A Racial Capitalism Panorama

Abstract

Africa’s Last Colonial Currency is a succinct and erudite empirical analysis of the trajectory of the CFA franc. Originally published in French in 2018 and translated to English in 2020, the book briefly introduces the colonial context that birthed the currency in 1945 and details its evolution. The postface in the English translation highlights the latest developments that preceded its publication. As asserted in the book’s title, the CFA franc is a manifestly colonial currency and the remaining one of its kind following the independence of African states. The currency is described as a weapon established by France to sustain a ‘neocolonial system of domination’ in its former colonies.1 In effect, France has managed to preserve its ‘monetary empire’ in what Pigeaud and Sylla describe as an ‘incredible feat’.2 The chronological account in the book’s seven chapters corroborates the...