Colonial officials believed marriage reduced an administrator’s effectiveness

Evidence

There was a widespread feeling, moreover, that French wives hindered the job effectiveness of field commandants. As the eminent African ethnographer and future governor Maurice Delafosse said in his popular account of bush life, “Any married colonial loses a third of his value and a married broussard [bush administrator] loses at least 3/4 of his.” — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 589

Categorization

• XREF: Bears on the ‘civilizing mission’ self-image theme: officials saw native concubines as a practical necessity that was later reframed as degradation.