Why is the use of the terms 'resistance' and 'collaboration' problematic when assessing African relations to the imposition of French colonial rule in Africa?

Résumé du document

When assessing African relations to the imposition of French colonial rule in Africa, the terms 'resistance' and 'collaboration' are often used by English literature. They respectively designate the struggle against colonialism and the co-operation between the indigenous people and the colonizers. Nevertheless, the use of the terms 'resistance' and 'collaboration' is problematic for various reasons. It is important to point out that these terms are mainly used in English literature but they are very less used in the French one because of the strong link between these terms and the context of the Second World War on French territory. It is also useful to study the alternative words used by French literature instead of 'resistance' and 'collaboration'. These terms are problematic because they are always used in the singular way; or 'resistance' and 'collaboration' are complex phenomena which imply different actors, motives and means.

Extraits

[...] That is the reason why French literature avoids using these terms when dealing with African reactions to the French colonial rule, while English literature feels freer to use them. As ‘resistance' and ‘collaboration' already refer to an important part of French history, it is problematic to use the same terms for a totally different part of its history the colonial period. In order to avoid this lexical problem, French literature uses a very various vocabulary when talking of the African struggle against French colonialism. [...]

[...] Thus, African collaboration is as various as the French collaboration during the Second World War (cf. the four types defined by Rings) but the categories were different because the context was different. So the actors, either resisters or collaborators, were very various coming from all political, social, economic and cultural spheres which created a first level of complexity. Secondly, ‘resistance' and ‘collaboration' are complex phenomena because it involved many different motives. Thus, some collaborators from the modern African elites saw in colonial administration a way to have power over indigenous peoples even it they had to remain at the bottom of the hierarchical scale. [...]

[...] The first aim of these unions was to struggle against economic exploitation of African workers. Thus, the SFIO section in Tunis chose to boycott French products in order to protect African economy especially for food production. Journals also played an important part in resisters' claim because it was a way to spread nationalist propaganda, often used by trade unions and political parties. They were also a way to defend religious convictions. Hence, the journals Al-Muntaqid and Al-Chihab spread the ideas of Muslim intellectuals who wanted to defend Islam against French colonialism (Angeron p.552). [...]

[...] Indeed, when authors use the terms ‘resistance' and ‘collaboration' it is hard to perceive the real complexity implied in these words. Firstly, they are complex phenomena because it involved many different actors. For example, both poor peasants and well-educated elites were resisters against French colonialism. According to Liauzu (2007,p.557), “dans les villes tunisiennes en 1881 [ ] ce sont les pauvres qui poussent à l'action. La première émeute contre le protectorat en Tunisie en 1911 est le fait de la plèbe”. [...]

[...] To conclude, if someone decides to use the terms ‘resistance' and ‘collaboration' when assessing Africa relations to the imposition of French colonial rule in Africa, it must be done very carefully. First, these terms need to be contextualized in order to avoid misunderstanding connotation to the Second World War context. Then, they need to be well-defined to avoid oversimplification as they are complex phenomena. Finally, they need to be moderate to avoid any manichéenne views and to highlight the evolution of the African resistance and the variety of African collaboration. [...]