Militarizing Marriage. Sarah J. Zimmerman

      

       MILITARIZING MARRIAGE

       War and Militarism in African History

      SERIES EDITORS: ALICIA C. DECKER AND GIACOMO MACOLA

      * * *

      Sarah J. Zimmerman

       Militarizing Marriage: West African Soldiers’

       Conjugal Traditions in Modern French Empire

       Militarizing Marriage

       West African Soldiers’ Conjugal Traditions in Modern French Empire

       Sarah J. Zimmerman

      OHIO UNIVERSITY PRESS

      ATHENS, OHIO

      Ohio University Press, Athens, Ohio 45701

       ohioswallow.com

      © 2020 by Ohio University Press

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      Cover image: “Le pont de la Salamandre,” in Joseph-Simon Gallieni,

      Deux campagnes au Soudan français, 1886–1888 (Paris: Hachette, 1891), 10–11.

      Printed in the United States of America

      Ohio University Press books are printed on acid-free paper ™

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       Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Names: Zimmerman, Sarah J., author.

      Title: Militarizing marriage : West African soldiers' conjugal traditions in modern French empire / Sarah J. Zimmerman.

      Other titles: War and militarism in African history.

      Description: Athens, Ohio : Ohio University Press, 2020. | Series: War and militarism in African history | Includes bibliographical references and index.

      Identifiers: LCCN 2019059725 | ISBN 9780821424223 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780821440674 (adobe pdf)

      Subjects: LCSH: Soldiers--Family relationships--Africa, West. | Military spouses--Africa, French-speaking West--Social conditions--20th century. | Women--Africa, French-speaking West--Social conditions--20th century. | Africa, French-speaking West--History--1884-1960.

      Classification: LCC DT532.5 .Z56 2020 | DDC 960.03--dc23

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019059725

       To Fatoumata Mbodj Faye, Samba Katy Faye, Ndeye Niawe Faye, and Mohamadou Lamine Faye

       Contents

       List of Illustrations

       Acknowledgments

       Abbreviations

       Introduction: French African Soldiers and Female Conjugal Partners in Colonial Militarism

       1. Marrying into the Military: Colonization, Emancipation, and Martial Community in West Africa, 1880–1900

       2. Colonial Conquest “en Famille”: African Military Households in Congo and Madagascar, 1880–1905

       3. Mesdames Tirailleurs and Black Villages: Trans-Saharan Experiences in the Conquest of Morocco, 1908–18

       4. Domestic Affairs in the Great War: Legal Plurality, Citizenship, and Family Benefits, 1914–18

       5. Challenging Colonial Order: Long-Distance, Interracial, and Cross-Colonial Conjugal Relationships, 1918–46

       6. Afro-Vietnamese Military Households in French Indochina and West Africa, 1930–56

       Epilogue: Decolonization, Algeria, and Legacies

       Notes

       Bibliography

       Index

       Illustrations

      MAPS

       0.1. Modern French Empire

       1.1. French West Africa

       2.1. French Congo / French Equatorial Africa

       2.2. French Madagascar

       3.1. French Protectorate in Morocco

       4.1. Four Communes of Senegal

       5.1. French Mandate Territories: Syria and Lebanon

       6.1. French Indochina

       7.1. French Algeria

      FIGURES

       3.1. “Casablanca.—Au Camp Sénégalais: Les futurs tirailleurs”

       3.2. “Campagne au Maroc (1907–1909).—Ber Réchid—Camp et cuisines des Sénégalais”

       6.1. “Sois actif et vigilant, LE VIET EST PARTOUT”

       6.2. “Attention! Ta solde est pour qui?”

       Acknowledgments

      Research for this book spanned more than a decade and took place in six countries, twenty archival units, and the homes of over fifty West African veterans, widows, and their children. I benefitted from the resources and assistance of many actors, agencies, and institutions throughout the research and writing process. While I may not have the space or faculties of recollection to acknowledge all of them here, I am extremely grateful for their support.

      At the University of California, Berkeley, I benefitted from Rocca Fellowships from the Center of African Studies, numerous grants and fellowships from the History Department, grants from the Townsend Center for Humanities, and Foreign Language Area Study