French colonial ‘native policy’ was inseparable from a moral mission to uplift Africans

Evidence

“Native” policy (politique indigene) was the term the French used to designate policy toward Africans; more specifically, it tended to refer to the political, as opposed to the social or economic, aspects of French decision making. Many of these political policies in turn reflected France’s moral commitment to uplift Africans. The problems of both slavery and relations with existing African rulers, for example, were considered by Dakar to belong to the realm of “native” policy. I have decided to retain the term because, despite its racist overtones, it accurately reflects a way of thinking about Africans typical of the colonial era which cannot be translated any other way. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 1079

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the French term politique indigene and its meaning, acknowledging its racist overtones while explaining why the author retains it.