Dictionary of colonial France

We criticized Memory places Directed by Pierre Nora the deafening silence that surrounds the history of the French colonies: the only entry concerning the Empire, signed by Charles-Robert Ageron, deals with the colonial exhibition of 1931. Twenty years later, the bibliography on slavery and colonization was considerably enriched. The time of syntheses has even come, as shown in the Dictionary of colonial France May Jean-Pierre Rioux have just published at Flammarion.

This dictionary has the ambition to be “ active intelligence “For France to succeed in” face his past ». With 120 articles written by around forty historians and specialists in colonial history (notably Jacques Frémeaux, Daniel Lefeuvre, Olivier Pétré-Grenouilleau, Daniel Rivet and Benjamin Stora), he operates according to a plan that is both clear and scholar. The first part, devoted to the different “ steps From colonization, led us from the fall of the Empire in 1815 to the Noumea agreement in 1998, including the abolition of slavery, the disaster of Lang Son, the humiliation of Fachoda, the conference of Brazzaville and the defeat of Diên Biên Phu. The second part is interested in “ figures »Such as Brazza, Camus, Eboué, Lyautey, Senghor, etc. Then come the large geographic areas – the Maghreb and the Levant, Africa, Asia and Pacific, the Americas and the Metropolis. For its latest sections, the dictionary reserves a place of choice for cultural aspects: colonizers, colonized, representations and issues.

This unparalleled dictionary has many advantages: it brings together in a single volume very diverse contributions whose approaches are fitted perfectly – the event frame, the action of “ great men », The geostrategic component, the contribution of Cultural Studiesthe memorial dimension and an iconography fed by a remarkable fund of postcards, drawings, posters and photos (we will mention for example the facsimile of a Gauguin manuscript, Noa-noa. Stay in Tahitidated 1898). This multiplicity of looks makes it possible to understand the diversity of colonial experience and ultramarine worlds.

We regret that this sum is voluntarily limited to XIX^e and at XX^e centuries, leaving under the bushel the first wave of colonization, represented by rare entrances such as “ New France ” Or “ The counters of India »» ; The reader will therefore remain hungry about Louisiana and Santo Domingo, not to mention Toussaint Louverture or the defeat of Vertières in 1803. But let’s not sulk our pleasure: a dictionary that combines reflection, intellectual openness and maneuverability can only be a success. Some will find a working tool, others a global summary or even a source of innovative articles ; Thus the entrances dedicated to places of memory and to the very short places, like the Pélée mountain, “ Marseille the colonial »(E. Témime) or rue Oudinot, which housed the Ministry of the Colonies. Finally, after discovering the articles on colonial inspiration cinema (A. de Baecque) or on the song (J.-P. Rioux), which leads to “ Father Bugeaud’s cap ” At “ Colonies From Michel Sardou, we will taste the refreshing ego-history essay that the project manager offers us in memory of his “ young readings “, as Banana tourist (1938) and The legend of the Saïd gymier (1950).