French Colonial Research Articles

Vietnamese tense marking since the seventeenth century: A historiographical analysis

Abstract This article investigates the historical development of the linguistic writings on Vietnamese tense marking. The scholarship on Vietnamese tense marking is unique as it is shaped by both linguistic and non-linguistic influences: foreshadowed in the seventeenth-century missionary grammars, turned prescriptive during the French colonisation of Vietnam, bifurcated during the Cold War, and since 1986 converged with rapid developments in tense-aspect-mood (TAM) theories. In this article, I critically examine and (re-)interpret the claims on Vietnamese tense marking made by the relevant grammatical writings during these periods and consolidate the scholarship into three emerging themes: transcategorial complexity; covert–overt complexity; and prevalence of TAM. I show that TAM theories have predominantly been the only theoretical framework for analysing a group of multifunctional particles. This prevalence of TAM theories arises not only because (i) how each of the earlier grammars of Vietnamese on the topic was referenced, misinterpreted, or ignored due to certain historical and socio-political milestones, but also because (ii) the influence of certain linguistic ideologies overshadows the other two themes and ultimately the pragmatic functions of those particles. These two reasons form a unique scholarship on Vietnamese tense marking, the basis of which is grounded firmly on continuously expanding TAM theories.

Polynesia against Paris: Indigenous Anti-Nuclear Literature and the French Colonial Origins of Oceanian Reintegration

Abstract: This essay examines Francophone and Anglophone Indigenous Oceanian literature and art to argue that through the predominantly Polynesian response to French nuclear testing in Te Ao Mā’ohi (French Polynesia), French colonialism has inadvertently generated one key cultural movement toward post-colonial Oceanian reintegration—one that extends well beyond the Francophone Pacific. The essay first examines the prose fiction of Chantal Spitz, Rai a Mai [aka Michou Chaze], and Déwé Gorodé to understand Te Ao Mā’ohi’s (French Polynesia's) and Kanaky’s (New Caledonia's) shared experiences of French colonialism. It then contrasts the same authors’ treatment of French nuclear weapons testing, which was the central crisis in Mā’ohi literature but which was marginal to early Kanak prose fiction. The essay then brings this Francophone literature in direct conversation with the hitherto unexamined specifically anti-French dimension of better-known Anglophone Oceanian works from authors Witi Ihimaera (Maori) and Albert Wendt (Samoan) and visual artists Ralph Hotere (Maori) and Hiko‘ula Hanapi (Hawaiian). The essay then demonstrates how this mutual Francophone-Anglophone Polynesian response to French colonialism created a Polynesia-centric anti-French-colonial process of Oceanian reintegration, and how that engine of Pacific reintegration later encompassed Kanaky and generated new cultural and activist connections between the Francophone and Anglophone Pacific.

Global Origin and Spatiotemporal Spread of Hepatitis C Virus Epidemic Genotypes/Subtypes: A Complete Genome-Based Phylodynamic and Phylogeographic Analyses.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a pathogenic virus of global health concern. The phylodynamics of HCV genotypes/subtypes 1a, 1b, 2, and 3 are explored only for specific geographic regions. However, their genome based global origin and detailed spatiotemporal spread, have yet to be extensively studied. To study the global evolution of "epidemic" HCV genotypes/subtypes, we screened all available HCV complete genome sequences (n = 2744) from 27 countries worldwide for over four decades. We used representative sequences (n = 516) for phylodynamic and phylogeographic analyses, examining HCV worldwide origin, transmission, and spatiotemporal spread. We are the first to study the global phylogeography of genotype 2. The evolutionary rates for genotype/subtype 1a, 1b, 2, and 3 are 1.109 × 10-3, 1.096 × 10-3, 5.013 × 10-3 and 1.483 × 10-3 substitutions/site/year respectively. We deduced tMRCAs and origin location of respective HCV genotype/subtype as 1909.21 (United States), 1893.36 (Japan), 981.76 (France), and 1714.89 (India). We estimated their migration pattern with time to and from different continents. The origin location of genotype 2 was estimated to be France instead of previous postulated African origin. This can be related to slave trade, French colonization, and previous studies on specific geographic regions only. HCV genotypes/subtypes showed transmission and expansion due to factors like World War II, iatrogenic infections, "baby boomer" population, inefficient medical screening, intravenous drug use, decline due to antiviral therapy introduction. Our study provides novel and extensive information about the evolutionary history and spatiotemporal spread of the HCV genotypes responsible for most infections worldwide.

Anthropology, Empire, and Resistance: French Colonial Ethnography, American Intervention, and the Moroccan Struggle in The Riffian

This article explores the complex relationship between anthropology, colonialism, and resistance in Morocco by analyzing the works of Edmond Doutté, Robert Montagne, and Carleton Coon. It investigates how French and American anthropologists approached Moroccan society, drawing comparisons between their methods and objectives. The analysis highlights how anthropology was used as both a tool for governance and a form of cultural critique. Particular attention is given to Carleton Coon’s novel The Riffian, which serves as a unique case study, blending ethnographic insight with fiction. The article argues that these anthropologists’ work reflects the tensions between colonial power, scholarly inquiry, and cultural identity. The findings illustrate that while anthropology often served imperial interests, it also provided spaces for anti-colonial narratives and deeper understandings of Moroccan life.

Colonialism and Local Elites: Lyautey's Colonial Experience in Morocco as a Case Study

This article presents a thorough analysis of the dynamics that developed between the Moroccan makhzen elites and the French Resident General Hubert Lyautey during the period of the French protectorate in Morocco (1912–1956). The article examines how Lyautey, by employing carefully crafted strategies, effectively utilized the Moroccan elite as a pivotal tool for strengthening colonial dominance, all the while preserving the traditional and social values inherent in Morocco. The makhzen elites represent a pivotal component of the traditional Moroccan framework, having wielded considerable administrative and religious authority before the advent of the protectorate, thus justifying their prominent role in this analysis. The article suggests that these elites stood at a crucial juncture, where they had to decide between opposing French dominance and collaborating with the colonial administration to preserve their status and privileges. Lyautey upheld the conventional social and political structure, leveraging this context to advance the execution of colonial policies. As a result, a considerable portion of them chose to engage in collaboration. The article highlighted the "dual cooperation policy" that Lyautey put into practice. He upheld various conventional administrative frameworks, such as the Sharia judiciary and the Emirate of the Faithful, thus presenting himself as a guardian of authentic Moroccan values. This approach ensured the relative stability of the country during that period by striking a delicate equilibrium between the enforcement of French authority and the maintenance of the traditional Moroccan regime's outward appearance. The article says that the makhzen elites weren't just tools of colonial power; instead, they showed that they could negotiate to protect their own interests in a colonial setting. In this light, it's clear that Lyautey’s relationship with these elites was more than just dependence; it was a complex one characterised by mutual interests that overlapped. This research reveals a deep understanding of the complexities of power within the context of colonialism, illustrating how France leveraged local traditional forces to bolster its colonial endeavours while refraining from dismantling or supplanting them. This methodology played a significant role in shaping the distinctive identity of the French colonisation in Morocco.

The burden of HIV-1 and HIV-2 epidemics in Ivory Coast.

Simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIV) infecting chimpanzees (SIVcpz) and sooty mangabeys (SIVsm) are, respectively, the biological precursors of human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) Types 1 and 2. Former French colonies in West Africa are the regions where retroviruses first jumped from primates to humans. Ivory Coast is nowadays a country of over 29 million people, being 2% (580,000) persons living with HIV (PLWH). However, one-quarter remains undiagnosed. Heterosexual transmission is by far the most frequent mechanism of HIV acquisition and women exhibit higher rates of infection than men. Despite preventive measures, HIV infection in children throughout breastfeeding remains significant. The proportion of PLWH carrying HIV-1 is rising whereas conversely HIV-2 carriers are steadily declining. A nationwide survey conducted on earlier 2024 showed that a total of 188,880 PLWH were on follow-up. HIV-1 infection was found in 163,947, HIV-2 in 5,114, and coinfection in 3,182. HIV type was not reported for 7,500. Antiretroviral therapy with tenofovir, lamivudine, and dolutegravir is by far the most frequently prescribed regimen in Ivory Coast (n = 168,543). Viral suppression is recognized in 94.3% of treated PLWH, despite one-third acknowledging unwanted treatment interruptions after failure of stock supplies. Given shared transmission routes with HIV, coinfection with other human retroviruses such as Human T-lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) and/or hepatitis viruses B, C, and delta are frequent in Ivory Coast. Coinfections remain largely undiagnosed and poorly managed. In summary, the HIV pandemic caused by both HIV-1 and HIV-2 is a major public health challenge in Ivory Coast, where strategies for expanding diagnosis, sustain antiretroviral treatment, and manage coinfections warrant further efforts.

From national park to cultural park an Algerian experience

The status of National park was adopted in Algeria in 1921, during French colonisation, within the framework of the forestry law in force. It was renewed as is, after 1962 by independent Algeria and placed under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture, in its general forestry directorate. In 1983, it was redefined in the first national law on the environment, then, from 2011, in that of protected areas, within the framework of sustainable development. All Algerian national parks are created under the forestry regime and agricultural administration, with the exception of a single case where they are attached to the cultural sector: that of Tassili and Ahaggar, both located in the extreme south of the Sahara, including the Tuareg customary domain of Kel Ajjer and Kel Ahaggar. A particular case, linked to the process of administrative construction of the Saharan space. It is following the adoption of paradigm of sustainable development and a new law on the protection of cultural heritage , that this particularism has disappeared, with the introduction of a new legal category of protection, called “parc culturel”, based on the principle of “indissociability” between culture and nature, an innovative notion which has not yet acquired the conceptual force necessary to achieve the required stabilization and social appropriation, hence the difficulty of its translation into operational tools.

Agency and Acquired Plant Knowledge among Enslaved Laborers: The Acclimatization of Vanilla and Cloves in the Indian Ocean World

This article explores the complex process involving a wide variety of historical actors in the acclimatization of vanilla and cloves in the western Indian Ocean during the long nineteenth century. Imperial rivalries and monopolistic control of these two crops provide the historical context in which the acquired plant knowledge of enslaved laborers in the Mascarene Islands was exercised. Ranging from the Maluku Islands, in eastern Indonesia, and from Mexico to Europe, the argument centers on French colonial Mauritius and Réunion, and imperial Omani Zanzibar.

Gavin Maxwell in Morocco and Algeria with Margaret Pope and Ahmed Alaoui: public relations networks, anti-imperialism, and travel writing in the era of decolonisation

ABSTRACT This article asks how Gavin Maxwell, famed Scottish nature-writer and otter-keeper, author of Ring of Bright Water, emerged from a background of European colonialist adventure-writing to become a clandestine agent for the FLN Algerian independence movement in 1961, and then, in The Rocks Remain (1963) and Lords of the Atlas (1966), to advance a positive portrait of the newly independent Moroccan monarchy and, in the latter work, a condemnation of French colonialism. Using published writings and unpublished archival documents, this article examines Maxwell’s career as a travel writer in Iraq, Morocco, and Algeria, in the context of recent historiography on the global public relations networking of Moroccan and Algerian anticolonial movements. Through his relationships with British journalist-activist Margaret Pope and the Moroccan monarchy’s press services head and Minister of Information and Tourism, Ahmed Alaoui, Maxwell became, if only briefly and partially, a part of North African anti-imperialist outreach networks developed to cultivate global public opinion. In Maxwell’s case, his recruitment as a literary supporter was more of a success for the Moroccan monarchy than for the Algerian FLN.

Vivre Sans: Deserting Capitalism, Governance, and Identity in Les Renards pâles by Yannick Haenel

There is an emerging trend of twenty-first-century French novels that depict precarity as a means of deserting neoliberal capitalism entirely and creating autonomous forms of community. Of these texts, Les Renards pâles (2013) by Yannick Haenel is notable for its intersectional examination of poverty, colonialism, and identity. The novel’s narrator joins the Renards pâles, a revolutionary, anti-identarian groupuscule whose members, regardless of their ethnic or cultural background, identify as Black, African, and Dogon. From this universalized minority position, they connect their struggle with the repressed history of French colonialism, sparking a reparatory revolution intended to destroy both French society and all forms of identity. I elucidate the novel’s anarchist politics, placing them under the rubric of destituent power. I demonstrate how its radical politics involve taking up universalism as a means to completely abolish all identarian categories. I argue, however, that the novel lacks a sustained attention to the specificities of the various minority social positions with which it tarries. Focusing specifically on its claim to Blackness as a means to a revolutionary end, I assert that Les Renards pâles’ anti-identarian proposition risks reproducing the schemas it seeks to desert.

The impact of the Dien Bien Phu Victory on the decolonization movement in Africa (1954-1960)

The Dien Bien Phu victory of the Vietnamese army over the French colonists in 1954 contributed significantly to the wave of independence in the French colonies in Africa (1954-1960). This paper analyzes the impact of this historic event in inspiring nationalist movements and promoting liberation struggles in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and the French West African countries during that period. It also examines how the Dien Bien Phu victory weakened France’s position in its colonies and influenced the independence movements there. The results show that Vietnam’s victory had a profound influence by inspiring nationalist sentiments, encouraging resistance spirits, and fueling armed uprisings against French colonialism in Africa. Moreover, it severely undermined France’s authority over its colonies, creating favorable conditions for subsequent independence movements. The research results affirm that the Dien Bien Phu Victory was a powerful catalyst that inspired and accelerated the national liberation movements in the French colonies in Africa.

Guadeloupe and Haiti's coffee genetic resources reflect the crop's regional and global history

Societal Impact StatementDespite strong historical declines, Guadeloupe and Haiti's coffee sectors remain important to rural communities' livelihood and resilience. Coffee also holds value as part of the islands' historical legacy and cultural identities. Furthermore, it is often grown in agroforestry systems providing important ecosystem services, which will become more important as these vulnerable islands work to adapt to a changing climate. Current efforts to revitalize coffee farms and target strategically important specialty markets would benefit from understanding existing genetic resources and the historical factors that shaped them. Our study reveals the rich history reflected in current coffee stands on the islands.Summary The West Indies, particularly former French colonies like Haiti and Guadeloupe, were central to the spread of coffee in the Americas. The histories of these Islands are shared until the 19th century, where they diverged significantly. Still, both Islands experienced a strong decline in their coffee sector. Characterizing the genetic and varietal diversity of their coffee resources and understanding historical factors shaping them can help support revitalization efforts. To that end, we performed Kompetitve Allele‐Specific PCR (KASP) genotyping of 80 informative single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers on field samples from across main coffee‐growing region of Guadeloupe, and two historically important ones in Haiti, as well as 146 reference accessions from international collections. We also compared bioclimatic variables from sampled geographic areas and searched for historical determinants of present coffee resources. At least five Coffea arabica varietal groups were found in Haiti, versus two in Guadeloupe, with admixed individuals in both. The traditional Typica variety is still present in both islands, growing across a variety of climatic environments. We also found Coffea canephora on both islands, with multiple likely origins, and identified C. liberica var. liberica in Guadeloupe. These differences are explained by the Islands' respective histories. Overall, Guadeloupe experienced fewer, but older introductions of non‐Typica coffee. By contrast, several recent introductions have taken place in Haiti, driven by local and global factors and reflecting the history of Arabica varietal development and spread. Diversity on these islands is dynamic, and our results reveal opportunities and limits to the future of Guadeloupean and Haitian coffee.

Chagos in the South Pacific? The principle of self-determination and the France-Vanuatu dispute over the Matthew and Hunter Islands

Abstract The dispute over the Matthew and Hunter Islands (MHIs) has long been a constant strain on Vanuatu-French relations. The article examines this dispute in light of the Chagos Advisory Opinion and a few other cases concerning territorial disputes. It first submits that sovereignty over the MHIs had never been raised until 1962, when, at the occasion of a private claim, France and Britain, the two administering powers of the New Hebrides at that time, considered the issue. The two states reached an agreement in 1965, asserting that the MHIs were part of the French colony of New Caledonia and not the British-French Condominium of the New Hebrides. This article then considers the legal implications and lawfulness of the agreement, which did not take into account the local populations’ will. Although there are some important differences between the Chagos and MHIs disputes, mainly due to the fact that the MHIs are uninhabited, the applicability of the right of self-determination to both cases is nevertheless beyond doubt. The article contends therefore that the 1965 Agreement between France and Britain may constitute a violation of the right to self-determination of the people of the New Hebrides (Vanuatu), who were not consulted on the decision to attach the MHIs to the French territory of New Caledonia, and suggests that there may be, however, some other legal principles under international law that can come into play. Finally, the article contends that negotiated solutions could be a potential way forward for the parties involved.

French colonialism and neocolonialism in Africa: A comprehensive analysis

The study examined how French colonialism has shaped political, economic, and social structures across the continent, focusing on the exploitation of resources, suppression of indigenous governance, and cultural imposition. It further delves into neocolonialism, where former colonies, despite gaining independence, remain economically dependent and politically influenced by France through mechanisms such as economic aid, military interventions, and Francophone networks. The study was qualitative in nature and the research design was descriptive as well as analytical which aimed to describe and analyze the historical and contemporary impacts of French colonialism and neocolonialism. The study was conducted within four selected universities under social sciences departments specifically. Purposive sampling was used to select participants who understand the historical impact of French colonialism and how it continues to influence African nations under neocolonial structures. The study consisted 100 respondents; University Lecturers, Students and selected members from Civil Society Organizations. The data collection process involved documentary review, literature review and conducting individual interviews on the participants. The collected was analyzed using themes and content analysis from the objectives of the study. The findings revealed that French colonialism imposed direct rule, extracting natural resources and exploiting labor, while reshaping social and political structures to align with French interests. Additionally, even after the formal end of colonialism in the mid-20th century, neocolonialism emerged, with France maintaining influence through economic dependencies, political alliances, and military interventions. This neocolonial dynamic has continued to shape the trajectory of African nations, as they navigate sovereignty within a globalized economy still influenced by their colonial past. The study therefore recommended for African nations to prioritize economic self-sufficiency and diversify their trade relationships to reduce dependence on France.

SOLUTIONS TO IMPLEMENT TRAINING AND RETRAINING POLICY FOR YOUTH IN TAN PHU DISTRICT, HO CHI MINH CITY

Tan Phu district is a suburban district of Ho Chi Minh City, but it also left behind many historical, cultural, architectural and artistic relics as well as revolutionary “red addresses” marking the heroic feats of the army and people of Tan Phu in the two resistance wars against French colonialism and American imperialism. During the development process, Tan Phu district, Ho Chi Minh city always pays attention to implementing the policy of training and retraining the youth in the area, considering youth training and retraining to play a very important role in equipping knowledge and skills for the youth, contributing to the socio-economic development of the district in the current period

Apocalypse Now Final Cut: The French Plantation Is Back. Vive le Cinéma!

The paper analyzes the recovery of the French Plantation sequence in the films Apocalypse Now, Final Cut, and Coppola, recovering the movie’s entire narrative and aesthetic capacity. We demonstrate how Coppola, obeying distribution norms and standard marketing devices, suppresses the sequence, producing a film like all the others. Coppola recovered the narrative of the French Plantation in dialogue with Schoendoerffer’s nostalgic cinema, masterfully adapting Conrad’s work, Heart of Darkness. The description of the French and American wars in the paper provides the background, allowing us to understand why there is a French plantation in Vietnam and why the United States entered the conflict in Southeast Asia. The recovery of the sequence describes French colonization in the era of imperialism, producing commodities such as rubber in plantations—places where the planters put down their roots—the plantation becomes property, existential justification, homeland, and source of memory. Defeated in Dien Bien Phu, the French do not abandon Vietnam and their memories, transforming them into nostalgic ghosts shrouded in the mists of history. The French Plantation restored in Apocalypse Now, Final Cut, gives the film the status of a work of art, ceasing to be a confusing work about an absurd and unfortunate war.

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF FRENCH AND ZIONIST SETTLER COLONIALISM IN ALGERIA AND PALESTINE

The paper explores and analyzes similarities and differences between French settler colonialism in Algeria and Jewish Zionist settler colonialism in Palestine. This study focuses on the history and historical development of French settler colonialism and Jewish Zionist settler colonialism by deploying the analytical framework of settler colonialism, and the comparative history of settler colonialism. Settler colonial studies and comparative settler colonialism allow for gaining insight into the genesis, and development of settler colonies. The intention behind the application of comparative settler colonialism, specifically in juxtaposing French settler colonialism in Algeria and Jewish Zionist settler colonialism in Palestine is to identify overlaps, similarities as well as differences between these settler polities. The results of this study have shown that French and Zionist settler colonialism share numerous similarities and features. The most important feature that these settler colonialisms adhere to is the logic of elimination, which is defined as policies and practices of settler colonial policies aimed at the dispossession, displacement, ethnic cleansing, genocide, as well as cultural assimilation of the indigenous populations. In this case, both French and Zionist settler colonialisms have subscribed and followed the logic of the elimination of the natives. Yet as opposed to French settler colonialism, Zionist settler colonialism has been less interested in cultural assimilation and integration of the indigenous people of Palestine into settler society. Another conspicuous difference between French and Zionist settler colonialism is that while French settler colonialism is already defunct, Zionist settler colonialism has managed to survive and persist. The current study contributes to settler colonial studies and the comparative history of settler colonialism. Moreover, our research can inform other studies in the field of settler colonialism, and we suggest that more research into comparative settler colonialism needs to be undertaken.

Literary cityscape in the sociological topology before 1945 in Việt Nam

When Việt Nam became a French colony in the 20th century, the press created an imagined space of possibilities where urban dwellers could exercise their new power. Attracted by this space of opportunity, literary authors from all over Vietnam came to big cities, like Hà Nội, to make their dreams come true. Depending on their choice of literary genres, authors from rural areas or cities invest their capital in writing. The press then played a key role in creating a cityscape in the literary field. By establishing the link between the hometown, the city of residence, and the choice of literary genre, we strive to understand the investment of capital among writers and the laws regulating the literary landscape in sociological topology.

Genealogies of (anti-)Blackness in the Maghreb: Africanity, Arabness, and the French colonial legacy

This essay starts with the unstable valence of the term “African” in governmental discourses and their media treatment in Morocco and Tunisia, which vacillate between a political and cultural solidarity on the one hand, and an oppositional stance on the other hand, whereby the “Arabness” of the Maghreb is posited as oppositional to the Blackness of Africa. The essay grapples with the competing historical and epistemic frames that attempt to explain this conflicting relation. The “colonialist thesis,” whereby the origin of the “tale of two Africas” is traced back to colonial racial schemes, posits pan-Africanism as an anti-imperialist political alliance, one that sought to transcend colonial categories of belonging between so-called “Arab” and Black Africa. However, if taken in isolation, a pan-African approach can also selectively sanitize the historical relation that the Maghreb entertains with the rest of the continent. The essay discusses the urgency of re-centering the precolonial Maghrebi history of the trans-Saharan slave trade, in order to fully comprehend the history of Black and North Africa, while being cautious with importing western concepts, and reinforcing orientalist notions of Islamic “tyranny.” Ultimately, taking Eugène Delacroix’s Femme d’Alger dans leur Appartement as a case study, it argues for an entangled legacy of prejudice , whereby trans-Saharan practices of slavery become palimpsestically reconfigured through the racial schemes of French coloniality. It invites a third mode of relationality, a critically reparative stance, one that posits the necessity of more fully implicating a global audience – a Maghrebi as well as a Western one – as having historically co-constituted the sociocultural and political frameworks through which racial prejudice is reproduced.

Impact of French Colonization on the Modern Entrepreneurial Landscape in Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco

Impact of French Colonization on the Modern Entrepreneurial Landscape in Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco