Cost and control fears locked France into rule through weakened chiefs

Evidence

To have admitted that the chiefs were unable to represent both the French and the masses would have meant finding new intermediaries for administering the federation. The Government General understood that the only possible alternative intermediaries to these chiefs were paid French administrators or members of the new elite. The first option was unacceptable, for reasons of cost; the second was eliminated because, as Dakar realized, the new elite would have demanded a greater say in policy making than the chiefs they replaced. The only safe choice, when it came to preserving Dakar’s authority intact, was to retain the old regime in office. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 734

Categorization

• XREF: Connects strongly to the book’s reading purpose — why the French republican idea in West Africa settled for indirect rule that perpetuated traditional authorities.