Heroic imperialists in Africa: The promotion of British and French colonial heroes, 1870–1939

352 Pages·2015·5.134 MB·English

by  Berny Sebe

STUDIES IN IMPERIALISM STUDIES IN IMPERIALISM
H
General Editor: John M. MacKenzie
e
‘In this superbly researched and elegantly written book, Sèbe has opened r Heroic
a vital new chapter in the cultural history of empire, and also helped to o
explain why it was often so difficult to control headstrong ‘men on the
i
spot’. And by comparing the practices of this ‘hero-making’ industry in
c
Britain and France, he has made an important contribution to the wider
imperialists
scholarship on Europe’s imperialisms.’ i
John Darwin, University of Oxford m
‘Essential reading for all students and scholars of colonial history. Sèbe
is sensitive to the very different French and British contexts of the p
individuals he presents, but the overall impact of his study lies in its in Africa
e
insightful delineation of the phenomenon of ‘celebrity colonialism’. This
book constitutes a timely intervention in debates about the complex r
interactions between European and African histories.’ i
a
Charles Forsdick, University of Liverpool
‘Berny Sèbe has written an original and imaginative work. This li The promotion of British and French
stimulating and resourceful book penetrates the reality of myth-building s
in the colonial era.’ t colonial heroes, 1870–1939
Wm. Roger Louis, University of Texas at Austin s

From David Livingstone to Charles de Foucauld, from Pierre Savorgan i
n
de Brazza to General Gordon, from the ‘Sirdar’ Kitchener to Jean-
Baptiste Marchand, these standard-bearers of the ‘civilising mission’,
armed with Bible or rifle, often both, became widely celebrated in their A BERNY SÈBE
metropoles, with their exploits splashed across the front pages of the
f
penny press, inspiring generations of biographers, painters and, later, r
film-makers. Coinciding with the advent of ‘New Journalism’, they i
embodied the symbolic implementation of the colonial project and c
performed a highly mythologised meeting between conquerors and a
conquered, nurturing imperial pride.
Berny Sèbe explores in comparative perspective the ways in which
heroes of the British and French empires in Africa were selected,
manufactured and packaged from the height of ‘New Imperialism’
until the Second World War. He uncovers the media processes and
publishing stories behind the legends of a dozen imperial heroes on S
both sides of the Channel, offering a comprehensive analysis of a È
B
phenomenon which was at the heart of popular imperialism.
E
For all their now-transparent biases and shortcomings, these icons of a
bygone age provide us with a fascinating insight into the mechanisms
of hero-making in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Britain
and France. They also throw light upon the imperial mind-set, and the
story of the interests they served help explain why their epic legends
permeate – perhaps even to this day – national identities.
Berny Sèbe is Lecturer in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies
at the University of Birmingham
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
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general editor John M. MacKenzie
When the ‘Studies in Imperialism’ series was founded more
than twenty-five years ago, emphasis was laid upon the
conviction that ‘imperialism as a cultural phenomenon
had as significant an effect on the dominant as on the
subordinate societies’. With more than ninety books
published, this remains the prime concern of the series.
Cross-disciplinary work has indeed appeared covering the
full spectrum of cultural phenomena, as well as examining
aspects of gender and sex, frontiers and law, science and
the environment, language and literature, migration and
patriotic societies, and much else. Moreover, the series has
always wished to present comparative work on European
and American imperialism, and particularly welcomes the
submission of books in these areas. The fascination with
imperialism, in all its aspects, shows no sign of abating,
and this series will continue to lead the way in encouraging
the widest possible range of studies in the field. ‘Studies
in Imperialism’ is fully organic in its development, always
seeking to be at the cutting edge, responding to the latest
interests of scholars and the needs of this ever-expanding
area of scholarship.
Heroic imperialists in Africa
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SELECTED TITLES AVAILABLE IN THE SERIES
wales and the british overseas empire
Interactions and influences, 1650–1830
Huw Bowen (ed.)
european empires and the people
Popular responses to imperialism in France, Britain, the Netherlands,
Belgium, Germany and Italy
John M. MacKenzie (ed.)
the colonisation of time
Ritual, routine and resistance in the British empire
Giordano Nanni
cultures and caricatures of british imperial aviation
Passengers, pilots, publicity
Gordon Pirie
from jack tar to union jack
Representing naval manhood in the British empire, 1870–1918
Mary A. Conley
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Heroic imperialists
in Africa
the promotion of british and french
colonial heroes, 1870–1939
Berny Sèbe
MANCHESTER
UNIVERSITY PRESS
Manchester and New York
distributed in the United States exclusively by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
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Copyright © Berny Sèbe 2013
The right of Berny Sèbe to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by
him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Published by MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PRESS
OXFORD ROAD, MANCHESTER M13 9NR, UK
and ROOM 400, 175 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK, NY 10010, USA
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
Distributed in the United States exclusively by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN, 175 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK, NY 10010, USA
Distributed in Canada exclusively by
UBC PRESS, UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA,
2029 WEST MALL, VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA V6T 1Z2
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for
ISBN 978 0 7190 8492 8 hardback
First published 2013
The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for
any external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not
guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Typeset in Trump Medieval
by Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire
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To my parents
mitsou and alain
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Com evident experiència mostra, la debilitat de la nostra memòria, sots-
metent fàcilment a oblivió no solament los actes per longitud de temps
envellits, mas encara los actes frescs de nostres dies, és estat doncs molt
condecent, útil e expedient deduir en escrit les gestes e històries antigues
dels homens forts e virtuosos, com sien espills molt clars, exemples e
virtuosa doctrina de nostra vida, segons recita aquell gran orador Tul·li.
As shown evidently by experience, the weakness of our memory, which
throws easily into oblivion not only those deeds which have suffered the
outrage of time, but also the fresh events of our days, has made it very
appropriate, useful and opportune to record in writing the ancient feats
and stories of strong and virtuous men. Such men are the brightest of
mirrors, examples and sources of virtous instruction for our own life, as
said that great orator Tully [Cicero].
Johanot Martorell and Martí Johan de Galba,
prologue to Tirant Lo Blanch (late fifteenth century,
translation by the author and Esmeralda Francés- Martínez).
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CONTENTS
List of figures —ix
List of tables—xi
General editor’s introduction—xiii
Acknowledgements—xvii
Abbreviations and conventions—xxi
Introduction—1
PART I CONTEXTS
1 T he emergence of a new type of hero: British and French
contexts 27
2 Imperial heroes and the market I: the printed world 54
3 Imperial heroes and the market II: the audiovisual world 96
PART II USES
4 Imperial heroes and domestic politics 139
5 C ross- Channel entente? The values embodied by imperial
heroes 174
PART III CASE STUDIES
6 The creation of the Marchand legend, 1895–1906 225
7 G eorge Warrington Steevens, Blackwood Publishers and the
making of With Kitchener to Khartoum 264
Conclusion—290
Biographical sketches—304
Index—321
[ vii ]
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LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF FIGURES
1 Imperial heroes set in stone: statues of General Gordon in
Gravesend and Major Marchand in Thoissey 38
2 F ront cover of Michel Morphy’s serialized account of the
Marchand mission (1900–01) 77
3 Paul Philippoteaux, Le Commandant Marchand (1899) 102
4 F ront cover of the illustrated supplement of Le Petit
Journal, 19 March 1905 104
5 Marchand makes the headlines 106
6 Penny Illustrated Paper, 1 October 1898 107
7 The Graphic, 12 November 1898, issue 1511 108
8 Penny Illustrated Paper, 18 March 1911 108
9 Le Rire, 17 February 1900 109
10 Le Petit Parisien, 5 April 1896 110
11 The Graphic, 24 May 1884 111
12 Heroism and realism at the time of the cinema. From
L. Poirier, Charles de Foucauld et l’Appel du silence (1939),
p. 221 [Reproduced with kind permission from Robert
Darène, Ekwata films, Paris] 115
13 Illustrated London News, 2 May 1931 117
14 Exploration as an argument to cleanse oneself: Brazza
adorning the Savon des Explorateurs produced by the
Société continentale du Cosmydor 118
15 I mperial heroes to secure customers’ loyalty: General
Gordon on Ogden’s, Mitchell’s and Brooke Bond Tea
collectible cards 119
16 Brazza king of the chromos: cards produced by Chocolats
Guérin- Boutron and Tisanes du Père Célestin 119
17 Kitchener, Great War leader with a clear imperial pedigree:
wartime postcard 121
18 Heroes of ‘Greater France’: Marshal Lyautey, patron of the
1931 Vincennes exhibition 122
19 Imperial heroes and the circulation of colonial imagery:
postcards representing a statue of Cardinal Lavigerie in
Tunis, and the inauguration by Marshal Lyautey of a
memorial to Charles de Foucauld, destined to be sent to
the metropole 123
20 Brazza supervises the freeing of slaves 197
[ ix ]