World War I revolts forced Dakar to abandon direct-rule assimilation for association

Evidence

French policy and ideology changed to reflect both transformations in the metropole and the political needs of the colonial state. These needs were starkly exposed by the revolts that had occurred during World War I and by the evolues’ continued demand for political equality with French citizens throughout the 192o’s. Such challenges made clear to federal authorities that they had made a mistake in attempting to divest chiefs of their authority and in maintaining all power in their own hands-two policies identified with France’s civilizing mission in West Africa. Dakar thus began to reconsider these policies even before the war ended. In particular, it recommended reappointing customary chiefs to office, and suggested a “new deal” for the educated elite. These policy changes were given a name familiar in France and some colonies since the 189o’s, but new in the Government General of West Africa in the 192o’s: association. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 604

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines ‘association’ as the postwar policy of reappointing chiefs and integrating evolues, new to French West Africa in the 1920s.
• ADDENDUM: Directly relevant to the ‘sacrifice’ article’s theme of how colonial powers manage indigenous authority structures.