Colonial Suspects

Suspicion, Imperial Rule, and Colonial Society in Interwar French West Africa

Kathleen Keller

• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9780803296916
• eBook ISBN: 9781496206183
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: African History
• Index: History

A Vietnamese cook, a German journalist, and a Senegalese student—what did they have in common? They were all suspicious persons kept under surveillance by French colonial authorities in West Africa in the 1920s and 1930s. Colonial Suspects looks at the web of surveillance setup by the French government during the twentieth century as France's empire slipped into crisis. As French West Africa and the French Empiremore generally underwent fundamental transformations during the interwar years, French colonial authorities pivoted from a stated policy of "assimilation" to that of "association." Surveillance of both colonial subjectsand visitors traveling through the coloniesincreased in scope. The effect of this change in policy was profound: a "culture of suspicion" became deeply ingrained in French West African society. Kathleen Keller notes that the surveillance techniques developed over time by the French included "shadowing, postal control, port police, informants, denunciations, home searches, and gossip." This ad hocapproach to colonial surveillance mostly proved ineffectual, however, andFrench colonies became transitory spaces where a global cast of characters intermixed and French power remained precarious. Increasingly, French officials—in the colonies and at home—reacted in short-sighted ways as both perceived and real backlash occurred with respect to communism, pan-Africanism, anticolonialism, black radicalism, and pan-Islamism. Focusing primarily on the port city of Dakar (Senegal), Keller unravels the threads of intrigue, rumor, and misdirection that informed this chaotic period of French colonial history.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• List of Abbreviations
• A Note on Translations
• Introduction
• 1. “A Vigilant Surveillance”
• 2. “Proceed with a Discreet Surveillance”
• 3. Enemies, Charlatans, and Propagandists
• 4. “Powerless with Regard to Our Nationals”
• 5. Creating Networks
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• About Kathleen Keller
• Series List