The End Of Empire In French West Africa: Frances Successful Decolonization?

In an effort to restore her world-power status France was eager to maintain her overseas empire at the end of the Second World War. Yet just fifteen years later she had decolonized, and by 1960 only a few small island territories remained under French control.

The process of decolonization in Indochina and Algeria has been widely studied, but much less has been written about decolonization in Frances largest colony, French West Africa. Here, the French approach was regarded as exemplary?that is, a smooth transition successfully managed by well-intentioned French politicians and enlightened African leaders. Overturning this received wisdom, Chafer argues that the rapid unfurling of events after the Second World War was a complex, piecemeal and unpredictable process, resulting in a “”successful decolonization”” that was achieved largely by accident. At independence, the winners assured the reins of political power, while the losers were often repressed, imprisoned, or silenced.