The Policy of Assimilation

The French Colonial Administrative Policy

Just in line with the scramble for Africa, the history of administration in West Africa involves largely the two big colonial powers – Britain and
France.

France took over its territories in West Africa between late 19th century and early 20th century and the territories were: Dahomey (Benin Republic), Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire), Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Upper Volta (Burkina Faso), Niger, and Mauritania.

In 1919, the League of Nations gave Togo to France. Togo was administered by France, different from her other colonies in West Africa. This was because Togo was a mandate and under the supervision of the League of Nations.

The Policy of Assimilation

The policy of assimilation was the official colonial policy of the French administration in West Africa. The system involved the imposition of French culture on the West African culture. It was meant to substitute the culture, language, religion, law, mode of dressing, etc. of the people of West Africa with that of the French people. This was imposed on the people of West Africa as a result of the belief in the superiority of French civilisation and inferiority of African civilisation.

However, this policy of assimilation was only put into practice in parts of Senegal and they were called the four (4) communes – Dakar, Goree, Rufisque, and Saint Louis. The term “commune” was used to describe models of towns and villages in colonies as they were in France. Assimilation was not adopted outside these communes.

Problems of Assimilation

The policy of assimilation was abandoned by France as a result of the following:

1. The policy of assimilation introduced direct administration which required heavy financial commitment from the central government.
2. The preference the African people had for their culture and way of life made it impossible for them to drop their culture for that of the French people and as a result, they rejected the policy of assimilation.
3. With the reduction in their power and scope of activities, the traditional leaders secretly undermined the effectiveness of the policy in their areas.
4. The implementation of the Indigénat (indigenisation) policy, which included imprisonment without trial and forced labour, also accounted for the failure of the policy.