Rebellion flared where French rule had already eliminated traditional chiefs

Evidence

Revolt did not necessarily occur where recruitment had been most intense or abusive. Indeed, it soon became clear that there was a direct correlation between rebellion and the type of native policies earlier implemented in a given circle. Wherever vestiges of former aristocracies had survived Panty’s politique des races, the French could count on the chiefs’ loyalty and willingness to collaborate with the Government General in recruiting tirailleurs. For these survivors, the war seemed to offer a chance to recoup some of their declining authority by striking bargains with the administration in exchange for the men they provided. The absence of such traditional chiefs was a recurrent element in the areas where rebellion did occur, a lesson not lost on the new policy makers in Dakar. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 510

Categorization

• QUESTION: Follow up: how did dependence on surviving chiefs for recruitment shape the subsequent shift toward a more indirect, chiefly-based colonial administration?
• XREF: Mirrors the reader’s republicanism theme: an assimilationist, chiefly-dismantling policy paradoxically undermined the collaboration needed to sustain French rule.