MC_A Concise History of Africa

Colonialism

crops and activities that would yield taxable revenue, and emigration was encouraged where a locality was not financially viable. In the final analysis, commercial interests mattered more than the grand vision. Empire must have weighed heavily on bureaucrats, for by the 1870s the French Colonial Ministry’s message to Senegal was “Let us not hear from you.” It was becoming increasingly clear that many in Francophone Africa had little stomach for French rule, though some wished to retain

some cultural and economic ties. A bitter civil war finally led to Algeria becoming independent in 1962, six years after Tunisia and Morocco. The French held on longer to their colonies than others, maintaining greater involvement after independence. This may possibly have been to maintain supplies of uranium, for 75 percent of French energy is supplied by nuclear power. What was left behind was La Francophonie , 29 African countries of which 18 have French as their

An edition of Le Petit Robert , a French dictionary, defines colonialism as “valuing,

enhancing, and exploiting the natural resources of foreign countries,” which has caused some comment and attracted the ire of anti-racist groups. The British, meanwhile, cringe at the thought, being too ashamed to think about or even teach their own history sensibly.

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