Native Sons: West African Veterans and France in the Twentieth Century

345 Pages·2006·1.68 MB·English

by  Gregory Mann

Native Sons
politics, history, and culture
A series from the International Institute
at the University of Michigan
series editors: George Steinmetz and Julia Adams
series editorial advisory board:
Fernando Coronil Nancy Rose Hunt Julie Skurski
Mamadou Diouf Andreas Kalyvas Margaret Somers
Michael Dutton Webb Keane Ann Laura Stoler
Geo√ Eley David Laitin Katherine Verdery
Fatma Müge Göcek Lydia Liu Elizabeth Wingrove
Sponsored by the International Institute at the University of Michigan
and published by Duke University Press, this series is centered around
cultural and historical studies of power, politics, and the state—a field
that cuts across the disciplines of history, sociology, anthropology, po-
litical science, and cultural studies. The focus on the relationship be-
tween state and culture refers both to a methodological approach—the
study of politics and the state using culturalist methods—and to a
substantive approach that treats signifying practices as an essential di-
mension of politics. The dialectic of politics, culture, and history
figures prominently in all the books selected for the series.
NATIVE SONS
West African Veterans
and France in the
Twentieth Century
Gregory Mann
DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Durham ∂ London
2006
∫ 2006 Duke University Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper $
Designed by Jennifer Hill
Typeset in Adobe Jenson Pro by Keystone Typesetting, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
appear on the last printed page of this book.
Portions of chapters 2 and 4 previously appeared in ‘‘Locating Colonial
Histories: Between France and West Africa,’’ American Historical Re-
view 110, no. 2 (2005): 409–34.
Portions of chapter 5 originally appeared as ‘‘Immigrants and Arguments in
France and West Africa,’’ Comparative Studies in Society and History
45, no. 2 (2003): 362–85. ∫ Society for the Comparative Study of Society
and History. Reprinted with permission.
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
introduction
1
1 soldier families and 29
slavery’s echoes
2 ex-soldiers as 63
unruly clients,
1914–40
3 veterans and the 108
political wars
of
1940–60
4 a military culture on the move: 146
tirailleurs sénégalais in
france, africa, and asia
5 blood debt, immigrants, 183
and arguments
conclusion
210
Appendix: Interviews 217
Abbreviations 221
Notes 225
References 295
Index 321

Acknowledgments
working on debt
, I incurred many of my own. Native Sons was
researched on three continents and written on four. Scores of people
helped, hosted, or humored me while I worked to produce it. In
Bamako, my jatigi Ousmane Traore, hajiya Madame Traore Miriam
Koné, and their family displayed endless patience and generosity. Aw
ni bàràji. My deep thanks also to Ali Niane, Dr. Maïga, their families,
and their neighbors in Magnambougou Projet. I am very grateful for
the hospitality and assistance of Gomba Coulibaly and his family in
San and Diabougou. They, along with the Frères du Sacré-Coeur and
Brother David Coulibaly, were gracious hosts. Also in San, the Sidibe
family was always welcoming, and the Abbé Felix Coulibaly granted
me access to the papers of Father Bernard de Rasilly. Attaher Sofiane
assisted me in Koutiala. Adama Sékou Traore showed me some of his
father’s private papers. At Kuluba, I am grateful for the goodwill of Ali
Ongoïba, director of Mali’s national archives, Alyadjidi Almouctar
(Alia) Baby, Timothée Saye, Abdoulaye Traore, and Youssouf Diarra.
In Paris and Montreuil, Jennifer and Thomas LaDonne were model
friends, just as in Chennai, Mr. and Mrs. Uttam Reddi and Srinivas
Mallu and Meenakshi Reddi were model hosts.
Many thanks for careful readings and illuminating criticisms to
Drs. John O. Hunwick, Jonathon Glassman, Jane I. Guyer, and
Robert Launay. Along with Jane, Sara Berry helped me make the
transition from ‘‘interested in’’ to ‘‘working on.’’ The support of Myron
Echenberg and Nancy Lawler has always been appreciated, as has that
of David Killingray. I would also like to express my deep appreciation
for the guidance of Mamadou Diawara, whose energetic and rigorous
Projet Point Sud/Center for Research on Local Knowledge provided
me an intellectual home in Bamako. Many thanks also to Seydou
Camara, Mamadi Dembele, and their colleagues at the Institut des
flash
Sciences Humaines; Isaie Dougnon of /Université de Bamako;
Director Modibo Diallo at the Mémorial Modibo Keita; Dolores
Koening; Ambassador David Rawson; and Peace Corps Mali, espe-
cially Candy Avila and Anne Cullen. Mali’s veterans—and particularly
those in San—deserve a salute and much more.
Marcia Wright, Fred Cooper, Luise White, Richard Roberts,
Nancy Hunt, Laura Lee Downs, Alice Conklin, and Patrick Weil
o√ered insights, encouragement, and opportunities. Miranda Pollard
brought me into the study of history, and David Schoenbrun brought
me into the study of Africa. Tarik Barkawi’s close and rigorous read-
ings made the manuscript much stronger than it would otherwise have
been. Emmanuelle Saada listened closely and made valuable critiques.
Brian Peterson and Julie Livingstone commented incisively on the
introduction, and Sandrine Bertaux and Miriam Ticktin gave me a
chance to re-think some of the ideas in chapter 5. Ben Soares set an
example and helped on many fronts. Baz Lecocq has lived with and
contributed to versions of this project in a truly inordinate number of
settings. I thank him. Along with Baz, Emily Osborn, Trevor Getz,
Richard Fogarty, Ellen Amster, and Shannon Vance were entertaining
and generous companions in the archives. Leo Villalòn and Fiona
McLaughlin invited me into their salon in Dakar. For hospitality,
friendship, and tolerance, I am indebted to Natalie Adamson, Brian
and Andrea, Jacqui and Catherine, and Jonny and Jimmy. Emma has a
big place in this and everything.
Finally, it is both customary and statutory to recognize those who
funded research. Thus, in no order, I gratefully acknowledge the sup-
iie
port of the Fulbright- Program, the National Security Education
nsep-aed
Program—Academy for Educational Development ( ),
Northwestern University’s Dissertation Year Fellowship, Columbia
University Summer Grant Program in the Humanities, Columbia
University’s Institute for Scholars at Reid Hall, the Foreign Language
flas
and Area Studies ( ) Program for a summer grant, and the Cama-
rgo Foundation. I should also note that portions of chapter 5 appeared
in Comparative Studies in Society and History in 2003 and part of
viii acknowledgments
chapter 4 touches on points I addressed in an article in the American
Historical Review in 2005. All faults and mistakes remain my own
responsibility.
Lastly, Suchi put up with this manuscript for a long time. I owe her
a lot more than can be decently put on an acknowledgments page, and
I hope that debt lasts a very, very long time.
acknowledgments ix