France tolerated concubinage before 1914 but condemned it in the 1920s

Evidence

Although French theorists in the metropole had long since aban- doned the notion of assimilating their subjects through intermar- riage, outright condemnation of concubinage in West Africa and endorsement of marriage to a white woman was new in the 192o’s. Before the war, the Government General had openly tolerated inter- racial unions. “For those who lack the moral strength necessary to endure two years of continen.ce,” a manual from the 189o’s for West African administrators had counseled, “only one line of conduct is possible: a temporary union with a well-chosen native woman.” — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 588

Categorization

Category: Factual Claims

Related

• French colonial policy on interracial concubinage reversed after World War I (similarity 0.90)
• Postwar French officials banned concubinage out of fear for colonial authority (similarity 0.84)
• Interracial unions were condemned as threats to French prestige and colonial authority. (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• The commission framed concubinage as the root of Indo moral decline #expands (0.80)