on a particular group of colonial officials in a specific setting - the governors general of French West Africa from 1895 to 1930 - the author argues that the ideal of a special civilizing mission had a decisive impact on colonial policymaking and on the evolution of modern French republicanism generally.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [327]-353) and index.