20th century – 20th century
French West Africa and neighbouring British territories
African protest migrations were a wartime form of resistance to French colonial recruitment and other coercive measures. Large numbers of subjects from Senegal, Guinea, Haut-Sénégal-Niger, and Ivory Coast crossed into neighbouring British territories, while villages fled into the bush and some men mutilated themselves to avoid military service. French West Africa was estimated to lose about 62,000 subjects through these migrations.
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The Story
Not all wartime opposition to colonial rule took the form of armed rebellion. In French West Africa, people sought to escape the institutions and practices that generated their grievances, especially recruitment for military service and the carrying of supplies. Migration became a political act because movement across colonial borders could remove individuals and communities from the reach of French officials.
Subjects in Senegal, Guinea, Haut-Sénégal-Niger, and Ivory Coast undertook what has been termed protest migration toward neighbouring British territories. In other regions, entire villages fled into the bush to evade recruitment teams. Some young men mutilated themselves rather than enter the colonial army, demonstrating the intensity of opposition to forced service.
The scale of this evasive resistance was considerable. French West Africa was estimated to have lost approximately 62,000 subjects as a result of protest migrations. In Zanzibar, men hid during the day and slept in trees at night to avoid being impressed as carriers, showing that the refusal of wartime labour demands extended beyond French West Africa.
20th century – 20th century
French West Africa and neighbouring British territories
African protest migrations were a wartime form of resistance to French colonial recruitment and other coercive measures. Large numbers of subjects from Senegal, Guinea, Haut-Sénégal-Niger, and Ivory Coast crossed into neighbouring British territories, while villages fled into the bush and some men mutilated themselves to avoid military service. French West Africa was estimated to lose about 62,000 subjects through these migrations.
Continue exploring
The Story
Not all wartime opposition to colonial rule took the form of armed rebellion. In French West Africa, people sought to escape the institutions and practices that generated their grievances, especially recruitment for military service and the carrying of supplies. Migration became a political act because movement across colonial borders could remove individuals and communities from the reach of French officials.
Subjects in Senegal, Guinea, Haut-Sénégal-Niger, and Ivory Coast undertook what has been termed protest migration toward neighbouring British territories. In other regions, entire villages fled into the bush to evade recruitment teams. Some young men mutilated themselves rather than enter the colonial army, demonstrating the intensity of opposition to forced service.
The scale of this evasive resistance was considerable. French West Africa was estimated to have lost approximately 62,000 subjects as a result of protest migrations. In Zanzibar, men hid during the day and slept in trees at night to avoid being impressed as carriers, showing that the refusal of wartime labour demands extended beyond French West Africa.